The joint practice between the Buccaneers and Titans nearly turned into a royal rumble.
There were four fights between the teams Thursday, according to on-site reporters covering both teams.
It started with a heated exchange after a 1-on-1 drill between Tampa receiver Antonio Brown and Tennessee cornerback Chris Jackson, when Jackson’s teammate Kristian Fulton stepped in. Brown ripped Fulton’s helmet off and threw punches before being temporarily sent out of practice and later returning, according to ESPN’s Jenna Laine.
The next scuffle was on special teams between Herb Miller and Fred Brown.
The biggest fight brought both entire teams onto the field, according to Laine. It started when Devin White wrestled a Titans running back to the ground. That one prompted Titans coach Mike Vrabel to get in the middle and separate players, according to Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com.
This is the second of back-to-back days of joint practices between the teams ahead of Saturday’s preseason game. It appears there are no videos because of NFL practice rules banning reporters from filming during certain periods.
Joint practices seem to be more popular than ever this year, with one fewer preseason game to make room for the added 17th regular-season game. The Giants are practicing at the Browns today and Friday, and the Jets are practicing at the Packers today after meeting up Wednesday.
But the risk with joint practices is adrenaline increasing from seeing a different color jersey, tempers flaring and injury risk because coaches are not always on the same page with expectations.
Titans offensive lineman Roger Saffold told reporters it was “like a heavyweight bout, especially in the trenches,” according to ESPN’s Turron Davenport.
Added Titans defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons, “That’s camp. That’s football. We don’t want punches thrown, but there’s going to be sometimes pushing and shoving. That’s the nature of the game.”
Here is how Giants coach Joe Judge explained the trust needed in joint practices: “To me the trust factor’s huge, which is part of the reason early on me and Kevin talked way back in the offseason about the possibility of doing this. Part of it is because of our relationship and our experience together. That helps because then you can work together. When you go into these practices, you want to be with someone that you have a relationship with, because then you can work together and make sure, ‘Hey, what do you need to see? What do we need to see? Let’s work together to make sure we all accomplish that.’”