The NFL fined the Detroit Lions and New York Giants organizations $200,000 each on Wednesday after multiple fights during joint practices earlier this week.
“All NFL clubs were reminded in a memo sent last month that fighting and unprofessional contact at joint practices would not be tolerated,” NFL Network posted on X. The network also confirmed the fines with the league.
The teams practiced together on Monday and Tuesday in East Rutherford, N.J.
Monday’s skirmish involved Detroit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and New York safety Dane Belton, while Tuesday’s scuffle involved Lions safety Kerby Joseph and Giants rookie receiver Malik Nabers. Benches cleared and players stormed into the fray on both occasions.
Lions coach Dan Campbell expressed his frustration with the fighting before Tuesday’s practice.
“Certainly too much,” he said. “When you have to stop practice that many times to reset the drill and load it, it’s a waste of everybody’s time. I don’t want those.”
Giants coach Brian Daboll also commented on the situation before Tuesday’s session.
“Practice is a little bit different than a game,” Daboll said. “Obviously, you can’t do that in a game. We’re going to try to clean up some of the things that led to some of that, but we’re going to play hard and play physical and have another good practice.”
The Giants and Lions will meet in Thursday night’s preseason opener at MetLife Stadium.
–Field Level Media
