The Houston Texans and San Francisco 49ers are holding joint practices this week, and there’s always a risk of things getting heated when players from opposing teams share the field. DeAndre Hopkins and Jimmie Ward showed us a prime example of that on Wednesday.
Ward got physical with Hopkins during drills, and the star wide receiver’s helmet ended up popping off. Ward then tried to strip the ball away from Hopkins after the play had ended, and DeAndre didn’t appreciate it. That’s when punches started flying.
.@DeAndreHopkins and @49ers DB Jimmie Ward throw punches at @HoustonTexans training camp. @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/I0Xw12g20Z
— Alex Radow (@alexradow) August 15, 2018
Physical altercations during practice happen all the time, but Mike Garafolo of NFL Network noted that Bill O’Brien felt the scrum was enough to warrant Hopkins being kicked off the field.
While coaches would probably rather see their players fighting with opponents than throwing swings at each other, the last thing they need is a star player getting injured because tempers flared.
