The NFL fined Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Denzel Perryman $66,666 for unnecessary roughness and use of his helmet in the Week 4 game.

More news: The Patriots’ key defender will not play in the AFC East showdown against the Dolphins

Perryman was hit with the largest fine of the 2024 season. The play that earned Perryman a significant fine involved Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt.

Hunt ran up the middle and Perryman lowered his head to hit Hunt right in the side of the helmet. No flag was raised during the game, indicating one of two things. The referees did not notice the violation or did not believe a flag needed to be thrown during the game.

However, it is clear that those in charge on the field and the NFL’s disciplinary process had a different view of the incident.

Perryman recorded eight tackles in the Chargers’ 17-10 loss to Kansas City last week. The linebacker played 71 percent of the defensive snaps.

The league considered Perryman’s hit the largest fine of the year. This follows the suspension of Chargers safety Derwin James in Week 4.

Perryman, like his teammate, was labeled a repeat offender.

Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh defended James after news of his one-game suspension broke.

“He is a shining star in every way,” Harbaugh said in the team protocol. “As a teammate, captain of this team, two-time Walter Payton Man of the Year (nominee), everything he has done for the Chargers and the entire league, he is a shining star, a shining example. … He doesn’t do that.” “I want to hurt everyone, every other player he plays against. He always wants to do it the way the NFL wants it.”

It’s very likely that Harbaugh will do the same for Perryman. The Chargers begin their bye week but return in Week 6 to take on the Denver Broncos.

The Chargers will have to make do without one of their best defensive players in the division duel.

The fact that two Chargers players were suspended in consecutive weeks is a clear sign that the league is cracking down on the team’s defensive approach.

Perryman returned to the Los Angeles organization in the offseason. He was drafted by the Chargers in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

The linebacker returned to the franchise he called “home.” Through four games, Perryman has 30 tackles, 22 solo tackles and one sack.

For more Chargers news, check out Newsweek Sports.