CINCINNATI — Texans linebacker Denzel Perryman has been suspended for three games without pay, the NFL announced on Tuesday.

He’s violated NFL safety rules multiple times, including a hit on Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase in the fourth quarter of Houston’s 30-27 win over Cincinnati.

“With 4:07 remaining in the fourth quarter, you were involved in a play that the league considers a serious violation of the playing rules,” NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan wrote in a letter to Perryman. “You lowered your head and delivered a forcible blow to the shoulder and then the head/neck area of the receiver. You had unobstructed path to your opponent and the illegal contact could have been avoided.

“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.”