James Thrash, the NFL and NFL Players Association鈥檚 appeals officer for on-field discipline, ruled to reduce Burfict鈥檚 five-game suspension to three games on Wednesday, the league announced.

In a release from the NFL, Thrash ruled the three games came down because of "repeated violations of player safety rules. "

In the letter notifying Burfict of John Brown Arizona Cardinals Elite Jersey his suspension, NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan wrote:

"This is not your first offense with respect to illegal hits to defenseless players; to the contrary, this incident is consistent with your pattern of egregious safety-related violations including your hit on a defenseless player during the 2015 Wild Card game and your hit against a Baltimore tight end away from the play on January 3, 2016鈥hen 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鈥ou must be held accountable for this continuing unacceptable conduct. "

The Bengals linebacker was initially disciplined for breaking two rules for a hit on Kansas City Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman on Aug. 19 鈥?hitting a player in a defenseless posture and unnecessary roughness.