Bengals Suspend Fullback Cothran

The Cincinnati Bengals gave fullback Jeff Cothran a one-game suspension Thursday, saying his latest alcohol-related arrest had hurt the team.

The punishment further depleted the Bengals’ backfield for their game Sunday against Baltimore. Eric Bieniemy, the featured third-down back, is limited by a cast on his broken right hand.

Cothran was not at the Bengals’ complex. Coach Bruce Coslet said he will be allowed back Monday.

Cothran was arrested Tuesday night and charged with driving while intoxicated in Cincinnati after his Chevy Blazer hit a construction divider. He pleaded guilty Wednesday and had his driver’s license suspended for a year.

A judge in Middletown Municipal Court fined Cothran $250 and ordered him into an alcohol intervention program. Police said his blood-alcohol level was .25, more than twice the legal limit of .10, when he was arrested.

Cothran also was arrested last June during an altercation outside a tavern in Cincinnati and was charged with disorderly conduct while intoxicated. He later pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct and was fined $50.

“It’s self-explanatory what I did,” Coslet said of the suspension. “He made a serious mistake and we’re not happy about it. It hurt our football team, so we did something about it.”

Before he was arrested, Cothran had received permission from the Bengals to miss the next day’s practice because of a death in the family. Cothran also has lost his starting job to rookie Brian Milne.

Bieniemy has a cast molded so that he can hold the ball, but it interferes with pass catching.

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Billy Joe Hobert switched back to his quarterback shoes, but still spent time doing special teams drills and fighting to retain the punting job after the Oakland Raiders signed Leo Araguz, who has no NFL experience.

Hobert has averaged 41.2 yards on nine punts in two game while filling in for injured punters.

The Raiders’ regular punter, Jeff Gossett, is on injured reserve. Oakland signed veteran Rich Camarillo last week, but he pulled a groin muscle before the game last Sunday and never got to punt before being waived.

Raider Coach Mike White said he’s not sure when he’ll make a decision on who will punt in Monday night’s home game against the Kansas City Chiefs.