There were fights that broke out in a span of 24 hours between the Los Angeles Rams and Las Vegas Raiders.
But the latest that occurred at approximately 11 a.m. PT involved punches getting thrown and practice ending early, beat reporters of both teams reported on Thursday. The fight was so big, practice had to be called off.
This latest one comes off the heels of a special teams fight that occurred during a punt coverage drill by both teams, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic reported on Wednesday. Omar Ruiz of the NFL Network then captured this altercation that involved Sebastian Joseph-Day of the Rams and Richie Incognito of the Raiders in a defensive tackle/offensive guard battle.
Jalen Ramsey also was involved in a heated discussion following a huge hit he delivered on the Raiders’ Josh Jacobs that witnesses said knocked his helmet off, sparking a yelling match. He was even briefly irked by the online ridicule he received after Hunter Renfrow was captured getting the better end of individual battles with the four-time Rams Pro Bowler, sending out this tweet.
What Happened?
ESPN Rams reporter Lindsey Thiry captured this: A gathering to break up the latest fight near the Rams’ tents.
Everyone running in now to join another fight at Rams – Raiders practice.
Fellow ESPN reporter Paul Gutierrez, who covers the Raiders, got a sideline view of the skirmish, which he also heard Raiders head coach Jon Gruden order his club to get back to the buses.
Big brawl breaks out…Gruden yells, To the Bus! And that should do it for joint practice.
Los Angeles Sirius XM radio personality Nick Hamilton reported that the scuffle occurred on the defensive side of the practice field near the Cal Lutheran practice.
Another chippy day, two fights right before the last part of practice is over on the defensive side of the field. Coaches had a hard time breaking up both fights before cooler heads finally prevailed.
Rodrigue not only reported that coaches were having a hard time trying to de-escalate the tensions, but that practice ended with one more competitive period left.
Raiders are getting on the buses. Looks like coaches are calling this one. Had one competitive period left.
Raiders beat reporter Vincente Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal said the first altercation briefly stopped, but then another one ensued.
He then captured 13 seconds of video of the Raiders shedding off the pads and helmet and heading for the bus.
But, as the Raiders were loading themselves up on the buses, Raiders beat reporter Vic Tafur of The Athletic tweeted that the Rams continued to hold practice after the fight broke.
Rams continue to practice while the Raiders hit the busses.
After the Scuffle
Per Tafur, he revealed five Raiders he caught involved in the scuffle: Cornerback Rasul Douglas, safety Roderic Teamer, defensive end Maxx Crosby, fellow DE Yannick Ngakoue and All-Pro tight end Darren Waller, who had a jersey tear.
Fight started on special teams with Douglas and Teamer in middle it for Raiders. Many punches thrown, including by Crosby and Ngakoue. Waller emerged with a torn jersey.
Could hear faint “Raiders” chants from fans way up in the hills.
Coaches on both sides decided it was best to call things off early.
Sean McVay said he didn’t see what happened but is glad that nobody got hurt. Cut practice early (he confirmed before last team period).
Rams head coach Sean McVay told reporters he didn’t have a view of what exactly happened that started the fist fight. But helped intervene by getting his guys to fall back and wrap things up early.
Aaron Donald took a veteran rest day but was among the Rams who spoke to reporters afterwards. The 2020 NFL Defensive Player of the Year hinted that Thursday’s practice – judging by how Wednesday went – was likely going to be even more feisty.
“It’s football, man. Honestly, every joint practice I’ve ever been a part of, it’s always a fight,” Donald said. “How things happened yesterday and how physical it was, I was pretty sure it was going to come back and be a lot of BS.”
Meanwhile, Ramsey did get into a brief shouting/pointing finger match with Raiders quarterback Derek Carr before both men hashed things out. Ramsey also responded to the social media attention he received following the Renfrow catch on his side near the 3:30 mark of the video below.
Ramsey stated how it was disappointing practice ended the way it did. He then playfully signed off on his conference by telling reporters “Don’t y’all be fighting too!”
Meanwhile, Raiders head coach Jon Gruden didn’t mince words about the behavior displayed.
#Raiders coach Jon Gruden said the fight to end practice was “sickening…it was two guys in a special teams period and then it was a lot of trash talking that escalated…just stupidity. I’m done with that. Its just child’s play.”
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Punches Thrown During Thursday’s Rams & Raiders Joint Practice: Report