Skirmishes are to be expected when NFL teams hold joint practices, but every now and then, they go a step too far. That was the case in Thursday's training camp session with the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins. Multiple altercations built up to an all-out brawl between the two teams that led to multiple players' removal from live drills.
Giants quarterback Jameis Winston, offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor and Dolphins offensive lineman Austin Jackson missed parts of practice for disciplinary reasons. Giants coach John Harbaugh said Eluemunor threw a punch to an opponent's face, which triggered his automatic removal, per the teams' agreed-upon rules. While Harbaugh had to pull a couple of his players out of action, he downplayed the extent of the fights, which are commonplace in the NFL at this stage of camp.
"It's just football," Harbaugh said after practice. "It's not a game, so you don't have quite the same guardrails on it. In this sort of an environment, you have these rules of engagement that aren't really rules of the game.
And then somebody perceives somebody else goes over the line -- or they do go over the line -- and then somebody needs to protect somebody, and that's where it goes. As long as it doesn't get out of control where you get a violent type of situation, it's fine." Joint practices are some of the first opportunities each season players have to make contact with someone wearing a different team's jersey. Pent-up aggression often boils over in these settings, and small incidents can snowball into larger fights.
That's what occurred at the Dolphins' complex. All out brawl 👀👀 Dolphins Defense vs Giants Offense pic.twitter.com/W3Lnmh0t3Y Earlier in practice, second-year Giants edge rusher Abdul Carter took a swing at Dolphins offensive lineman Patrick Paul. Abdul Carter just threw a punch at Patrick Paul 👀👀 pic.twitter.com/onQrQtCErC Another dust-up involved a couple of other big-name Giants defenders.
After Jackson threw a punch at New York rookie Arvell Reese, edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux threw the Miami lineman to the ground in retaliation. Austin Jackson gets put on his back. Things are getting very chippy at the Dolphins Giants joint practice pic.twitter.com/SUTNXFLDrQ The NFL made it clear to teams prior to training camp that violence will not be tolerated at joint practices.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
