Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James has been suspended for one game after a hit on Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth during the Week 3 contest between the two teams.
But before the suspension was upheld, James appealed and had an unlikely person in his corner to argue that he shouldn't get the ban: Freiermuth.
According to Pat McAfee, Freiermuth was actually on the appeal call with the NFL for James and said the Chargers safety should not be suspended. Unfortunately for James, that wasn't enough for the league to overturn the one-game ban.
"Pat Freiermuth was on the appeal call and said he didn't think it was a dirty hit," McAfee said.
BREAKING NEWS: Pat Freiermuth was on the appeal call and said he didn't think the Derwin James hit was dirty #PMSLive https://t.co/Hwco3JkVae pic.twitter.com/07VZVdKLaj
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 27, 2024
The hit by James was to Freiermuth's head and neck area and drew a penalty at the time. The league cited "repeated violations of playing rules" as its reasoning for suspending the three-time Pro Bowler.
Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh argued against the suspension, as you'd expect, and actually blamed Freiermuth's stiff-arm for causing the contact James made with the tight end's head.
“There was not a defenseless player, changed his course, and I thought that Derwin’s helmet was stiff-armed by Mr. Freiermuth,” Harbaugh said. “I thought that caused his head to make the contact, and I thought the contact was first with the forearm, then the shoulder, then the head.”
The hit that got Derwin James suspended. That’s ridiculous…he’s trying to tackle someone.
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) September 25, 2024
pic.twitter.com/Rl7ysZKMdX
Freiermuth, who has suffered multiple concussions during his career, did try to throw a stiff-arm, but it's clear he had no impact on James making the helmet-to-helmet contact he did on the play.
Nevertheless, it's interesting to see a player coming to another's defense the way Freiermuth did for James. That's going to earn him some respect among players around the NFL.
Regardless, the Chargers will now have a key player on their defense missing for their Week 4 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. Thankfully, the Steelers dodged a bullet with that hit and will have Freiermuth available for a Week 4 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.
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