Fights break out in Washington camp

[Hogs]

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When it comes to the rites of summer, there are certain mileposts along the way. In late July, a bunch of stories about guys reporting to training camp. Then about a week later, stories about fights in camp as those same guys are already sick of each other.

That settled into Washington camp yesterday, with two fights breaking out in practice.

According to Kareem Copeland of the Washington Post, tempers rose along with the temperatures, bringing the first fisticuffs of camp.

The first was between defensive lineman JoJo Wicker and offensive lineman Tyler Catalina, which included an actual punch and then the usual rolling about. Two plays later, safety Montae Nicholson and tight end Jeremy Sprinkle were engaged after a whistle, Sprinkle ended up on the ground, and when Nicholson stood over him, Sprinkle jumped up and took Nicholson down.

“We don’t mean it out here,” Sprinkle said. “Stuff happens. . . . That’s my boy.”

That seems to be the theme, that this is the natural byproduct of putting 90 football players in the same place at the same time.

“It’s football. You get tired of going against the same dude day in and day out,” defensive lineman Jonathan Allen said. “It’s hot, you’re tired, your coach is yelling at you. It’s football. It’s physical. It’s a man’s game. A lot of testosterone. Honestly, to me, that’s normal. Obviously, you don’t want it to get out of hand, but anything that happens on the field stays on the field.”

At least until someone gets hurt.