Defensive lineman Cameron Heyward moved into second place on the Pittsburgh Steelers all-time games played list Sunday. With that longevity, Heyward is clearly one of the top leaders in the team’s locker room.
That means when Heyward speaks, his teammates and the rest of the NFL do a lot of listening.
Following Week 11, the All-Pro defensive lineman had some rather negative things to say about Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
Heyward suggested to the media the Bengals wideout didn’t deserve to be in the NFL because of his Week 11 spitting incident.
“Two competitors, but one guy took it too far,” Heyward said of Chase and Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey, via The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Our guy got penalized, but if you wanna spit on a guy, you don’t belong in the game.”
Jalen Ramsey told reporters that Chase spit on him during the fourth quarter of the Steelers-Bengals matchup. In response, Ramsey punched Chase, which resulted in an ejection for the defensive back. It wasn’t until after the game was the reasoning behind Ramsey’s punch revealed.
Chase denied spitting on Ramsey when he spoke to reporters following the game. However, video from Fox 19 sports photographer Austin Briski showed Chase clearly spat at Ramsey just before the defensive back took a swing at him.
Cameron Heyward Calls for NFL to Take Action Against Ja’Marr Chase
There’s no situation where it’s acceptable to throw a punch at another player in the NFL. Punches thrown will always result in an ejection, which puts one’s team at a disadvantage.
Ramsey could face further disciplinary action through a suspension. Other defenders around the league such as Brian Branch and Daron Payne served one-game suspensions after throwing a punch.
But Heyward essentially argued Ramsey’s reaction was understandable given the circumstances with Chase. The Steelers defensive tackle made that argument while seemingly delivering a plea to the league to also punish the Bengals receiver.
“Hopefully the NFL handles it,” Heyward said, via Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora. “We all tried to calm [Ramsey] down, but if a man spits at you, that’s a different reaction than you should ever have to deal with.”
Video Shows Chase Spit at Jalen Ramsey
When he talked to reporters after the Week 11 showdown, the Bengals receiver tried to put to rest any idea of him spitting at Ramsey. But Briski’s video caught what Chase did.
“Field-level view of the second altercation between Ja’Marr Chase and Jalen Ramsey,” Briski posted on X as a caption to his video. “Chase said, ‘I didn’t spit on nobody.’
“The video clearly shows he did.”
The video is circulating around the sports media world. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Sunday evening that an NFL spokesman told him the league “will be reviewing the incident.”
Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Jalen Carter didn’t receive a suspension from the league for spitting on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in Week 1. However, the incident happened before the first snap of the game, and Carter received an ejection for spitting.
Therefore, the league considered Carter’s ejection as a one-game suspension. Carter also received a $57,222 fine.
Chase wasn’t ejected for spitting at Ramsey.
“No. Obviously, we did not. We did not see anything that rose to that level at all,” referee Bill Vinovich told reporters after the contest, via New York Post’s Christian Arnold.
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