The Green Bay Packers had to cut their practice short on Monday, Aug. 24, into their final week of training camp when tempers boiled over between two players who know each other very well.
Wide receiver Matthew Golden and edge rusher Barryn Sorrell, former teammates at Texas and members of Green Bay’s 2025 draft class, got into a heated exchange after Sorrell made what was described as excessive contact on Golden during practice.
It didn’t stay between the two of them for long, though.
Players rushed in from both sidelines as the confrontation turned into a large scuffle, giving the Packers their most notable altercation of camp just two days before they are scheduled to host the Arizona Cardinals for a joint practice.
Packers’ Matthew Golden, Barryn Sorrell Spark Large Scuffle
ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported that Golden “took exception to some excessive contact from Barryn Sorrell and it escalated.”
“Guys came off the sideline but didn’t see any punches thrown,” Demovsky wrote. “Calm has been restored.”
Green Bay Press-Gazette’s Ryan Wood offered a slightly different account, however. He reported that the incident began with a shove between Golden and Sorrell before linebacker Zaire Franklin joined the fracas.
“Fiiiiiight,” Wood wrote. “Started with a shove between Matthew Golden and Barryn Sorrell, who are close teammates from Texas. Then Zaire Franklin got involved, throwing a punch at someone in the fracas. Both sidelines cleared. Getting it out of the way now before Cardinals come to town.”
That leaves some disagreement over whether a punch was thrown. Demovsky said he didn’t see one, while Wood reported Franklin threw one after getting involved.
Packers.com senior writer Weston Hodkiewicz also described it as a “large scuffle” between Golden and Sorrell, writing that the former Texas teammates were “very passionate about whatever it was they were discussing.”
The history between Golden and Sorrell makes the matchup especially unusual.
Golden transferred to Texas from Houston for the 2024 season and became close with Sorrell during their lone year together in Austin. Green Bay then selected Golden with the No. 23 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft before taking Sorrell in the fourth round at No. 124 overall.
Packers Have Already Had Issues With Barryn Sorrell’s Physicality
Monday wasn’t the first time Sorrell’s aggressiveness has drawn attention during Packers camp.
During an Aug. 16 practice, The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman reported that head coach Matt LaFleur “tore into” Sorrell and removed him from a drill after the edge rusher bull-rushed offensive tackle Anthony Belton into quarterback Jordan Love and knocked Love down.
Sorrell has had an increased opportunity this summer with Micah Parsons still recovering from the torn ACL he suffered late last season. Packers.com’s Wes Hodkiewicz reported earlier in August that Sorrell had been receiving first-team reps and had impressed with his pass rush after spending part of the offseason training with Parsons.
Golden, meanwhile, has been one of the more prominent players in Green Bay’s offense during camp after catching 29 passes for 361 yards as a rookie in 2025.
Any hard feelings between Golden and Sorrell will have to disappear quickly.
The Packers are scheduled to practice with the Cardinals on Aug. 26 before hosting Arizona in their preseason finale Aug. 28. Joint practices can bring their own share of tempers, and Green Bay just got an early reminder of how quickly things can escalate even among teammates.
Packers Practice Erupts in Fight Between Former Texas Teammates