Verse 'upset' Browns teammates didn't defend him when he was slammed by Steeler

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  Daniel OyefusiNov 5, 2026, 12:32 PM ET

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  Daniel Oyefusi covers the Cleveland Browns for ESPN. Prior to ESPN, he covered the Miami Dolphins for the Miami Herald, as well as the Baltimore Ravens for The Baltimore Sun.

BEREA, Ohio -- Cleveland Browns defensive end Jared Verse said Wednesday he spoke to his teammates about not defending him after Steelers guard Mason McCormick was penalized for slamming him on a point-after try in last Sunday's road loss to Pittsburgh.

McCormick was penalized for sweeping the legs of a leaping Verse during a point-after try and slamming him to the ground.

"The lack of reaction by those around me upset me a lot," Verse said. "... A similar play happened to Derek Barnett on I think the next field goal, and I lost it because it was my brothers and my teammates. And when you do something like that to him, it upsets me very deeply. ...

"That's a conversation that we've had and spoken about ... I've made my issues known about the situation, but also I didn't put them in a position to let them know beforehand I was going to talk the way I talked to the Steelers and Steelers Nation or whatever they are. I got to be better than that. I didn't do enough on my part. We all got to pick it up."

Verse made strong comments leading into the Week 8 game, including that the Browns planned on "making Pittsburgh ours."

On Monday, Browns coach Todd Monken said his message was that the Browns needed to "speak with your play."

"I don't think it's any secret that I like to talk," Verse said. "I like to attack things. I like to be verbal in the way I play, the way I talk, the way I move around and everything. If you guys haven't figured that out by now, but no, that's the way I am. Obviously, I think I could have invited my teammates in on the conversation and letting them know what I was going to do, but I think that's just how I am."