Training camp joint practices are supposed to be about sharpening technique against fresh competition before the preseason grind. Tuesday's session between the Cowboys and Saints in Oxnard, California turned into something else entirely -- multiple fights broke out across both fields, and now both franchises are paying for it.
NFL fined the Cowboys and Saints $500,000 each for what it called “the actions that took place at the joint practice between the teams earlier this week.” The Competition Committee has made sportsmanship – including at joint practices – a point of emphasis over the past several years. All clubs were reminded by memo prior to training camp of their responsibility in preventing unsportsmanlike behavior at joint practices that has the potential to result in injury.
Adam Schefter confirmed the league came down hard: $500,000 apiece for Dallas and New Orleans, the max penalty the NFL can levy for a single violation. The league's Competition Committee has made sportsmanship at joint practices a point of emphasis for years now, and both teams got a memo before camp even started spelling out their responsibility to keep things from boiling over into something that could get a guy hurt.
By multiple accounts, this wasn't a one-off scuffle. Reports out of Oxnard described punches thrown, a helmet tossed, and even a body slam during the session. Saints coach Kellen Moore didn't sugarcoat it afterward, saying there was "a lot of non-football stuff" in that practice. Cowboys defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku reportedly got ejected for throwing a punch -- his second such ejection of camp.
Jerry Jones called the fine "stiff" but didn't dispute the league's reasoning, saying the physical nature of the sport makes it easy for aggressive temperaments to boil over -- and that it's not the image the Cowboys want to put out to fans. He also said Dallas plans to appeal, though it's unclear on what grounds given the NFL already maxed out the penalty.
The organizational fines are really just the start. Individual players involved in the fights are expected to face their own fines under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, which could add up fast if the league decides to make examples out of the guys throwing punches rather than just the teams that let it happen.
Joint practices exist so teams can get quality reps against someone other than their own roster without the injury risk of an actual preseason game. When they devolve into a scrum, that whole purpose gets defeated -- and now it's cost both franchises half a million dollars each on top of whatever individual fines are coming down the pipe.