The New York Giants had their first padded training camp practice on Tuesday, and things didn’t go well. The entire team got into a major brawl that included starting quarterback Daniel Jones in the bottom of the pile. Giants head coach Joe Judge unloaded on his players, yelling expletives and making them run laps and doing pushups. Judge then gathered his players to yell at them one last time before ending the practice.
“Yeah, there are consequences for that kind of stuff,” Jones said per ESPN. “That is the way it is in a game. You have to keep your cool. There are consequences, and it hurts your team. That was the message. I think everyone understands.”
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Hard to see exactly what happened. RB Corey Clement took a big hit at the end of a run. TE Evan Engram retaliated and then he got popped by Logan Ryan.
Then everybody — and I mean everybody — jumped in.
— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoSNY) August 3, 2021
According to multiple reports, the brawl started when tight end Evan Engram retaliated after a late hit into running back Corey Clement. Engram then got leveled by safety Logan Ryan, and the rest of the team, including Jones, jumped into the fight, which angered the coaching staff. Jones was asked why he mixed himself up in action, and he said he’s “part of the team.”
“Hey, golly. I love it,” Clement said. “At the same time, we don’t want to get our quarterback hurt. Pretty sure Daniel knows that as well. I hope he thinks twice before jumping back in there again.” Clement went on to say that what Jones did earned him more respect in the locker room. “That’s what you want to see,” he added. “Even though he’s not supposed to be doing that, hats off to him because you want to see a lot of guys do that.”
The exact punishment included 12 minutes of 100-yard wind sprints and two sets of pushups. Ryan said he had no regrets about standing up for his teammate. “I’m going to pay my punishments,” he said. “I don’t regret anything I did out there. I was protecting my guys. At the end of the day, I’m a grown man. Going to pay my dues. That’s what this is about.”
The Giants are coming off a 2020 season where they finished 6-10. They had a winning record in 2016 when they went 11-5 and lost in the first round of the playoffs. Judge is entering his second year as head coach and knows he could be on the hot seat if things don’t turn around in 2021.
