Aaron Donald swings helmets during Rams-Bengals practice fight
Sep 19, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Los Angeles Rams defensive end Aaron Donald (99) on the sideline in the first half against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
An ugly brawl broke out between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals during a joint practice between the two teams on Thursday. Aaron Donald was at the center of it, and the three-time Defensive Player of the Year may have taken things a bit too far.
There were a few minor scuffles during the practice before things got out of hand. Bengals offensive lineman La’el Collins got into it with Leonard Floyd and threw Floyd’s helmet at the Rams linebacker, according to some reporters in attendance. Donald then had two Bengals’ players helmets in his hands and was seen swinging them around. The video below shows that portion of the fight:
Deleted video of Aaron Donald swinging a helmet at bengals players. pic.twitter.com/dHCAGN8Bby
— Not Jake 🥷🏻 (@CincyHub) August 25, 2022
One photo that went viral showed Donald holding two Bengals helmets.
#Rams Aaron Donald swinging two #Bengals helmets in the mix. pic.twitter.com/y92A0gNskd
— Sam Greene (@SGdoesit) August 25, 2022
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor downplayed the incident and said the important thing is that no one was injured.
Zac Taylor says practice was nearly over when final fight broke out when Aaron Donald swung a Bengals helmet and came down hard on someone's head. pic.twitter.com/qLSy0NTneE
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) August 25, 2022
Donald could face some sort of disciplinary action. We have seen plenty of fights during joint practices this offseason, but swinging a helmet around is always dangerous.
Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett received a lengthy suspension three seasons ago when he swung a helmet during a fight. While the NFL typically leaves it up to teams to discipline players for incidents during practice, they may make an exception for Donald.