MIAMI GARDENS — Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel broke up a skirmish during the team’s practice with the Chicago Bears, one of three fights that occurred in Friday’s session.
The fight happened during red zone drills toward the end of practice, when Dolphins wide receiver Dee Eskridge and Bears safety Kevin Byard exchanged shoves after a play. While that dissipated quickly, Dolphins center Aaron Brewer and Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson got into a shoving match, which Eskridge reentered — prompting more teammates from both sides to join in.
While Eskridge was carried out of the scrum by Tyreek Hill, who did not practice Friday, McDaniel ran into the middle of the pack of players, yelling at them to stop.
Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick wasn’t aware of McDaniel’s involvement until his news conference after practice, and instinctively said “oh no,” when told.
“I think that’s very dangerous — we need our head coach, you know what I’m saying?” Fitzpatrick said. “We don’t want him to get hurt, so I appreciate it. But I think we could get ’em separated ourselves.”
McDaniel has made clear to players his disdain for fighting at practice, and Bears coach Ben Johnson said before practice that his players knew the consequences if they fought.
Dolphins offensive lineman James Daniels explained their coach’s perspective after practice.
“He thinks fights are a waste of time — we’re here to practice,” he said. “If you throw a punch in a game, you’re going to get ejected. So that’s how he’s looking at it, and we’re really the same way. We’re not trying to fight, we’re just trying to practice, go against each other, get some good looks and then go home.”
There was another incident Friday when Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks had to be separated from an unidentified teammate on the sideline.
Brooks, one of the Dolphins’ leaders in the locker room, is someone who holds his teammates accountable, Fitzpatrick said, and sometimes emotions might boil over.
“He’s another dude that’s passionate about the game. He loves the game,” Fitzpatrick said. “Even today, he was holding people to a high standard and it becomes confrontational — but I think that’s necessary when you do anything to a high standard.
“He’s a guy that I appreciate playing with, and he’s another guy whose energy is infectious and great for our team.”
The Dolphins play the Bears at Soldier Field in both teams’ preseason opener Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
