The NFL has stepped in after the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints turned Tuesday’s joint practice into a full-blown mess.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, both teams were fined $500,000 for “the actions that took place at the joint practice between the teams earlier this week.” The league had already made it clear that sportsmanship at joint practices is a point of emphasis, and this one clearly crossed the line.
The punishment follows a practice that featured roughly 10 fights and plenty of scuffling between the two teams. Before Thursday’s workout, head coach Brian Schottenheimer said the NFL had asked for film from the session to sort through what happened.
The Dallas Morning News’ Joseph Hoyt reported that players could still face fines of their own, though suspensions are not expected.
"Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said the league has requested film of the Cowboys-Saints joint practice," Hoyt stated. "The league could issue fines in joint practices for fights.
We saw nearly double digit fights/skirmishes on Tuesday. No fines have been issued as of now."
If the league does come after individual players, the most obvious targets are the ones who threw punches.
One of them was Cowboys edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku, who was caught on camera throwing punches. Schottenheimer threw him out of practice right away, and it was the second time in training camp he’d been ejected for the same reason.
"We'll have a long conversation. Donovan is a very bright young man. He understands that he can't hurt the football team," Schotty said, according to Tommy Yarrish of DallasCowboys.com.
"Unfortunately for him, there's two officiating crews that know he lost his composure. But it's part of a growth mindset for him, we've got to get him better, and we've got the right type of leaders on this football team, myself included, Christian Parker, Quinnen Williams, guys like that, that will help him do that."
Schottenheimer said he had already spoken with Ezeiruaku after the first ejection, but that clearly didn’t stop the second incident. Now the Cowboys coach will try again to get the message through.
There was also a possible punch from a Saints player earlier in the session, directed at running back Javonte Williams, though it was hard to identify who it was since Saints players were not wearing their own jerseys.
Another name to watch is Saints wide receiver Brock Rechsteiner, who German suplexed Cowboys safety Jalen Thompson after Rechsteiner got into it with cornerback Caelen Carson.
And yes, Rechsteiner is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Scott Steiner.
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