RICHMOND — Washington Redskins running back Matt Jones had been told by coaches to finish his runs in camp. Jones was pulling back after gaining initial yards, slowing down once in the second level of the defense during non-tackling drills.
That changed Friday when Jones, compared to Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch in running style by Redskins coach Jay Gruden, crashed through Houston Texans cornerback Kevin Johnson, the club’s first-round pick from Clarksville, Maryland, drawing “oh”s from his teammates and, apparently, angering the Texans.
Multiple Redskins players said Saturday that Jones’ run a day earlier was the precipice for the brawl between the teams that began after a group of fights on separate fields with separate people. The final morning of work for the Texans and Redskins in training camp was supposed to be filled with drills against each other. Instead, the teams were separated, talked to, then spent the rest of their day in their corners.
“We’re out here practicing, and you’re doing this day in and day out,” inside linebacker Adam Hayward said. “You see, basically, somebody tries your brother, then you go to bat for them. To see that … It wasn’t best thing. We didn’t get a lot of work done. But, you saw who had whose back. It was awesome.”
Hayward said Johnson came back and cut Redskins fullback Jordan Campbell on Saturday, which started a fight on the side with the Redskins’ offense and the Texans’ defense. Redskins wide receivers Pierre Garcon and Andre Roberts were also in a scuffle with the Texans. On the neighboring field, Hayward said defensive lineman Chris Baker was also cut, which angered him and led to a fight.
“Whatever they were doing on that side, they were doing on this side,” Hayward said. “I don’t know if it was a coach, whatever, but from this side to that side, it was the same thing.
“But, it’s good to see. The team came together. It was a crappy situation, but I enjoyed it. I saw a bunch of guys that at the end of the day, they’re going to go to bat for me.”
The morning weather was miserable. It was windy and pouring, the weather foul enough to drive fans who had recently arrived back out of the complex in search of their cars. So many fans were trying to enter and leave at the same time, facility employees had to remove a fence to uncork a bottleneck created in the team store which serves as the only entrance and exit.
After dealing with each other for two days, all the players knew the conclusion of the day’s practice meant a rare training camp day off on Sunday. Garcon joked afterward that the group fight, which aired live on ESPN when the network chose to drop in on practice, was a plan hatched by Baker and carried out by players to shorten practice.
The reality was the general irritation carried through football practices, which can often lead to fights between teammates, was percolating at a heightened rate since the Jones run. Blended with the weather, timing and facing someone other teammates, Saturday’s practice turned out to be calm like a bomb.
“In between the lines, man, it’s a battle,” Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall said. “May the best man win. That’s kind of how I look at it, man. I don’t hold grudges.”
Hall said that Texans coaches told him the Jones run was the basis for the physical morning.
“If that’s the case, the DB need to get out the way or get his weight up,” Hall said.
Redskins safety Kyshoen Jarrett and cornerback DaMon Cromartie-Smith were knocked to the ground after a Texans run, which led to shoving and teams merging from each practice field into a large mob. They were pulled apart and eventually continued practice on separate fields. Once the practices ended, the Texans streamed as a group back into the facility. The Redskins walked off individually. Texans cornerback Kareem Jackson approached Garcon to ask if everything was all right.
“You don’t want anyone to get hurt,” fullback Darrel Young said. “Pierre’s one of our leaders on this team. We don’t want to lose him because he punched a guy in the helmet. Just try to pull him off and just try not to spark the situation more than it is.”
Redskins coach Jay Gruden explained to the team that they need to be “smart” and not end up in a brawl. Were Saturday a game situation, there would have been multiple ejections.
“Tempers flared,” Gruden said. “I don’t know who started that. We tried as a staff — coach [Bill] O’Brien and myself tried to make it clear that wasn’t acceptable behavior. Unfortunately, it wasn’t two people. It was a group of men that was escalated very quickly. For whatever reason, it escalated into a nasty brawl.”
Gruden said he felt the day was wasted. He also said he would be open to having joint practices in the future, though would consider restructuring how they worked.
“I think the only thing I’ll rethink is going three straight days in pads,” Gruden said. “I think against [the] New England [Patriots] last year, we were probably two days and then we went in shorts the day before a game. I think three days in a row is probably too much.”
It was Saturday.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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