Three years ago, Myles Garrett was suspended six games after swinging Mason Rudolph’s helmet during a game. That precedent may soon become important, as video emerged from Thursday’s Rams-Bengals joint practice of Aaron Donald doing the same thing.
In footage on Twitter that seems to have been recorded by fans (media are rarely allowed to take video at practice), Donald is shown swinging the helmet of a Bengals player as a weapon during a practice fight. Although dust-ups are common during training camp, and particularly during joint practices, swinging a helmet is taking things a bit far. Donald seemed to end up with two helmets — one in each hand — amid the chaos, and was eventually tackled to the ground.
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If the situation does result in any discipline that sees Donald miss time during the regular season, it would be a major blow to the Rams, who would be losing their best defensive player for some period of time. Donald has not missed a game since 2017 and has never suffered a serious injury, making the All Pro team for seven years running.
Donald has also recorded over 10 sacks for five straight seasons and made the Pro Bowl every year of his career.
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However, the NFL is not responsible for overseeing player actions at practice – with clubs given responsibility for any punishment.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor played down the fight after practice, which was curtailed straight after the incident.
“It just got a little ‘scuffly,'” Taylor said. “So, we just called it. We were in the last period and we got two. really good days of work. So, was it worth getting in the extra couple of plays? No.”
Taylor added: “Emotions run high. We’ve been working together for two days now, and that’s just some real competitive guys getting into it.”
Rams coach Sean McVay was more heated. Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic tweeted a “furious” McVay jumped into the scrum to try to stop more chaos.
“I don’t know what [it] was,” McVay said. “I just see guys swinging and some guys have helmets on, some don’t, you just never know what can happen. My biggest concern is unnecessary injuries.”
Perhaps there was some bad blood left over from the Super Bowl, in which Donald’s Rams won a closely fought contest over Cincinnati. Still, this brawl is well beyond what would be considered the norm in a joint practice.
What repercussions come from it — if any — will become clear in time.
This story originally appeared on the NY Post and is adapted with permission.
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