Cowboys owner Jerry Jones seems extra annoyed at $500,00 fine for fights during Saints joint practice

The Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints were each hit with a $500,000 NFL fine after multiple fights broke out during their joint practice on Tuesday.

The altercations were extensive enough that practice had to be halted multiple times on one field. Punches were thrown on both fields, while players from the Saints’ offense and Cowboys’ defense rushed into one scrum. A player also had a helmet thrown during one incident, while another skirmish ended with Dallas safety Jalen Thompson being body-slammed by Saints player Brock Rechsteiner.

Cowboys cornerback Caelen Carson and edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku were ejected after throwing punches. Ezeiruaku’s ejection was his second for throwing a punch during training camp. Sam Williams was also involved in another confrontation where it appeared a punch was thrown. A New Orleans player head-butted Dallas tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford during another incident.

Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said the number of altercations nearly forced the joint practice to end early. He and Saints coach Kellen Moore discussed whether to stop the session but ultimately allowed it to finish as scheduled.

Speaking after Thursday’s practice, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones described the fine as “stiff” and confirmed that the team plans to appeal it.

“Yes, we will appeal. And that’s pretty harsh. I mean, pretty stiff, not harsh, but stiff,” said Jones. “But it does make the point that it’s a serious matter and it starts with everybody at all levels of a club to, and at clubs in this case, where two are practicing together. It really emphasizes the league’s intent to control it from the very top, which when they start dealing out those kinds of fines, they get your attention.”

Even with two NFL officiating crews on the field, Jones acknowledged the lack of consequences can allow things to escalate.

“This game is physical and it’s easy to get involved with aggressive temperaments,” Jones said. “All of that makes it a real focal point in the league to stay within good sport. And taking of helmets off and swinging and hitting and that type of thing is not good for anybody and it’s certainly not what we want to represent to our fans as a league or as a team. So it’s understandable how they’re coming down with a real severe fines.”

Jones confirmed that the Cowboys will issue fines to the players involved in the altercations, as allowed by the CBA.

“You have to have consequences and that needs to register,” said Jones. “In other words, we all know whether you’re playing a game or out here in society, if you aren’t sensitive about the consequences of your behavior, then you’ll get brought to your knees quick. This is something that, knowing him, I think he has the capability of being sensitive to consequences.”

The Cowboys also had a separate confrontation Thursday when tight end Jake Ferguson threw the ball at linebacker DeMarvion Overshown after taking exception to being hit. The two players had to be separated after a minor scuffle.

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