Much has been made about whether the Steelers' running backs, Le'Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount, will be suspended for the start of the 2014 season. Their actions got them charged, but according to precedent Roger Goodell and the NFL will wait out the legal process before rendering their own punishment. At worst, this means a suspension could be given to either player in 2015, according to Pittsburgh Post Gazette writer Ed Bouchette.
The penalties assessed to players by the NFL usually follow their own paths and processes. Had this incident taken place early in the off-season, then perhaps one might expect a suspension, but at this point for anyone to expect such a result in this case might be hasty at best.
As for the Steelers suspending either player, this course of action is highly unlikely. It is highly doubtful the Steelers take any action against their own players, thus violating the collective bargaining agreement and incurring penalties against the organization all in one swoop.
Beyond that, one might look to Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin, who spoke about the two players and this issue yesterday:
"They will but like I told this group yesterday that's our business," Tomlin said. "It won't come from me. I won't talk in great detail about what we laid down in regards to dealing with the situation. But its rest assured that we deal with unfortunate situations in an appropriate manner when they rise up and hopefully those two guys will show what's capable in terms of moving past it."
Upon further questioning, Tomlin said he would not address the issue again in any more detail and he indicated both Bell and Blount will "absolutely" play on Thursday.