The Los Angeles Chargers‘ bid to secure the AFC West may have hit an unexpected roadblock. They will have to close out the regular season without linebacker Denzel Perryman, who has been suspended for violations during the Week 16 game against the Cowboys.

During the game against Dallas, Perryman was flagged for hitting Cowboys wide receiver Ryan Flournoy. The play in question came in the second quarter of Sunday’s 34–17 Chargers win over the Cowboys. Quarterback Dak Prescott completed a short throw to wide receiver Ryan Flournoy along the left sideline. Flournoy slid to the ground to secure the catch and wasn’t touched as he went down.

Perryman came in late and delivered a hit while Flournoy was already on the turf. Helmet-to-helmet contact followed, and the flag came out for unnecessary roughness.

The league later explained that the hit violated the rule [Rule 12, Section 2, Article 10(b)], prohibiting “using any part of the helmet or facemask to butt or make forcible contact to an opponent’s head or neck area.”

Now, the suspension comes at an important time. If the Los Angeles team wins the final two games of the season, they will clinch the AFC West for the first time since 2009 and host a playoff game.

Regardless, Perryman plans to appeal, according to his agent, Ron Butler. If the suspension holds, he’ll miss the final two regular-season games and won’t be eligible to return until after the Chargers’ season finale against the Denver Broncos.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh on Denzel Perryman’s suspension

Through ten games, Perryman has logged 298 defensive snaps, piled up 47 tackles, and added four tackles for loss. And so, coach Jim Harbaugh is holding out hope that the suspension doesn’t stick.

“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 said on 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.”

But we all know how this league treats repeat offenders.

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Back in 2023, when Perryman was with the Houston Texans, he was suspended for three games on account of repeated violations of player-safety rules. That suspension was later reduced to two games on appeal. Around the same stretch of time, he was fined $66,666 for impermissible use of his helmet.

Then it happened again last season. It was a hit on the Chiefs‘ running back Kareem Hunt. That’s why appeals like this are tough. The NFL is far less forgiving when there’s a pattern, and Perryman’s file isn’t exactly thin.

This is his 11th season in the league and his second stint with the Chargers. He originally came in as a second-round pick in 2015, back when the franchise was still in San Diego. He spent six seasons there before moving on to the Las Vegas Raiders, then the Texans, and eventually circled back to Los Angeles.

Losing a veteran like him in the most important stretch of the season could be costly.