A week has passed since the Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers sparked a debate surrounding the Steelers guard Mason McCormick doing a dirty play on the Browns defensive end Jared Verse. While McCormick has been put on the hot seat, Pittsburgh special teams coach Danny Crossman tried to take a stand for McCormick after a Browns coach ripped him for slamming Verse. 

“A lot of conversation has been had about Mason McCormick’s play against Jared Verse. What’s your thoughts on that?” asked the reporter during the presser.

“I think it was a week and a half ago,” said Crossman. “So, I moved on from it. The thing I know about the National Football League and professionals, it’s a player’s league. We are never going to do anything with the idea of trying to hurt a player,” shared Crossman. “It’s all about the players. The rest of us are second fiddle, including myself. No offense, including everybody that talks about it. It’s about the players. So, there would never, ever be anything where there would be any intention of trying to hurt a player.” 

“So, I think that’s nonsense. But you could look at plays throughout the week, every week, and you’re wondering, Wow, that was odd.’ But the reaction of players, and things happen, but there’s never, ever going to be an intent to hurt anybody.”

Following Rico Dowdle’s nine-yard rushing touchdown, which came after Cleveland’s second fumble of the first quarter, tensions escalated during the ensuing extra-point attempt. McCormick got involved in a confrontation with Jared Verse, grabbing him, lifting him off the ground, and driving him headfirst into the turf. 

The incident turned an otherwise routine extra-point play into a heated moment. Naturally, backlash started pouring in against McCormick, drawing attention to the physicality and tempers flaring between the two sides.

“I had jumped in the air, tried to block the kick, he swooped my legs in the air, ended up landing on my head,” Verse said, expressing his frustration in the post-game presser. “That’s football. I mean, I’m very upset about it. Obviously, you know, if this wasn’t football, I would have reacted a different way. But, you know, he got to handle that. He got the flag; you know, he was able to walk away with it. He got a little penalty on them. 

“Nah, I mean, like what I’ve said before about them, that’s just the way that they are. You know, him specifically, that’s the way he plays. … I love football. I love the aggression. I love how much power goes into it. How much we put into their lives, into the football. But to do something like that? It’s just, I can’t have respect for anything like that.”

Browns’ special teams coach Byron Storer also fanned the heat. 

“It’s a guy that takes his legs out and slams him to the ground. There’s no way we would discuss that. That’s not what we’re about,” he told Cleveland reporters on Thursday. “The NFL is, you know, we’re going out there battling each other each and every week, but we’re not trying to hurt anybody. To me, it’s a fine line there between preventing someone from making a block and intentionally trying to hurt someone in that situation. I don’t agree with the way that play went down. We have to be careful there. That play should be penalized.”

Given the backlash, it was initially reported that the NFL is likely to send a fine slip with a hefty fine to McCormick. If Crossman’s defense was not enough, the NFL’s decision not to fine McCormick is what made it clear that the player did not deliberately try to injure Verse. 

NFL’s Fine Decision Adds Another Layer to Mason McCormick Controversy

The league’s rules impose a $12,537 fine for a first offense involving flagrant personal fouls or unnecessary roughness, including actions such as striking, kicking, tripping, and kneeling on an opponent. Players committing a second offense face an increased penalty of $18,507. An unsportsmanlike conduct charge, on the other hand, carries a $14,926 fine for a first violation.

Even though McCormick was flagged for unnecessary roughness on the play, no fine came for the Steelers player, as reported by Mike Florio. 

“I really had no idea who it was,” McCormick said in his defense after the game. “I just felt somebody jump, and we’re told to get jumpers hands down. And that’s really it.”

Forget the Pittsburgh camp, McCormick even found support from former Cleveland player Jason Pinkston

“Browns fans… I love y’all, but what Mason McCormick did to Jared Verse was NOT dirty at all! As an offensive lineman, you’re taught from day one that if a defensive player leaves his feet and jumps, YOU DUMP HIM! That’s Offensive Line 101,” wrote Pinkston on X. 

There is an unwritten rule in the trenches: if a defender jumps early, make him pay for it. The Steelers followed that principle to a T.