The New York Giants and Cleveland Browns were a little weirder on Friday than Thursday, particularly the security giants Jabrill Peppers and linear defender Browns Jackson.
However, after the teams were reunited by head coaches Joe Judge and Kevin Stefanski during a period of relaxation, they closed things off without incident.
The heat rises and so do the temperaments.
Both teams receive a period of relaxation and talk to their head coach. pic.twitter.com/AvEPI5PhKc– Paul Schwartz (@NYPost_Schwartz) August 20, 2021
It lasted about 15 minutes …
While members of the New York / New Jersey media met with quarterback Daniel Jones, Giants receiver Sterling Shepard and Browns cornerback Troy Hill stood in a distant practice field.
The two reportedly threw several punches before being broken indifferently by their teammates, outside of Giants receiver John Ross, who aggressively pushed Shepard aside.
Shepard, who had no shirt, and Hill could be heard differently.
A clip of the end of the fight between Browns CB Troy Hill and Giants WR Sterling Shepard. #Brown pic.twitter.com/S5GYuNJhYz
– clevelanddotcom (@clevelanddotcom) August 20, 2021
Shepard and Hill had a bit of back and forth during practice that ended in a tense exchange, which may have led to their post-practice messes.
Apparently, Sterling Shepard and Troy Hill joined after the Giants-Browns joint practice
This occurred during practice pic.twitter.com/WOKdYUhQ1i
– Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) August 20, 2021
Shepard met with the media moments later and did not mention the fight directly. However, he described the exchange of practices as nothing more than “friendly competition”.
No, it’s a friendly competition. That’s why we came out here, it’s competition. He’s going to get into a conversation match, he’s going to be physical out there. This is football. This is what we do. They understand that, on this side, we understand it here, “Shepard told NJ Advance Media.
Several Browns players also tried to downplay the fight, claiming that Shepard and Hill were just playing.
Neither the judge nor Stefanski saw the fight, but after a week of preaching to their players to keep it fresh, you can bet they won’t be happy.