In a surprising move after the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Los Angeles Chargers the NFL suspended Derwin James for what they called a ‘continued disregard for NFL playing rules’ concerning player’s health and safety. The particular instance involved a tackle James executed on Steelers tight end, Pat Freiermuth, in which the league determined that he lowered his head and made forcible contact, that he had an unobstructed path to his opponent, and that the illegal contact could have been avoided.
Pat Freiermuth Defends Derwin James
The penalty handed down to James was effectively a one-game suspension, as it will be lifted one day after the Chargers game against the Chiefs on September 29th.
Players, fans, and pundits have all weighed in with a wide variety of opinions being voiced, but today on the Pat McAfee Show the host reported that Freiermuth came to James’s defense as a part of suspension appeal proceedings and Freiermuth shared that he did not believe the hit to be ‘dirty.’
This defense was not enough to overturn the NFL’s decision on the matter. James remains suspended.
Last year, the Chargers defender was fined twice for hitting defenseless players. On Sept. 22, he was fined $21,000 for a violent hit on Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. The largest fine was $43,000 for hitting Josh Reynolds in the head.
According to Kris Rhim of ESPN, James has been called for seven unnecessary roughness penalties in his career, tied with Marshon Lattimore and Jordan Poyer for second most in the NFL since 2018 (trailing Xavier Woods’ eight).
James currently leads all Chargers defensive backs with 21 tackles in three games. He also has a sack and two tackles for loss.
