The NFL upheld its one-game suspension of Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. on Tuesday.
The seventh-year veteran was flagged for unnecessary roughness in Week 3 for what was deemed an illegal hit on a defenseless receiver, Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth. The league cited helmet-to-helmet contact in its suspension decision, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Los Angeles head coach Jim Harbaugh vehemently disagreed with the league’s assessment of the play, telling reporters Wednesday ( h/t Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith) that he actually blamed Freiermuth for the contact looking worse than it was.
“There was not a defenseless player,” he said. “I thought that Derwin’s helmet was stiff-armed by Mr. Freiermuth. I thought that caused his head to make the contact.”
Harbaugh went on to criticize the league for trying to “take the head out of the game,” which he said was impossible “because it’s in between the two shoulders.”
However, during James’ appeal call with the league, Freiermuth himself called in to defend him and ask the league to overturn the suspension, according to ESPN’s Pat McAfee.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who was on “The Pat McAfee Show” at the time that news was broken, was quick to put a damper on the significance of Freiermuth’s testimony saying, “Obviously the NFL didn’t buy that and [James] remains suspended for one game.”
James will miss a significant week as well. Los Angeles faces back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City at Sofi Stadium, a key divisional matchup early in the season.
