It was early in what would go on to be a shellacking of the Cleveland Browns by the Steelers in Week 8, but it set a sort of tone. After a back-and-forth between Cleveland star edge rusher Jared Verse–who called the Steelers a dirty team–and Cam Heyward in Pittsburgh, Verse was body-slammed minutes into the showdown during an extra point try. Verse went up to block the kick, was grasped by Steelers offensive lineman Mason McCormick and chucked to the ground. McCormick was hit with an unnecessary roughness penalty.
Verse was not happy with McCormick or the Steelers on the play. McCormick is surely looking at NFL punishment for it. More than that, though, he was not happy with his Browns teammates, who had almost no reaction after the whole thing went down. On Thursday at practice in Berea, Verse let his dissatisfaction be known.
Jared Verse: ‘That Made Me Kinda Get Really Angry’
Speaking with reporters, Verse had something of a rant against his fellow Browns defenders. It was lengthy–almost 300 words, and we’ll lay out what he said.
Verse started with: “That was the play that made me kinda get really angry. I was generally upset about the game and the way things were moving but at that point it was like, ‘OK, you’re doing dirty (expletive), you’re trying to sweep my legs out that, honestly, could have put me in a position not to be able to finish the season, put me in position to change my life in a very bad aspect.’ So, that upset me.
“The lack of reaction by those around me had upsetted me a lot. Not in the aspect of anybody, you know, we’re focused on the game and everything like that but a similar play had happened to Derek Barnett on the next field goal and I spazzed and I lost it, because those were my brothers, those are my teammates. When you do something like that to them it upsets me very deeply.”
Browns Had ‘Conversation’ About Issues
So, Verse’s first beef was that his Browns teammates did not have his back the way he has theirs. That’s problematic, even if it is more perception than reality on his part. Coach Todd Monken talks frequently about “Browns hurting Browns,” but this is Browns not hurting Steelers on behalf of other Browns.
Verse said it did affect him, and indeed, he did not play well on Sunday in the loss. But he was asked whether the team has talked it through, and he said they had.
Here’s the rest of Verse’s quote: “I could tell from that point on, we have to be better, we have to get better on every aspect of the game, of being mentally aware of, these are my teammates, there are my brothers, and we are not fighting each other.
“That’s a conversation we’ve had, we have spoken about it. I’ve made my concerns known, I have made my issues known about the situation. But I needed to put them in the position to let them know. I didn’t let them know I was gonna talk the way I talk to the Steelers and Steeler nation and whatever they are. But I’ve got to be better in that aspect, I didn’t do enough on my part. And we’ve all got to pick it up.“
Browns Star Rips Teammates Over Reaction to ‘Dirty’ Play