How the Bengals could be partially responsible for a major NFL change
It's not entirely the Cincinnati Bengals' fault, but if there aren't any more joint practices in the NFL after this summer, you can point to August 25 as the reason why. As I'm sure you've heard by now, the Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams got into a massive brawl on Thursday as their joint […]
It's not entirely the Cincinnati Bengals' fault, but if there aren't any more joint practices in the NFL after this summer, you can point to August 25 as the reason why.
As I'm sure you've heard by now, the Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams got into a massive brawl on Thursday as their joint practice was nearing an end.
There are different accounts of how and why the fight broke out. The lasting image of the brawl, however, is star Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald swinging a Bengals helmet at players.
Myles Garrett was suspended six games for swinging a helmet at Mason Rudolph in 2019. But that happened during a regular season game. The NFL doesn't hand out suspensions for something that happens during practice. It would be up to the Rams to suspend Donald (which seems unlikely).
One thing the NFL could do — and it wouldn't shock me at all if this happens — is to forbid teams from holding joint practices. This might be the worst fight we've seen during a joint practice this summer, but it certainly isn't the first. I could see the NFL deciding that it's not worth it to have these practices anymore.
I'm sure the Bengals weren't totally innocent on Thursday — it usually takes two to start a fight in the NFL. But there's no doubt that Donald took things several steps too far.
Featured image via Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
