Prior to the start of preseason joint practices, the NFL sent a memo to teams reminding them that “fighting and unprofessional conduct” would not be tolerated.
The Lions and Giants didn’t seem to care all that much this week, as multiple skirmishes broke out Monday and Tuesday as the teams got together in New Jersey ahead of Thursday’s preseason opener at MetLife Stadium.
Both teams have been fined $200,000 for those fights, according to a report from ESPN.
There were as many as eight dust-ups during Monday’s joint practice, including one that found Giants QB Daniel Jones in the middle of the scrum. Tuesday started mostly calm, but the fighting picked back up again near the end, sparked in part by an exchange of punches between Lions safety Kerby Joseph and Giants rookie WR Malik Nabers.
Both Dan Campbell and New York coach Brian Daboll agreed to ditch the final period of Tuesday’s session due to “constant incidents” on the field towards the end of the day.
No one appeared to be injured as a result of the fighting.
Neither team has commented on the fine.