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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) carries the ball past Cleveland Browns outside linebacker Scott Fujita into the end zone for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game in Baltimore, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
NEW ORLEANS » NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has handed down new discipline to four players in connection with the NFL’s bounty investigation of the Saints.
There are no changes to the full-season suspension for New Orleans’ linebacker Jon Vilma or the four-game suspension for Saints defensive end Will Smith.
The suspension of free agent defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove was reduced from eight to seven games, while Cleveland linebacker Scott Fujita is now docked one game, down from three.
Only Smith and Fujita have played this season since an appeal panel created by the NFL’s labor agreement vacated the original suspensions on technical grounds and told Goodell he needed to clarify the basis of the punishment.
Vilma has been rehabilitating from offseason knee surgery.
The players also can delay the suspensions by appealing again.
