Dave Hyde Sun Sentinel Columnist

7:59 p.m. EST, November 26, 2013

Richie Incognito doesn't deserve your cheers or your sympathy for the place his crude behavior, past and present, has landed him for nearly a month. But he deserves his job back.

Give him that. Incognito deserves reinstatement to the Dolphins when his suspension ends after Sunday's game, as NFL rules mandate he must be reinstated or released then. He deserves to hit the re-set button on his career, unless NFL investigator Ted Wells has a surprise before then.

When Jonathan Martin's camp released stories out of context to start this firestorm, and when Dolphins' management kept supporting Martin at every turn, Incognito came across as the biggest meathead in sports.

Maybe he still fits that label. But being a lout and being kept from working are two different ideas unless the Dolphins are going to act like they're coached by Mr. Manners again. ...

So I ran into Incognito tonight at a bar here in Scottsdale, AZ.

Didn't want to bug him too much, but told him I was a Dolphins fan and asked him if he was coming back. Sounded like an emphatic yes to me. Hope I heard him right.

I forgot he grew up around here ..... actually a little further east up in Mesa.

Are you ok? Did he b u l l y you?

Why does the word b u l l y get autocorrected to Bullcrap ?

The Miami Dolphins and Richie Incognito have reached an agreement that will keep the offensive lineman on the team past next week's deadline, according to ESPN and media reports.

Incognito's four-game suspension, which was to conclude Dec. 2, has been extended with pay, as first reported by the NFL Network, until the NFL completes its investigation into the Dolphins' workplace.


The agreement was made on Nov. 21, the day Incognito's grievance hearing was scheduled with the league and is the reason that he postponed the hearing, league sources told ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

The agreement places a six-week cap on the length of Incognito's suspension and reduces his unpaid suspension to two games which totals $470,588, according to sources.

With the six-week cap on Incognito's suspension, independent arbitrator Ted Wells now has two more weeks to complete his investigation.

Information from ESPN Senior NFL Analyst Chris Mortensen was used in this report.