The NFL has hit Chargers linebacker Denzel Perryman with the biggest fine of the 2024 season.
Perryman was fined $66,666 for what the league termed “Unnecessary Roughness (use of the helmet).”
On the play in question, Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt took a handoff up the middle and Perryman lowered his head and drilled Hunt in the side of the helmet. No flag was thrown on the play.
The hefty fine coming on an un-penalized play is another reminder that the on-field officials and the league’s disciplinary process often view things very differently. The officials saw nothing wrong with Perryman’s hit; the league saw it as so egregious that it drew the biggest fine of the year.
It’s the second straight week that the NFL has come down hard on a Chargers defender. Chargers safety Derwin James was suspended for the Chiefs game because of a helmet-to-helmet hit of his own the week before.