Chargers' Jim Harbaugh 'disappointed' NFL suspended star Derwin James: 'There was not a defenseless player'

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The Los Angeles Chargers will be without star safety Derwin James Jr. this week against the Kansas City Chiefs after the league determined he could have avoided a helmet-to-helmet hit on Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth in the Chargers' Week 3 loss. 

Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh didn’t hold back his thoughts on the matter when speaking with reporters Wednesday, saying he was "disappointed" in the one-game suspension without pay.

"You can never really take the head out of the game because it’s in between the two shoulders," Harbaugh explained, according to Pro Football Talk. 

"Trying to tackle with the shoulder, now the head, the helmet’s coming with it. It’s in between the two shoulders. So, to the best of his human ability, he is trying to do that. Genuinely cares and wants to do it the absolute right way."

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Derwin James Jr. (3) of the Los Angeles Chargers greets head coach Jim Harbaugh before a game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium Sept. 15, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (Kara Durrette/Getty Images)

Video of James’ hit on Freiermuth showed their helmets collided, but Harbaugh doesn’t believe the safety was doing so intentionally. 

NFL SUSPENDS CHARGERS STAR DERWIN JAMES JR. WITHOUT PAY FOR ‘REPEATED VIOLATIONS’ OF UNNECESSARY ROUGHNESS

"There was not a defenseless player, changed his course, and I thought that Derwin’s helmet was stiff-armed by Mr. Freiermuth," Harbaugh said. "I thought that caused his head to make the contact, and I thought the contact was first with the forearm, then the shoulder, then the head."

Harbaugh has publicly shown