Chargers' star Derwin James sends clear message to NFL after suspension

The LA Chargers were forced to host the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4 without the services of Derwin James. James was suspended one game by the NFL for a hit on Pat Freiermuth that warranted an unnecessary roughness penalty in Week 3.

James' appeal of the suspension was unsuccessful even with Freiermuth saying during the appeal that he did not think it was a dirty hit. The NFL was clearly trying to make an example out of James, who will return to action in Week 6 against the Denver Broncos.

Jim Harbaugh was not shy in sharing his feelings about the suspension leading into the game and on Wednesday afternoon, James finally got the chance to speak out. If the NFL thought suspending James would change how he plays then the league is mistaken.

"It ain't going to change s---, it's definitely not going to change nothing," James told reporters on Wednesday. "Like I said, I'm just going to go lower. I'm not going to change."

Derwin James will not change how he plays for the Chargers

James also mentioned that during the appeal process, the league did not give him any tips or advice on what to change to avoid this from happening in the future. The star Chargers safety understandably wants to stop getting suspended hundreds of thousands of dollars, and made that clear when talking to reporters.

"I'm not going to keep paying $700-800 million," James said. "So whatever they [NFL] want."

James has been flagged seven times for unnecessary roughness since his NFL debut in 2018, which is tied for the second-most in the NFL. Most of those flags have come in the last few seasons with James even getting ejected for a hit in December 2022 against the Indianapolis Colts.

Chargers fans are understandably frustrated not with James, but the way he has been officiated in recent years. The biggest strength of James' game is his physicality and 20 years ago, none of these hits would have been considered dirty in the slightest.

However, we live in the year 2024 not the year 2004. The NFL has changed the way the game is officiated and the onus is on every player to change how they play. It does not matter if you as a fan think the league is getting "soft". The rules are the rules, and James has been slow to adjust.

Does James have an unfair spotlight on him? Probably. But he has not done anything to shake that spotlight. There are plenty of top-tier safeties in the league who are still hard-hitting who are not racking up the same number of penalties as James.

At some point, the rubber has to meet the road and James has to change, at least slightly, how he plays. Maybe just "going lower" will be good enough, but only time will tell.