Joint practice sessions between the New Orleans Saints and the Dallas Cowboys in Oxnard, California, devolved into multiple brawls on Tuesday, prompting condemnation from both teams' head coaches. The skirmishes saw punches thrown and multiple players ejected or disciplined.
Cowboys linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku was removed from practice after an official observed him throwing a punch. Later, teammate Caelen Carson also threw a punch but remained in the session. In one notable incident, Saints wide receiver Brock Rechsteiner, son of WWE Hall of Famer Scott Steiner, performed a move described as a "german-suplex-like move" on Cowboys safety Jalen Thompson.
Following the disruptions, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer and Saints head coach Kellen Moore conferred. Schottenheimer expressed his dissatisfaction with the practice, stating, "Nobody wants this. We want to get the work in... I was disappointed in the work today because I didn't think we got enough good work."
Moore indicated that he and Schottenheimer considered ending the practice prematurely if the fighting persisted. "Obviously you guys saw all the chippiness of it, not the ideal flow of the joint practice, but we got the work we needed," Moore told reporters.
Schottenheimer also acknowledged his team's role in the escalating tensions. "Our football team needs this work, and overall, I was disappointed in the work today because I didn't think we got enough good work," he said. "But at the same time, I don't think [the Saints] were the only ones stirring up the s***. I think we might've been stirring it up as well. It was a sloppy practice all and all, and it's got to be better."
