At halftime of Pittsburgh’s loss to the Cleveland Browns, two Steelers stars reportedly engaged in a “heated” altercation.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, wide receiver Diontae Johnson and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick had to be separated in the locker room. Defensive stars Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt reportedly separated the two before delivering a message to the rest of the team.
It all started when Johnson started having an animated conversation with head coach Mike Tomlin in the first half. According to Schefter, the star wideout continued to make a scene.
Here’s more from ESPN:
One source told ESPN that Johnson, the Steelers’ second-leading receiver, continued “chirping” at the Steelers’ coaches all the way into the locker room, where Fitzpatrick — a three-time first-team All Pro — began arguing with Johnson. The words between Johnson and Fitzpatrick became “heated,” in the words of another source, before Heyward and Watt intervened and prevented the situation from getting worse.
Schefter said the team was able to put the incident behind them heading into a huge divisional showdown with the Cincinnati Bengals.
“Sources around the team believe the Steelers have been able to move on, and the locker room incident did not carry over into the team’s preparation for Sunday’s game against the Bengals,” Schefter said.
We’ll have to wait and see if that’s the case – and if the firing of offensive coordinator Matt Canada improves an inept offense.
Pittsburgh and Cincinnati kick off at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS.