Panthers and Patriots players involved in fight at joint practice, thrown out: ‘It wastes a lot of time’

Can’t we all just get along?

Panthers coach Matt Rhule and Patriots coach Bill Belichick were left wondering if that was the case after their teams’ joint practice on Tuesday. Partway through the practice, a scuffle ensued between the two sides, resulting in multiple players being kicked out.

Per the Charlotte Observer’s Ellis Williams, it was unclear what prompted the throw down. However, it seems tempers flared after a Damien Harris carry ended with a tower of bodies near the left sideline.

MORE: Giants training camp erupts in massive fight, viral image emerges after punches thrown 

Some punches were thrown, although the majority of contact between the two sides consisted of pushing and shoving.

HUGE fight taking place, started with shoving and ended with a lot of punches being thrown. Both fields were cleared. Chaos in Foxboro. pic.twitter.com/BU2YrzEVAE

— Ethan Hurwitz (@HurwitzSports) August 16, 2022

Panthers defender Kenny Robinson was ejected for fighting, as were Pats wideouts Kristian Wilkerson and Kendrick Bourne.

MORE: Panthers’ Baker Mayfield, Matt Rhule analyze preseason debut

The chaos continued shortly thereafter. New England center James Ferentz sent Carolina linebacker Frankie Luvu into the sidelines, sparking another kerfuffle. Ferentz and Carolina defensive tackle Phil Hoskins were sent away as a result of their involvement in the melee.

Belichick and Rhule were said to be displeased at all the histrionics. The two coaches stopped practice to talk with their teams once things relaxed.

“We came here not to fight. We came to practice,” Rhule said. “It shows the maturity of a lot of other guys that didn’t escalate it into a bigger thing.”

Some players, like Panthers safety Jeremy Chinn, seemed to agree.

“We don’t want to do that. It wastes a lot of time,” Chinn said. “It’s not a good thing to be fighting over and over again. We want to get the reps, and we want to be able to practice and play ball at the end of the day. So that’s not something that we’re trying to do at all.”

Rhule said he and Belichick discussed the matter further. With another joint practice scheduled for Wednesday, the two coaches have a zero-tolerance policy should things escalate once more.

“Coach Belichick talked about if fights happen, we’ll just throw those guys out,” he said, “and hopefully eliminate future fights.”