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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The NFL has suspended Buffalo Bills rookie linebacker Tyrel Dodson for six games as a result of an alleged altercation with his girlfriend at her home in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Dodson was suspended for violating the league's personal conduct policy Thursday, a day after the player reached an agreement with prosecutors to defer a domestic violence charge of disorderly conduct-disruptive behavior-fighting.
Dodson has agreed to enter a diversion program and must also meet other conditions to have the charge cleared from his record. He is scheduled to have a restitution hearing in November and has a sentencing hearing set for Sept. 14, 2020.
Separate charges of assault and property damage were dropped as part of the agreement.
Dodson's agent, Zeke Sandhu, did not return a message seeking comment.
Dodson spent the offseason practicing with the team before being placed on the reserve/commissioner's exempt list on Aug. 31, when the Bills made their final cuts to establish their regular-season roster.
He was an undrafted rookie free agent out of Texas A&M, and signed with Buffalo on May 9.
He was arrested at a nightclub following the altercation on May 25.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane says a team investigation found no credible evidence of Dodson committing an act of domestic violence. He adds the team's pre-draft evaluation of Dodson showed no history of him getting into legal trouble.
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