New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo doesn't want to see any fights when his players square off against the Philadelphia Eagles in Tuesday's much anticipated joint practice at Gillette Stadium.
And if there is fighting, there will be consequences involving Thursday night's preseason matchup versus the Patriots and Eagles.
“You don't fight in a real game," Mayo told reporters before Tuesday's session. "If you fight in a real game, you get fined, you get kicked out. Same thing here. My message to the players is if you get in a fight out here, if you’re a starter, you’re going to play the whole preseason game. If you’re not a starter, you won’t play at all. That's my mindset with that."
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Established starters do not want to play an entire preseason game. So that's a pretty good incentive not to fight.
And if you're a backup and you fight, you will miss out on very valuable preseason game reps. Those reps are mightily important for those players who don't have a roster spot locked down. It's hard to simulate game situations in practice, so missing real game preps in the preseason could be the difference between making the team and not.
Despite this stern warning from Mayo, it remains to be seen whether the players will be disciplined or let their emotions get the best of them.
Joint practice fights are not uncommon.
For example, the Patriots and Carolina Panthers held joint practices in Foxboro in August of 2022 and fights broke out on both days.
The NFL fined both the New York Giants and Detroit Lions $200,000 each for joint practice fights last week.