It’s joint practice season, which means it’s training-camp scuffle time all around the nation.
We have already seen the Baltimore Ravens and Washington Commanders go at it several times this week as well as the Jets and Bucs battle it out in as many as six fights.
Tuesday’s joint practice between the Cleveland Browns and the Philadelphia Eagles got a little too chippy and Joel Bitonio wasn’t happy about it. The Browns guard didn’t like how some Eagles defenders were playing against quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Bitonio said the Philadelphia Eagles took some “cheap shots” on both sides of the ball during their joint practice Tuesday, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
He specifically mentioned a play in which Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat knocked the ball out of Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson’s hand. As you know, quarterbacks wear red jerseys that signify they are not to be touched by defenders at practice.
“I mean, it’s just in our practice, you protect the quarterback,” Bitonio said. “You don’t want to come close to the quarterback, you don’t want to take cheap shots, things like that where there might’ve been a couple of questionable plays both ways today.”
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
“You’re not supposed to do that,” Bitonio said of the play.
“We don’t want to fight out here,” said the five-time Pro Bowler. “We want to get better, and when two teams are competing, things are going to get fired up. So it happens.”
However, Browns defensive end Myles Garrett said Wednesday that he doesn’t remember the Eagles taking any cheap shots.
“I didn’t see cheap shots myself,” Garrett said, according to Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports. “Not saying that they didn’t happen, I didn’t see any. They have a lot of vets that will help them continue to practice the right way and have good habits. We’ll do the same.”
Bitonio is entering his 10th NFL season, so he’s no stranger to scuffles in training camp.
Watson is entering his second year with the Browns, who acquired him in a trade from the Houston Texans in March 2022. The 27-year-old was suspended for the first 11 games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy following numerous allegations of sexual misconduct. Watson completed 58.2% of his passes for 1,102 yards and seven touchdowns against five interceptions in six games last year.
