NFL coaches all handle fighting in practice a little differently, and the policy is most important in training camp when nerves fray hitting the same guys day after day.
Mike LaFleur, in his first head coaching gig, said Friday that candidly, he doesn’t want to see fighting because you can’t do it in a game (without significant consequences.)
“Now, if you do fight, I have a responsibility to do what is right for this team,” LaFleur said. “If that means that it’s going to hurt the team to kick you out of that practice, then I’ve got to keep you out there. If it’s going to hurt the team to keep you in practice because you’re going to keep fighting, then I have to get you out. In that split second, I reserve the right to make what I think is the right decision for the 88 other guys.”
It’s far from the cut-and-dried approach of say, Bruce Arians, who once made combatants (one being Darnell Dockett) run laps around the field until he said stop and another time made the whole team run sprints before canceling the balance of the workout.
— Quarterback Jacoby Brissett is practicing, but he isn’t doing any 11-on-11 work. LaFleur said he was comfortable how Brissett has absorbed the playbook so far despite being absent this offseason.
“He’s a smart dude, he’s played a lot of football,” LaFleur said. “It’s learning a whole different language. I’m not going to put any kind of (timeline) on that. … I like where he’s at from a learning standpoint.”
— The Cardinals have two more “blocks” this week before an off day Monday. The team can practice in pads for the first time on Tuesday.
— In the first open practice of camp, most of the first-stringers are as expected. Josh Fryar is in at left tackle with Paris Johnson Jr. on PUP; Baron Browning is taking Josh Sweat’s place at outside linebacker with Sweat on PUP. Tyler Allgeier is getting first-team running back reps, but there is a lot of Jeremiyah Love. Andrew Wingard has taken the departed Jalen Thompson’s spot at safety for now.