Houston Texans linebacker Denzel Perryman‘s three-game suspension for repeated violation of player safety rules was reduced upon appeal to two games by the NFL on Wednesday.
Perryman’s appeal was heard by James Thrash, who was jointly appointed by the league and the NFLPA. He will miss games against the Arizona Cardinals and Jacksonville Jaguars and be eligible to return to the Texans’ active roster on Nov. 27.
Perryman was suspended following a helmet-to-helmet hit on Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase in the Texans’ 30-27 win on Sunday. He was flagged for unnecessary roughness on the play.
In a letter to Perryman, NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan wrote that Perryman had an “unobstructed path” to Chase and “the illegal contact could have been avoided.” He also noted that Perryman has six such violations in his career, including in Week 2 against the Colts, for which he received a fine for violating the same rule.
“When players violate the rules intended to protect player safety on a repeated basis, and particularly when the violations carry with them a significant risk of injury to an opposing player, it is appropriate to impose substantially greater penalties,” Runyan wrote in his letter.
Perryman, 30, is second on the Texans with 41 tackles this season. This is first season with Houston, which improved to 5-4 with its victory over the Bengals.
