The joint practice between the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints turned chaotic, resulting in at least six separate fights. Punches were exchanged, helmets were removed, and Saints tight end Brock Rechsteiner, son of former WWE star Scott Steiner, executed a wrestling-style suplex on a Cowboys defender, slamming him to the ground.
Both head coaches, the Saints’ Kellen Moore and the Cowboys’ Brian Schottenheimer, acknowledged the situation. They appreciated the competitive spirit but admitted the aggression escalated too far. Both coaches considered ending the practice due to the unruly behavior.
“We kind of had agreed that if a couple of other things happened, we would cancel it, but they worked through it,” Schottenheimer said. “Again, they settled into it, but there’s a discipline element to playing this football game, and unfortunately we didn’t handle that very well today.”
Physical confrontations are not uncommon in joint practices, often expected when opposing teams face each other competitively. However, Tuesday’s session went overboard, prompting Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio to suggest a straightforward 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 give cooler heads a very good reason to prevail, if/when things heat up.”
According to the NFL’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the league can fine players for fighting during joint practice sessions. Historically, the league has more often targeted entire organizations instead of individual players. For instance, in 2024, the Detroit Lions and New York Giants each received $200,000 fines after multiple fights erupted in their joint practices.
The altercations involved several notable players, including the Giants’ Malik Nabers, Daniel Jones, and Dru Phillips, and the Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown, Penei Sewell, and Kerby Joseph.
Teams typically bear the brunt of fines, but players can also face consequences like internal team discipline, ejections, suspensions from drills, or direct financial penalties from the league. With the NFL more than halfway through its 2026 preseason joint practice schedule, the pattern of incidents may prompt further league intervention.