🏈 NFL fines Jaquan Brisker $17,911 for hit on Deshaun Watson

The NFL fined Pittsburgh Steelers safety Jaquan Brisker $17,911 for his hit on Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. Newsweek says the fine landed Saturday, Nov 7, and Yahoo Sports credits Tom Pelissero with reporting it. The hit came early in a Week 8 game the Steelers won 27-6.

Scoreboard first: one flag, one fine, one 27-6 final.

Who says what

Newsweek reports Brisker came free on a blitz three plays in and hit Watson high, drawing a roughing-the-passer flag. Pro Football Network puts it at third-and-8 from Cleveland's own 29-yard line, with the penalty moving the Browns up 15 yards and giving them an automatic first down.

Pro Football Network also says the NFL's Week 8 discipline report classified the contact as a blow to the head/neck area. Its summary of the rulebook: forcible contact to a defenseless passer's head or neck with the helmet or facemask is prohibited, and a defender can be flagged even with his head up if he makes contact as the ball is released.

The call was not unanimous in the booth. Pro Football Network says CBS rules analyst and former NFL referee Gene Steratore questioned the penalty during the broadcast.

On the size of the fine, Newsweek calls $17,911 the first-offense amount for roughing the passer. It adds that 31 fines went out after Week 8, the second most in a single week this season, with 223 so far in 2026. Rashan Gary, K'Lavon Chaisson and Odafe Oweh were fined similar amounts for hits on quarterbacks, per Newsweek. The reports read do not print the league's full fine schedule, and none says whether Brisker has been fined before.

The response

Brisker defended the hit after the game, according to Pro Football Network. He argued he made contact with his chest rather than leading with his helmet, and suggested the league was being too protective of quarterbacks. Mike Garafolo wrote on X that Brisker disagreed with the flag and, preemptively, with the fine.

"I don't assume I'm going to get fined because if you watch it, I hit him with my chest and I'm going to his side."

Jaquan Brisker, after the game, as quoted by Pro Football Network

No statement from the NFL beyond the discipline report, and no reaction from Brisker to the fine itself, turned up in the reports read. No appeal is mentioned in them.

What happens next

The reports read state no appeal or hearing date. They do give the schedule: Newsweek says the Steelers are off this week and visit Cincinnati next Sunday night. Cleveland plays at New Orleans on Sunday, where Pelissero says Sanders is expected to start; Yahoo Sports lists Watson as questionable.

Backstory

Yahoo Sports says Brisker is a Pittsburgh native who played at Penn State and signed with his hometown team as a free agent on a one-year, $5.5 million deal. It says he started all 52 games he appeared in for the Chicago Bears over his first four seasons.

Yahoo Sports adds that he has played in all eight Steelers games this season, on the field for 99.8 percent of defensive snaps, per Pro Football Reference.

As of Nov 8, 4:34 AM ET, the fine of $17,911 is confirmed by multiple outlets, and Brisker has disputed the call on the record. Still pending: any appeal, any further league step, and Watson's status for Sunday's game, which Yahoo Sports lists as questionable while Pelissero says he has cleared the protocol.