Denzel Perryman will miss the final two Chargers regular-season games, pending an appeal of his suspension. Julio Cortez / Associated Press
Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Denzel Perryman has been suspended without pay for two games for “repeated violations of playing rules intended to protect the health and safety of players,” the NFL announced Monday.
Perryman was flagged for unnecessary roughness after an illegal hit in the second quarter of the Chargers’ 34-17 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott completed a short pass to receiver Ryan Flournoy near the left numbers. Flournoy slid to the ground as he made the catch. He was untouched by a Chargers player. Perryman was in pursuit and hit Flournoy while the receiver was on the ground. Perryman’s helmet made contact with Flournoy’s helmet. The league said this hit violated a rule that prohibits “using any part of the helmet or facemask to butt or make forcible contact to an opponent’s head or neck area.”
Perryman will appeal the suspension, according to his agent, Ron Butler. If the suspension is upheld on appeal, Perryman would miss the final two games of the regular season. He would not be eligible to return to the active roster until Jan. 5, the Monday after the Chargers’ regular-season finale against the Denver Broncos.
Perryman could then be reinstated for the Chargers’ opening-round playoff game, if they clinch. The Chargers will clinch a postseason berth if the Indianapolis Colts lose or tie against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night.
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh is hopeful about the appeal.
“I really thought he was trying to go over the tackle, over the ball carrier, and hopefully that will be taken into consideration on appeal,” Harbaugh told reporters Monday. “I think Denzel’s done a good job, a great job of trying to take the helmet out of his play, and I know he’ll continue to do that.”
Perryman is a repeat offender. In 2023, while with the Houston Texans, Perryman was suspended for three games for repeatedly violating player safety rules (the suspension was reduced to two games upon appeal). He has twice been fined $66,666 for impermissible use of his helmet — once in 2023 while with the Texans, about two months before he was suspended, and again last season for a hit on the Kansas City Chiefs’ Kareem Hunt.