Yes, things got chippy in Seattle on Wednesday.
A day highlighted by receiver DK Metcalf removing cornerback Tre Browns helmet and swinging it (he missed Brown but hit safety K’Von Wallace) included at least five total fights, via Brady Henderson of ESPN.com.
The situation unfolded on the same day the NFL fined the Lions and Giants $200,000 each for multiple fights during two days of joint practices. Given that the punishments represent a change for the league, which usually ignores such scuffles, we asked whether the new approach applies to team-on-team brouhahas.
“The individual team practices would be for the teams themselves to monitor and oversee,” a league spokesperson told PFT on Wednesday.
That’s a mistake. Because teams will use the same sliding scale that applies to any and all forms of internal discipline. The more important the player is to the team, the less likely he is to be seriously disciplined for fighting.
If, for the Seahawks, a fringe player had been swinging helmets and hitting teammates yesterday, he’d already be gone. Metcalf will get, at most, a verbal warning.
It’s not a surprise, if the teams are the ones in charge of these situations. And it’s why the league should consider expanding its purview from fights in joint practices to traditional, single-team practice fights.