Harbaugh disappointed NFL suspended James

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters Wednesday that he was disappointed and disagreed with the NFL’s decision to suspend safety Derwin James Jr. for Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

James was suspended for a hit to Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth in the third quarter of Los Angeles’ 20-10 loss this past Sunday. James was flagged for unnecessary roughness during the game. Harbaugh said Freiermuth’s positioning caused James’ illegal hit.

“There was not a defenseless player; [he] changed his course, and I thought that Derwin’s helmet was stiff-armed by Mr. Freiermuth,” he said. “I thought [the stiff-arm] caused his head to make the contact and I thought the contact was first with the forearm, then the shoulder, then the head.”

Harbaugh said James’ tackle appeared to be precisely what the league is looking for in terms of taking “your head out of the game.”

“You can never really take the head out of the game because it’s in between the two shoulders,” he said. “Trying to tackle with the shoulder, now the head, and the helmets coming with it. It’s in between the two shoulders. So, to the best of his human ability, he is trying to do that.”

James has had seven unnecessary roughness penalties since he entered the NFL in 2018, the second most in the league in that span. Harbaugh said that James has made a concerted effort to avoid these penalties, often allowing extra yards in games because he braces before hits to avoid flags.

“He has reached out on his own to officials this past summer to gain a better grasp of how they want it done,” Harbaugh said. “And the evidence is right there in the tape. I mean, look at all his 20-some tackles on the season and he’s going out his way … so that he can not injure another player or hit him with the head. So yeah, I’m disappointed.”

Harbaugh said that James “genuinely doesn’t want to hurt anyone” and he wasn’t upset with his player.

In the NFL’s announcement, vice president of football operations Jon Runyan wrote that video shows James lowered his head on the hit, making illegal, forcible contact with his helmet that James could have avoided.

“Your continued disregard for NFL playing rules will not be tolerated,” Runyan wrote. “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.”

James appealed the suspension, but it was upheld by hearing officer Derrick Brooks, who is jointly appointed by the NFL and NFL Players’ Association.

The Chargers’ backup safeties include Elijah Molden and AJ Finley. Molden had an interception that earned him a game ball in the Chargers’ Week 2 win over the Carolina Panthers.