The NFL has decided to suspend Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase for spitting on Jalen Ramsey over the weekend. Thus, the wide receiver is set to miss Week 12’s game against the New England Patriots, although NFL Network’s reporter Ian Rapoport has reported that Chase will appeal the decision.
The incident occurred on Sunday, during the Bengals’ game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the fourth quarter of Pittsburgh’s 34-12 victory, Chase and Ramsey got into a fistfight, with the Bengals player spitting on the Steelers defender. Ramsey responded with a punch. Both players were immediately flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.
When someone spits in your face, do what comes naturally #Steelers Mike Tomlin pic.twitter.com/6S7ufZIW3g
— 93.7 The Fan (@937theFan) November 18, 2025
Speaking with the press this week, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was asked about the incident.
” I have no message. When someone spits in your face, do what comes natural,” said Tomlin at a recent press conference.
For his part, Ramsey said this of the incident (via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor):
“He spit on me. I don’t give a f*** about football after that, respectfully. I’m always going to be all for trash talking, s*** talking, things like that. I actually enjoy that part of the game. I think that people know that. We were talking s***, which I’m cool with. And then as soon as he spit, it was f*** that.”
“I’m sure the NFL, they’ll do their due diligence. They’ve got 100 cameras out there. They can investigate. They can see everything. They should be able to pull it up and see that he spit and it’s whatever after that, to be honest, I was still a little too nice if I’m keeping it honest with you,” he added.
What Did Ja’Marr Chase Say About The Incident With Jalen Ramsey?
According to Ja’Marr Chase, the incident was completely different from what Jalen Ramsey has described. Chase claims that he never spat on the opposing player, saying:
“I ain’t ever opened my mouth to that guy. I didn’t spit on nobody.”
On the other hand, he admits that he did have harsh words towards Ramsey, and that’s what led to the incident. He added:
“Well he don’t like some of the words I told him. We’ve been going back and forth the whole time. So I’m sure something got under his skin.”
Time will tell what the opinion of the NFL is, but for now, Chase won’t play this weekend.
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