Kirk Cousins and Maxx Crosby Altercation Sidelines Pro Bowl Players from Practice

Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins and elite defensive end Maxx Crosby were involved in a scuffle during practice earlier in the week. ESPN reported that Crosby hit Cousins twice, prompting the former Falcons QB to grab Crosby’s jersey and use choice words while teammates de-escalated the situation. Both players were held out of training as a result, with rookie QB and Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza taking the reins in practice.

Klint Kubiak Punishes the Experienced Duo

Head Coach Klint Kubiak described the situation as part of training camp but would much prefer his players to be smarter in those situations. “We have very clear expectations on how we want to practice and how we want to go about our business, and we violated that yesterday, so [we] held those guys out,” Kubiak said. “That’s all I’m going to say about it. We addressed it with the team, and we’re moving on”.

Kubiak later said, “Those are two leaders on our team going at it, obviously, fighting in a game [or] you throw a punch in a game, you are out of the game. So we got to be smart”.

Mendoza Impressed Following a Temporary Promotion

Mendoza struggled at times during practice with the starters but was superb in the two-minute drill at the end of the session. He completed five straight passes, including a throw to Tucker in tight coverage, to set up a field goal from kicker Matt Gay. During Mendoza’s reps with the first-team, quarterback coach Mike Sullivan said the biggest things he was evaluating were the rookie’s command of the offence and his ability not to panic in the pocket. 

Teammates Weigh In

Tight End Michael Mayer spoke out on the brawl “You want him to defend your team,” Mayer said of Cousins. “He’s always had [that edge] since the first day I met him when he came in here”.

“It’s energy, man,” Mayer said. “We don’t want to be throwing punches, but I think on any padded day of camp there’s going to be some [scuffles]”.

Visit the forum