While he will somewhat modify things, Chargers safety Derwin James will not make wholesale changes to his game after he was suspended one game for his hit on Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth back in Week 3.
James said that he was disappointed in the NFL's decision to suspend him. On the play that led to his suspension, James was flagged 15 yards for unnecessary roughness. The penalty help set up the go-ahead score as the Chargers suffered their first loss of the season.
"No, it ain't going to change shit," James said, via ESPN. "It's definitely not going to change nothing. Like I said, I'm just going to go lower. I'm not going to change."
Ironically, the team James committed the violation against was the victim of a controversial defensive penalty this past Sunday, when Minkah Fitzpatrick was flagged for his hit on Colts wideout Adonai Mitchell. The NFL apparently told Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin the following day that a flag shouldn't have been thrown on Fitzpatrick.
There's no denying that it's gotten increasingly harder to play defense in the NFL as the league continues to implement rules promoting player safety. For James, his hit on Freiermuth marked the seventh time in his career that he's been flagged for unnecessary roughness, tied for the second-most in the NFL since 2018.
"I'm going to play my style," James said, "but like I said, I'll just go lower."
