Brandon Meriweather appeal denied

Washington Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall and free safety Ryan Clark took to Twitter on Saturday in an apparent defense of teammate Brandon Meriweather, whose appeal of a two-game suspension for illegal hits was denied by the NFL earlier in the day.

Meriweather will miss the first two games of the regular season after the league ruled that his hit on Baltimore Ravens receiver Torrey Smith in the third preseason game was illegal. It's the sixth time Meriweather has been penalized by the NFL for a hit.

Hall, who has come to Meriweather's defense in the past, called the appeal process "a joke."

Preseason sucks. They want to act like that. I'll be damn if I play another preseason game. For what? Get suspended for a meaningless game

- DeAngelo Hall (@DeAngeloHall23) August 30, 2014How do you convince a person that says you wrong from the get go. The appeal process Is a joke. Guilty until I feel like you're innocent...

- DeAngelo Hall (@DeAngeloHall23) August 31, 2014Clark, who has voiced displeasure with commissioner Roger Goodell over punishments and the inconsistency "in the way that he deals with players and the way he deals for the people he works for," also chimed in on Twitter.

Game for $1,000 dollars that won't count on you record can cost you two regular season games & pay! Yep, makes total sense!!

- Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) August 31, 2014Meriweather was suspended two games last season, but had it reduced to one on appeal.

At the time of last year's suspension, Hall took offense to comments made by Bears receiver Brandon Marshall, who said the league should consider banning Meriweather from the league. Hall replied, "Nobody is out there trying to purposely hurt somebody else."

Meriweather had been playing well this summer, working at his more natural spot of strong safety. The Redskins have not yet said who will replace him in the first two games, but Bacarri Rambo is the most experienced backup and replaced Meriweather in the lineup when he missed some time with an injury.

Meriweather will be placed on the reserve/suspended list. The Redskins have four safeties as of now: Rambo, Clark, Trenton Robinson and Akeem Davis. Corner E.J. Biggers can play there in certain packages.

ESPN.com Redskins reporter John Keim contributed to this report.