There still appears to be no love lost between the New York Giants and Detroit Lions . Punches were once again being thrown during a fight-filled joint practice on Tuesday, just one day after tempers between the two NFC teams boiled over on more than one occasion.
The headlining scuffle from the second joint practice featured Giants’ Malik Nabers and Lions’ Kerby Joseph. After failing to reel in a heavily contested catch while being covered by Terrion Arnold, the wide receiver attempted to show respect for the strong defensive play by tapping the cornerback on the helmet.
Joseph didn’t take kindly to the gesture, allegedly exchanging several words with Nabers as he trotted back to the huddle. The 21-year-old promptly slapped him across the face, causing the safety to break out into a fit of rage.
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In response to the strike, Joseph immediately charged Nabers and wildly threw a flurry of punches. The 2024 first-round draft pick swiftly returned the favor, sparking an all-out brawl that eventually brought in multiple players from both the Lions and Giants.
According to the New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy , Lions coaches removed Levi Onwuruzurike and Morice Norris from practice after the pair appeared to be more interested in fighting than cooling tensions.
It didn’t take long for another quarrel to break out in East Rutherford. After a Lions defensive back and Kayvon Thibodeaux began a pushing and shoving match near the sideline, practice was called early and both teams exited the field.
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Speaking to reporters following the fiery joint practice, Nabers downplayed his scuffle with Joseph, but admitted that the 23-year-old said something beforehand that he didn’t feel comfortable repeating. “I mean, it's hot, we competing, stuff like that's going to happen,” he said. “It’s football at the end of the day.”
Nabers added that there was no bad blood between him and Arnold, a fellow first-round pick and former SEC player. “Me and Arnold, you know, we talk almost every day about just competing, how great we want to be,” he continued.
“So, it's nothing against him, you know, he's my brother, so I'm going to give him the work he needs, he's going to give me the work I need. I was tapping him on the helmet [to say] good play, that's all it was.”
This isn’t the first time this offseason that the Giants and Lions have butted heads. On Monday, the two sides got into around eight fights on the practice field per ESPN , including one skirmish involving quarterback Daniel Jones .
Moments after Giants center Greg Van Roten was shoved to the turf by Lions’ Alim McNeill, Jones rushed over and shoved the defensive back from behind. "A situation happens like that, you try to stand up for your guys," the signal-caller told reporters.
"I thought it was good competitive practice all day [Monday] and we made some plays and did some good things. There are some things we need to shore up, for sure, but good intensity and competitive spirit."
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