Le'Veon Bell's suspension reduced - why it's a good sign for Letroy Guion and the Packers

It seems that Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell and Letroy Guion have been linked somewhat this offseason. Last August, Bell was charged with driving under the influence of marijuana and possession of marijuana after a traffic stop. In February, Guion was also pulled over and charged with possession, as well as possession of a firearm while committing a felony.

Both players' charges were eventually dropped, but the NFL levied suspensions upon the two players. When Bell's suspension was announced at three games, we at Acme Packing Company thought that would set the upper bound for Guion's impending suspension. Indeed, Guion was hit with a matching three-game ban, which he is expected to appeal.

However, there is news today that Bell is working on reducing his suspension, which would bode well for Guion doing the same:

Potentially big fantasy news: NFL, Le'Veon Bell are negotiating a settlement that could reduce his 3-gm suspension to 1 or 2.

— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) July 28, 2015

If Bell is able to reduce his suspension, that should serve as an appropriate precedent for Guion to do the same. Yes, there are differences in these two cases - Bell was under the influence while driving though Guion was not; Guion had a handgun and a much larger quantity of marijuana in his possession than Bell - but those factors seemed to cancel out in the initial application of discipline, and likely would in the appeals process as well.

Time will tell, but the Packers might have their full complement of defensive linemen after just one or two weeks this season rather than three.

UPDATE: Bell did indeed have his suspension cut from three games down to two, the NFL announced today:

UPDATE: Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell's suspension reduced to 2 games. He will miss games vs. NE & SF (via @RapSheet) pic.twitter.com/YoozCjhy5v

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) July 28, 2015

Expect Guion's agent and the NFLPA to take a similar tactic with his ban that Bell took this week. If Guion were able to reduce his ban from three games to two, that would mean he could be on the field for the week 3 game against the Chiefs.