Clean Hit: Steelers LG Mason McCormick Not Fined for Body-Slamming Jared Verse

Pittsburgh Steelers guard Mason McCormick was not fined by the NFL for slamming Cleveland Browns defensive end Jared Verse after an extra point attempt on Sunday.

McCormick was flagged for unnecessary roughness after Verse jumped to block the Pittsburgh extra point attempt in the second quarter of what became a 27-6 Steelers victory . Verse landed on McCormick and the Steelers guard slammed him to the turf, earning a 15-yard penalty that was enforced on the ensuing kickoff.

Mason McCormick called for a personal foul against Jared Verse on the extra point. Awfully soft. We've already heard way more than we needed to from this officiating crew. pic.twitter.com/PzcfE2p7ql — Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PGH) November 1, 2026

Mason McCormick called for a personal foul against Jared Verse on the extra point. Awfully soft. We've already heard way more than we needed to from this officiating crew. pic.twitter.com/PzcfE2p7ql

Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PGH) November 1, 2026

The lack of supplemental discipline suggests that the league office did not support the penalty call on review, as most personal fouls also include a fine.

Earlier this week, Browns special teams coach Byron Storer called it dirty play and uncalled for.

"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," Storer 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 to make 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."

#Browns ST coordinator Byron Storer condemned #Steelers G Mason McCormick body-slamming Jared Verse with intent to hurt: pic.twitter.com/HJyPLuhuCZ — Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) November 5, 2026

#Browns ST coordinator Byron Storer condemned #Steelers G Mason McCormick body-slamming Jared Verse with intent to hurt: pic.twitter.com/HJyPLuhuCZ

Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) November 5, 2026

Verse made his thoughts clear about McCormick after the loss.

"Like what I've said before about them, that's just the way that they are. Him specifically, that's the way he plays. That was just a lack of awareness on my part. I should've had a better grasp of the type of player I was going up against. That's on me," Verse said about leaping on the extra point.

Verse added: "To do something like that, I just can't have respect for that … I jumped in the air, tried to block the kick. He swept my legs in the air, ended up landing on my head. That's football. I'm very upset about it and if this wasn't football, I'd be acting a different way. He got a flag; we were able to walk away with a yellow penalty on them."

When asked if it was a dirty play, Verse said, "The refs called it how they called it. I'm not going to add any more fuel to the fire. But I thought it was a very uncalled for play."

Verse had spent the week leading up to the game calling the Steelers offensive line dirty. McCormick said he wasn't aware that it was Verse who jumped on him.

"Yeah, I really had no idea who it was. I just felt somebody jump and we're told to get jumpers hands down. And that's really it," McCormick told Brendan Howe of Steelers Now .

Verse called out his teammates for not defending him after he was slammed on his head.

"That honestly could have put me in a position to not be able to finish the season, put me in a position to change my life in a very bad aspect … the lack of reaction by those around me had upset me a lot," Verse said on Thursday.

"I made my concerns known, I've made my issues known about the situation."