Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers camp finally got a little heat on the field this week.
After what had mostly been a fairly quiet training camp in Los Angeles, a skirmish broke out during practice involving linebacker Daiyan Henley, edge rusher Bud Dupree and offensive lineman Cole Strange. The dust-up was enough to draw punishment from Harbaugh, who sent all three players to a side field with Executive Director of Player Performance Ben Herbert for “focus exercises” for the rest of practice.
According to Fernando Ramirez of The Sporting Tribune, it may have been the first such fight under Harbaugh with the Chargers. That makes the response stand out, even if the altercation itself was small by NFL camp standards.
Kris Rhim of ESPN described it this way: "Daiyan Henley, Bud Dupree and Cole Strange left the team period early and worked off to the side with strength coach Ben Herbert."
Practice observers reportedly caught video of the moment, including Strange taking off his helmet as things wrapped up. The sequence was brief, but it was enough to interrupt a camp that had otherwise looked pretty tame to onlookers.
That quiet backdrop matters here. Chargers camp has included some bigger football issues, like Rashawn Slater and Tuli Tuipulotu dealing with injuries, while the offense keeps working through Mike McDaniel’s new offense with Justin Herbert leading the way, including a new stance in certain formations. Against that setting, a little push-and-shove during 11-on-11 work hardly feels like a disaster.
If anything, it looked like a standard camp flare-up that Harbaugh made sure didn’t linger. And for Chargers fans, there may be some comfort in seeing a newcomer like Strange mix it up right away, while Henley - one of the team’s defensive leaders - continued to set the tone on that side of the ball.
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