Maurkice Pouncey is back from his two-game suspension following the on-field fight in Cleveland on November 14. He's returned with little remorse.
"No regrets, but I've moved on now," the Steelers center said Wednesday. "Everyone had to pay their fines, everyone had to do their due diligence. The money was worth it, trust me.
"If you're my teammate, I'll ride for you no matter what. A lot of good came out of it."
Pouncey is able to put a positive spin on the situation because, without him, the team won in Cincinnati and took Sunday's rematch with the Browns.
"They played amazing," he said. "A two-game win streak? That's awesome. The guys got out there, they protected well, they ran the ball well. Hell, they didn't need me."
His teammates may not fully agree. Many of them sported 'Free Pouncey' sweatshirts before Sunday's game. Defensive captain Cam Heyward dropped off the game ball at Pouncey's house Sunday.
"That was pretty cool there, honestly. The 'Free Pouncey' shirts, the game ball, it was very touching. It was awesome for the guys to do that.
"I've never got a game ball sitting at the house, so that was pretty cool."
Pouncey had to sit idle during his appeal and suspension, while the main protagonist in the fight, Myles Garrett, accused Pouncey's quarterback, Mason Rudolph, of using a racial slur against him. Pouncey laughed when asked about it.
"Come on, man," he said. "That's not true at all. We're past that now. You guys know Mason, you've been around him a long time. It's not his first time. Trust me, if you're racist, it would've been exposed."
Pouncey, one of three suspended players and one of 33 players fined for the incident, spent time working out at local gyms in the area, where he interacted with fans. He joked that Sunday morning he did some cardio, to feel like he was playing. Now he's rested, and ready to return Sunday when Pittsburgh travels to Arizona.
"I feel like this is the beginning of the year," he said. "I've got a lot of energy, so we're going to see how things turn out today at practice. I know all the guys are excited, but we've got to stay humbled and focused."
Initially, Pouncey was scheduled to miss this Sunday's game. But the suspension was reduced from three to two games, after he appealed to the NFL. His point was, in that appeal, that he only targeted one player in the fight (Garrett), and stopped swinging punches and kicking as soon as the brawl was over.
"The NFL had to make a statement, and rightfully so," he said. "At the end of the day, the fight didn't look good. But the fight was worth it."
