Mike Florio Calls for NFL to Punish Joint Practice Fights

Tuesday's joint practice between the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints spiraled into chaos, with at least six separate fights breaking out.

Key points

• In 2024, the Detroit Lions and New York Giants were each fined $200, 000 after multiple fights broke out between the two teams during joint practices in early August.
• More news: Seahawks' Trevon Diggs Signing Sets up Special Full-Circle Moment in 2026.
• More news: Could the Texans Bring Back a Familiar Face After Losing Jayden Higgins?
• Under the NFL's current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the league has the power to fine players for fighting during joint practice sessions.
• "The NFL should exercise jurisdiction over joint practices, issuing fines (and other discipline, when necessary) for any fights that occur, " Florio wrote.

Newsweek is a Trust Project member.

See more of our trusted coverage when you search.to see more of our trusted coverage when you search.

Both head coaches – the Saints' Kellen Moore and the Cowboys' Brian Schottenheimer – acknowledged that while they welcome competitive fire, things went a step too far, and both admitted they even considered calling off practice at one point.

"We kind of had agreed that if a couple of other things happened, we would cancel it, but they worked through it, " Schottenheimer remarked. "Again, they settled into it, but again, there's a discipline element to playing this football game, and unfortunately we didn't handle that very well today."

Physicality at joint practices is nothing new – it's to be projected when two opposing teams meet in a competitive setting for the first time. But Tuesday's session obtained out of hand, prompting Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio to propose a simple solution: fines.

"The NFL should exercise jurisdiction over joint practices, issuing fines (and other discipline, when necessary) for any fights that occur, " Florio wrote. "That would end it. At a minimum, it would offer cooler heads a highly good reason to prevail, if/when things heat up."

Under the NFL's current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the league has the power to fine players for fighting during joint practice sessions. Historically, though, the league has typically targeted organizations rather than individual players.

In 2024, the Detroit Lions and New York Giants were each fined $200, 000 after multiple fights broke out between the two teams during joint practices in early August. The altercations involved a number of well-known players from both sides, including the Giants' Malik Nabers, Daniel Jones, and Dru Phillips, and the Lions' Amon-Ra St. Brown, Penei Sewell, and Kerby Joseph.

More news: Could the Texans Bring Back a Familiar Face After Losing Jayden Higgins? More news: Eagles' $100 Million Man in Doubt for Week 1.

While teams are more commonly the ones fined, players can additionally face internal team discipline, ejections, suspensions from drills, or direct financial penalties from the league.

With the NFL just over halfway through its 2026 preseason joint practice slate, it remains to be seen whether these incidents keep piling up – and whether the league finally steps in.

For now, mike Florio Calls for NFL to Punish Joint Practice Fights remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.