In week 5 of the league, the Los Angeles Chargers will be playing without their star safety Derwin James. They will host Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in week 5.
The NFL announced on Monday evening that James has been suspended without pay for one game for “repeated violations of playing rules intended to protect the health and safety of players.”
However, he had the right to an appeal. He appealed the decision but the suspension was upheld by Hearing Officer Derrick Brooks.
This was the statement the league put out when suspending James.
“During the third quarter of Sunday’s Chargers-Steelers game you were involved in a play that the League considers a serious violation of the playing rules. The video of the play shows that you lowered your head and made forcible contact to Steelers tight end, Pat Freiermuth. You had an unobstructed path to your opponent and the illegal contact could have been avoided.
“Your continued disregard for NFL playing rules will not be tolerated. Substantial penalties are warranted when players violate the rules intended to protect player safety on a repeated basis, particularly when the violations carry with them a significant risk of injury to an opposing player.”
He was suspended for unnecessary roughness after hitting Freiermuth in the head. It was in a game where they lost to Pittsburgh by 20-10.
You can watch the play on X that got him suspended.
In his NFL career, James has been fined five times.
He was the no. 17 overall pick for the team and is a three-time All-Pro defensive back who has made it to three Pro Bowls. This season, he has 21 combined tackles and one sack.