Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison doesn't believe the NFL should fine -- much less suspend -- him for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Cleveland quarterback Colt McCoy in last week's victory over the Browns.
"I don't think it's suspension-worthy," Harrison said Monday, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I don't think it's worthy of anything, but that's just my own personal thoughts."
Harrison said he hasn't heard from the NFL and doesn't expect to do so, although a league source told NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora that the possibility of a suspension will be discussed. The 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year insists he did nothing wrong on the play.
McCoy was scrambling late in the fourth quarter last Thursday night when he tucked the ball and tried to run. Harrison raced in for the tackle, but McCoy pulled up at the last second and flipped a pass to running back Montario Hardesty.
Harrison knocked McCoy to the ground after the pass was away and was called for roughing the passer. Harrison said he would have liked to avoid the penalty but doesn't believe he should be penalized by the league.
"They didn't even call helmet-to-helmet; they called roughing the passer," Harrison told the Post-Gazette. "He took off running with it and, at the last second, he like chuck-and-ducked.
"He tucked the ball and made like he was about to run. So I was going to tackle him."
The NFL said Harrison's hit was illegal because he violated a rule "that prohibits defensive players from using their helmet against a passer who is in a defenseless posture, including by "forcibly hitting the passer's head or neck area with the helmet or facemask."
Harrison was fined $100,000 last season for several illegal hits, but he hasn't been fined yet this season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
