OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Washington Commanders center Nick Gates, in his fifth professional season, knows that there’s a line that he can’t cross as a football player when it comes to interacting with the other team.
But …
“I like to get right up to it,” Gates said.
So it was no wonder then that, less than an hour into Tuesday’s joint practice session between the Commanders and the Ravens, Gates was involved in the first skirmish of a skirmish-filled practice. Turns out, the offensive lineman took exception to Baltimore’s Odafe Oweh grabbing his neck and punching him in the facemask. So, naturally, Gates responded with a few punches of his own — even if it caused flags to fly from the nearby officials.
Gates’ brouhaha was one of four brouhahas from Tuesday’s morning session that coaches didn’t find very funny as they were unfolding.
After Gates’ exchange, Commanders rookie Emmanuel Forbes got into a fight with Baltimore’s Tylan Wallace, the Ravens’ Mark Andrews body-slammed Commanders corner Danny Johnson and Washington’s sideline got on Ravens safety Ar’Darius Washington after a big hit on tight end Cole Turner.
Finally, Ravens coach John Harbaugh called for Commanders coach Ron Rivera to come over from the opposite field to address the incidents. Both coaches broke their teams off into huddles and told them to stay clean.
“It got a little hot a couple times,” Rivera said. “It gets a little chippy and we can’t take it personal. This really is not about me against you. This is about us trying to develop and work together as teams.”
Harbaugh said the intensity was to be expected, adding he was glad the issues were cleaned up after they were addressed. Tuesday’s incidents, too, were relatively tame as it relates to joint practice fights. In 2018, the last time Washington held joint practices, a massive brawl broke out between the Jets and Washington. Three years earlier, another big fight also happened when Washington hosted the Houston Texans in Richmond.
Still, tempers flared in the moment. Forbes’ fight, for instance, started when the rookie cornerback attempted to punch the ball out of Wallace’s hands after a completion. That led Wallace to punch Forbes, and the 180-pounder returned fire. Their teammates rushed in, with former Washington tackle Morgan Moses — now with Baltimore — leading the charge.
Shortly after, on a separate play, Andrews went to slam Johnson after he appeared to have an issue with the way the cornerback came flying in to try and force an incompletion.
Asked about the incidents, Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey joked the weather was partly to blame.
“It was hot outside, it gets chirpy,” Humphrey said. “It gets really intense in these practices. We were all just discussing some stuff in that big huddle that was going on the field, and then I looked over to my offensive field, and it looked like they were (having) discussions about the weather tomorrow, as well.”
Humphrey was near the sideline when Washington rushed over to defend Cole Turner. Star wide receiver Terry McLaurin barked at the Ravens and even went to shove a defender. Later, when the fights died down, McLaurin was still heated after a Sam Howell completion to teammate Jahan Dotson by yelling “That’s all day!” and “Too easy!”
But the trash-talking didn’t lead to another fight. For now, anyway. The two teams have another practice Wednesday before Monday’s preseason game at FedEx Field in Landover.
“It’s enjoyable for me,” Gates said.
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