After exactly three months and one day, Richie Incognito's suspension is officially over. The Dolphins lifted the suspension on Tuesday, Incognito confirmed on Twitter. Incognito had been suspended since Nov. 3 following allegations made by teammate Jonathan Martin, who alleged that Incognito bullied him.
I would to thank my family and friends for their continued love and support. It's official #FREE #BIRD #FREEINCOGNITO @NFL @NFLPA
— Richie Incognito (@68INCOGNITO) February 4, 2014
Incognito only missed out on two paychecks during the suspension.
Under CBA rules, the Dolphins were allowed to suspend Incognito for four weeks without pay. However, before the four-week suspension was up, Incognito and the team came to an agreement that allowed the Dolphins to keep Incognito suspended, but with pay, meaning he only missed out on a total of two $235,000 weekly paychecks.
As the Miami Herald points out, the move to lift the suspension was purely an 'administrative' one on the part of the Dolphins. Incognito will be a free agent in March and it's highly, highly unlikely he'll ever wear a Dolphins uniform again.
The Incognito-Martin story isn't over just yet though. NFL appointed investigator Ted Wells still has to submit his findings, which the NFL has promised to make public. Wells' findings will more than likely include the thousands of texts between Martin and Incognito that were obtained by the Big Lead on Monday.
As colleague Will Brinson wrote after the texts came out, the texts don't exactly make Incognito look bad.
The texts do not show a heavy tone of bullying in the purest sense of the word. I'm sorry, they don't. There's too much interaction on Martin's behalf to meet up and hang out with Incognito. They appear -- based strictly what you read in them -- to show a pair of friends.
The NFL hasn't yet announced when Wells' findings will be released.
