CHARGERS S DERWIN JAMES SUSPENDED ONE GAME FOR REPEATED VIOLATIONS OF PLAYING RULES INTENDED FOR PLAYER SAFETY
The NFL has suspended Los Angeles Chargers All-Pro safety Derwin James without pay for one game for repeated violations of playing rules intended to protect the health and safety of players, including a violation during Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the league office announced.
NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan found James to be in violation of Rule 12, Section 2, Article 10 (a) which states that “it is a foul if a player lowers his head and makes forcible contact with his helmet against an opponent” and thus issued the suspension. The aforementioned forcible contact with his helmet was determined on a third-quarter hit James delivered on Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth, as per a letter written to the seventh-year defensive back by Runyan.
The letter read: “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.”
Runyan, who noted that James has had multiple offences for personal fouls in recent seasons, added: “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.”
Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, James may appeal the suspension and plans to, as first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Any appeal will be heard and decided over the next few days by either Derrick Brooks, Ramon Foster, Kevin Mawae or Jordy Nelson, the hearing officers jointly appointed and compensated by the NFL and the NFLPA to decide appeals of on-field player discipline.
The suspension comes just a little over two weeks after ESPN reported that the NFL sent a memo to more than 20 players and their respective teams, emphasizing the importance of safety and sportsmanship, and warning them that they would face suspensions if there are any future violations. The league declined to provide a list of which players were notified but confirmed that notices were sent to players who had been penalized and scrutinized over the past two seasons.
Teams were also informed at the league meetings in August that the club Remittance Policy, which was halted during the COVID-19 pandemic, is back for 2024 effective immediately, meaning that teams will face fines for players who are suspended for safety violations, personal conduct policy issues, and drug suspensions this season.
“When a player receives league discipline for a Covered Infraction, the fine amount (or the amount of salary forfeited in the case of a suspension), up to a maximum of $75,000 per infraction, will be counted towards his club’s season total,” the league’s memo to teams read. “For the 2024 season, the Remittance Policy will be triggered when players on a club incur more than $90,000 in fines or suspensions.”
“If that threshold is exceeded, the club will be required to remit an amount equal to the cumulative amount of fines for Covered Infractions incurred by its players. For example, if players on a club incur a total of $175,000 in fines/suspensions for Covered Infractions during the 2024 season, that club will be required to remit $175,000.”
With James expected to miss their game on Sunday barring a successful appeal, the Chargers will prepare to take on the back-to-back defending Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs, without their three-time Pro Bowl safety. The Chiefs travel to Los Angeles for their first divisional game this season at SoFi Stadium at 4:25pm EST Sunday.
James will be eligible to return to the Chargers active roster on Monday, September 30th, one day after the game against KC.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Maryland GovPics. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.