Day five goes to the defense.
After being outplayed by the offense on Sunday, the defense wanted to make a statement on Tuesday and it did just that.
The temperature was high on Tuesday morning (mid-90s) and so was the physical play, which led to the first two fights of training camp. Tensions were running high.
“It’s camp,” said defensive end Jonathan Allen. “It wouldn’t be camp if we didn’t have some fights. I know people might not like to hear it. But it’s football; its physical; it’s a nasty game. There’s nothing nice about whooping someone’s ass. It is what it is. It’s football.”
The first altercation was between defensive lineman JoJo Wicker and offensive lineman Tyler Catalina. There was a little shoving after the play, which led to Wicker throwing a punch at Catalina. The assist went to nose tackle Tim Settle, as he came flying in from the side to shove Catalina to the ground, which then started a wrestling match.
Tight end Jeremy Sprinkle and safety Montae Nicholson got into it just two plays later. Nicholson stood over Sprinkle after the play was over, which didn’t sit well with Sprinkle. He jumped up and tackled Nicholson. They were separated quickly.
“They wanted to fight today because we did good the last practice we had,” Sprinkle said. “They tried to get us back or whatever. I think the heat’s helped us a lot in just getting us going a little bit.”
Guard Brandon Scherff also seemed to downplay the extracurricular activity.
“Fights happen every camp,” he said. “You’re the one who doesn’t want to get chucked to the ground, so you’re always trying to finish last. That’s always going to turn into a fight. You just have to know when to stop.”
O-line help
With no end in sight to the Trent Williams holdout, the team is adding more depth at tackle. After signing Corey Robinson earlier in camp, Donald Penn is being added, as well. The 36-year-old three-time Pro Bowler spent last year with head coach Jay Gruden’s brother Jon in Oakland.
Rookie standout
After five interceptions during OTA’s and minicamp, rookie corner Jimmy Mooreland continues to impress coaches. Mooreland, a seventh-round pick out of James Madison University, had two interceptions on Tuesday, including a highlight reel grab.
Here was the pick of the day. Guess who?? https://t.co/qdqjdUrzxr
— George Wallace (@GWallaceWTOP) July 30, 2019
He also intercepted Dwayne Haskins in a two-minute drill late in practice.
Follow along as George Wallace covers training camp in this WTOP live blog.
