OCTOBER 23: Hearing officer James Thrash has reduced Franklin’s punishment from a suspension to a $14,926 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.
OCTOBER 21: The NFL announced that it has suspended Bills defensive back and special-teamer Sam Franklin one game without pay for unsportsmanlike conduct. Franklin will appeal, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.
“With 1:32 remaining in the fourth quarter following Las Vegas’ successful extra point attempt, Franklin Jr. spit at an opponent, violating Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1, which applies to “any act which is contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship,” the league stated.
As the video shows (via Garafalo), Franklin took a hit below the belt from Raiders offensive tackle DJ Glaze. While Franklin then got into an altercation with Glaze after the play, it isn’t clear from the video that spitting was involved.
Franklin is “adamant” that he did not spit at Glaze, according to Garafolo. If the league concludes that he did, it’ll go down as the second punishment given to a Bill for spitting during the team’s 33-30 win over the Raiders last Sunday. The league previously issued a one-game ban to Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson for spitting in the direction of tight end Brock Bowers. Gardner-Johnson, who clearly did it and was ejected from the game, indicated he will accept the consequences.
The Bills are on a bye, meaning Franklin and Gardner-Johnson won’t serve potential suspensions until a Week 8 meeting with the Ravens. Franklin, whom the Bills re-signed to a three-year, $7MM contract last winter, leads the club with a 77.65% special teams snap share. The seventh-year veteran has not taken the field for any defensive snaps in 2026.