A fight on day eight of camp
Tempers flared during the Las Vegas Raiders' eighth training camp practice on Friday. Defensive end Maxx Crosby hit quarterback Kirk Cousins twice during a team period. When Crosby struck Cousins' arm a second time, the 15-year veteran had enough. Cousins got into Crosby's face and grabbed the All-Pro's jersey. Both players exchanged words before teammates broke it up. No punches were thrown.
It was not the only scuffle of the day. Earlier in practice, defensive lineman Jonah Laulu punched second-year guard Caleb Rogers.
Both stars benched
On Saturday, the Raiders suspended Cousins and Crosby from team drills. Rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza took over the starting offense, his first chance to run the first-team unit in training camp.
“We have very clear expectations about how we want to practice, how you go about our business,” coach Klint Kubiak said in a statement. “We violated that yesterday, so we held those guys out. That's all I'm going to say about it. We addressed it with the team and we're moving on.”
Two intense competitors
The clash pairs two of the Raiders' most competitive players. Crosby was warned by the new coaching staff before camp about touching the quarterback. He acknowledged his aggressiveness once got him removed from practice at Eastern Michigan. “When you get out there and bullets are flying, I'm not thinking about not finishing the play,” he said at the start of camp. “That's just not in my nature.”
Tight end Michael Mayer defended Cousins' reaction. “You want him to defend your team,” Mayer said. “He's always had that edge since the first day I met him.”
The Raiders are counting on both players this season. The team opens the preseason next week, and coaches will be watching how the two veterans handle the incident as camp continues.