On one hand, Lions safety Brian Branch has willingly accepted responsibility for the behavior that sparked a postgame brawl on Sunday night against the Chiefs. On the other hand, Branch will not willingly accept the punishment the NFL has imposed.
Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Branch has appealed his one-game suspension.
Branch has the right to do so. And he has a reason to do so — seventy-six thousand of them. (At a 2025 salary of $1.379 million, he makes $76,611 per week.)
Precedent is on Branch's side. In the 2012 playoffs, former Washington tackle Trent Williams struck former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman in the face. Williams was fined only $7,871. Three years ago, then-Raiders receiver Davante Adams was neither fined nor suspended for shoving a worker to the ground after a game at Kansas City. (Adams was charged with misdemeanor assault, but the case was eventually dropped.)
In 2019, the NFL suspended Browns defensive end Myles Garrett six games for striking Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph over the head with his own helmet, after a play.
Branch will point to Williams and Adams; the league will point to Garrett. But the conduct in question is far more similar to what Williams did, especially since (unlike Sherman) Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster wore a helmet.
A decision will come quickly, given that the Lions host the Buccaneers next Monday night. And here's where it could get interesting. If Branch wins the appeal, will the Lions impose discipline in the form of benching him for part or all of the game?
If he's available, the Lions have to pay him. They don't have to play him. Given coach Dan Campbell's strong comments from his press conference after the game against the Chiefs, it's hard to imagine the Lions doing nothing, if the league's suspension doesn't stick.