Getty Bills quarterback Josh Allen at Highmark Stadium on August 12, 2023.
The Buffalo Bills had what was arguably their most fiery practice on Tuesday, August 15, as several players threatened to fight one another, including an intense scuffle that made quarterback Josh Allen irate.
WGR 550‘s Sal Capaccio tweeted, “There was a big melee and at one point someone had a helmet and was swinging it over top of the pile. Allen and Tyrel Dodson (who got into it with Spencer Brown at the start) had a VERY heated exchange when everyone separated.”
News 4 Buffalo reporter Heather Prusak noted how “Allen was livid” seeing Dodson swinging his helmet around, “screaming at him to cut it out. Dodson stormed off and LB coach Bobby Babich had to go calm him down.”
During a press conference after practice, Allen was asked how these kinds of scuffles affect the team. While Allen simply chalked up the intensity as “both sides wanting to be great” and noted these types of practices actually “make your team better” — he couldn’t finish his thoughts before another verbal exchange broke out in the background.
I thought today was the most heated day of training camp. So I asked Josh if he thought there was some added intensity today & as he was finishing answering the question….wait for it….there was more bickering in the background from the offense & defense
The 27-year-old confirmed that Tuesday’s practice had “maybe the most constant” flow of fights. “It’s expected. It’s deserved,” he said. When he became distracted by teammates arguing in the distance, he before stopped talking and smiled.
“And it’s still continuing,” a reporter said with a laugh.
“Yeah, exactly,” Allen replied before taking a beat and shouting, “Hey!” to those arguing off-camera. Someone yelled apologetically in response, “Oh, I’m sorry, bruh. I’m sorry.”
The video quickly went viral as fans and analysts reacted to Allen’s style of silencing his teammates. Buffalo Rumblings host Anthony Marino commented, “The ‘hey!’ at the end is like when I yell at my kids for bickering.” A woman tweeted, “Big dad yelling at the kids to keep it down energy 😆😅.” A fan reacted, “That’s a damn leader if I’ve ever seen one.”
It’s not clear what was being yelled in the background, but ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg noted, “I walked out to the presser as the last 20 seconds of this clip were happening. Thoughts were being shared!” WROC-TV’s Thad Brown later revealed it was wide receiver Stefon Diggs and cornerback Siran Neal arguing the background.
Stefon Diggs Got Into It With Both Siran Neal & Taron Johnson
GettyBills wide receiver Stefon Diggs warms up at Highmark Stadium on September 19, 2022.
Diggs was involved in not one, but two incidents at Tuesday’s practice. Brown tweeted, “Diggs talks trash a lot. For good reason. Today, Neal got PBU [pass breakup] on Diggs. Nice play. And gave it back to 14. They were near D sideline so more DBs joined in. Seemed just regular stuff but Diggs eventually had to be escorted away by Mitch Morse.”
But the fight didn’t stop there. “Neal and Diggs were still going at it after practice,” Brown noted. “Got nose to nose at one point walking off the field. Kept on yelling almost all the way to the locker room. Still likely just practice, getting competitive stuff.”
Capaccio tweeted, “Later Diggs threw a big block on Taron Johnson who didn’t like it. The two had a long discussion after practice that ended with a handshake/slap.”
Josh Allen Says Fights at Practice Have No Effect on Team Culture
Josh and Stef at it again. 😈
As for scuffles at practice boiling over into true points of contention between teammates, Allen said there’s nothing to worry about. The locker room remains strong and united.
“I think it’s well understood on this team that everything that happens within the white lines, stays within the white lines. We love each other,” he said. “This is a team that gets along extremely well. Our locker room is fantastic. We spend a lot of time outside the facility together.
“But at the same time, we’re grown men and we want to win. We don’t want to give the defense anything and the defense doesn’t want to give us anything. I’d be worried if it was the opposite, to be honest.”