NY Jets: Tempers flare as ‘huge fight’ breaks out in practice

Tempers flared at the NY Jets’ practice on Sunday as a ‘huge fight’ broke out between teammates.

NY Jets‘ training camp took a bit of a wild turn on Sunday as a number of players were involved in what was described as a “huge fight” on the practice field.

It’s unclear what sparked the initial brawl, but reports indicated that linebacker Neville Hewitt and offensive guard Alex Lewis were the first to exchange blows.

While the two were separated at first and practice resumed without much of a stoppage, it wasn’t long before things took a turn for the worse.

Soon after, Lewis got involved again, this time with outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins. Connor Hughes of The Athletic, who was in attendance, described the fight.

“Now a HUGE fight at Jets camp. Alex Lewis again going at it. Jordan Jenkins throwing haymakers. Ugly. Really ugly. Jenkins still shouting from sideline. This came after offense was mocking defensive chant.”

Hughes insisted that the offense was mocking the defense which prompted the skirmish. Practice was obviously stopped momentarily, but the players soon returned to the field.

But just one play later, business picked up once more.

This time, Jenkins came off the sideline to target offensive guard Greg Van Roten. Van Roten reportedly tossed his helmet down and the two had to be separated by coaches and players.

Sam Darnold and Le’Veon Bell were among the NY Jets’ peacemakers.

Some of the notable peacemakers were quarterback Sam Darnold and running back Le’Veon Bell who stepped between the two and calmed them down. Darnold, Bell, and safety Marcus Maye all talked with Jenkins to ease the tension and relax the situation.

When the first-team offense and defense returned to the field, Jenkins lined up over Van Roten and the two exchanged some more words and shoving, but eventually cooler heads prevailed.

Fights in training camp are a normal occurrence and usually not something to be concerned about. Sometimes tempers flare as players’ competitive spirits shine through and get the best of them.

But rarely does something notable come out of these skirmishes.

To his credit, head coach Adam Gase gathered the team at midfield shortly after practice presumably to address the fighting. And in all likelihood, this will be the last we hear of this.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from this is seeing players like Darnold, Bell, and Maye step up in leadership roles and do their best to create peace.

Now let’s just hope this level of aggression is carried over into the regular season.