After initially suspending Cowboys defensive tackle Trysten Hill two games for actions following Dallas' Thanksgiving game against the Raiders, NFL-NFLPA appeals officer Derrick Brooks has reduced Hill's suspension to one game, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday.
The Cowboys later announced the reduction, meaning Hill will miss Thursday's game against the Saints and be eligible to return in Week 14 against Washington.
Pelissero and NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday that the NFL suspended Hill two games without pay for a post-game altercation with Raiders offensive lineman John Simpson in which he threw an open-handed punch to Simpson's facemask, knocking his helmet from his head and onto the turf.
NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan wrote a letter to Hill, which was included in the league's explanation of its ruling:
"After the Las Vegas Raiders-Dallas Cowboys game on November 25, you engaged in conduct that this office considers unnecessary roughness and displays a lack of sportsmanship," wrote Runyan, who issued the initial suspension. "Specifically, as both teams were shaking hands, you waited more than 50 seconds for your opponent at the 50-yard line. When you located him, you then walked toward him in the opposite direction of your locker room. You both engaged in a verbal chest-to-chest confrontation which you escalated by throwing an open hand punch to his facemask, forcible enough to cause your opponent's helmet to come off."
Hill, who began the season on the physically unable to perform list, has recorded eight tackles in three appearances.
