Patriots have first altercation during open OTAs
FOXBORO, Mass. – Tensions ran high on Tuesday as the New England Patriots hosted their second open OTAs session, with players getting into a physical altercation on the field. During an 11-on-11 period, Cole Strange and Anfernee Jennings were going at it after the whistle blew and Christian Barmore decided to join in. Barmore threw a […]
FOXBORO, Mass. – Tensions ran high on Tuesday as the New England Patriots hosted their second open OTAs session, with players getting into a physical altercation on the field.
During an 11-on-11 period, Cole Strange and Anfernee Jennings were going at it after the whistle blew and Christian Barmore decided to join in. Barmore threw a punch at Strange, but David Andrews jumped in to pull the defensive tackle away.
No one was officially ejected for the remainder of the session, but Barmore and Strange remained on the sidelines and did not take part in any other drills.
Having watched the entire confrontation, Deatrich Wise Jr. spoke about the altercation following the session.
"People on our team are very passionate about what they do. Things happen,” Wise said. “Only thing we have to do is continue to work hard, work on our fundamentals, watch the film, see what we can correct our mistakes at and move forward from there.”
While these sessions are optional for the players, mandatory minicamp kicks off next week with training camp right around the corner. Because of that, players are fighting for one of 53 active roster spots on the team and are aiming to perform to their highest ability at each and every practice. With that, tensions are sure to run high.
“We have highs and lows in practice all the time," Wise said. "I tell my teammates we have to learn how to stay even-kneeled through everything. Everything we do is high intensity, high effort. Whatever happens with technique or fundamentals, good or bad, move on to the next play.”
Featured Image via Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
