A heated joint practice between the Rams and Bengals ended in a brawl Thursday ahead of the clubs’ Super Bowl LVI rematch on Saturday to close the preseason.
According to multiple reports, both teams were involved in a few dust-ups leading to two massive fights, the second of which resulted in practice ending early. The conflict involved the Rams defense and Bengals offense, and reportedly centered around interactions between Rams linebacker Leonard Floyd and Bengals right tackle La’el Collins, who chirped back and forth throughout the session.
The tension reportedly began to crescendo toward the end of practice after Collins, a week removed from returning to the field as he deals with a lingering back issue, got tangled with Rams defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson after a play, according to ESPN’s Ben Baby. On the next play, Collins and Floyd were involved in a scuffle that reportedly saw punches being thrown and led to the O-lineman ripping the Rams LB’s helmet off and throwing it at him, per the Cincinnati Enquirer.
After the first fight ended, the Bengals replaced Collins with OL D’Ante Smith for one rep. Collins returned to the field on the ensuing snap; moments later, the teams engaged in a side-clearing brawl that ultimately led to the end of practice. A video shot by a fan on the sidelines appeared to capture a startling moment during the melee that saw Rams defensive end Aaron Donald swing a Bengals helmet at other players and make contact before momentarily tumbling to the ground. Players can be seen keeping Donald away as the teams darted off the field and to their respective locker rooms.
Thursday’s chaotic scene followed a Wednesday practice session that, by all accounts, ended with little to no issues. Both Rams coach Sean McVay and Bengals coach Zac Taylor implored their players entering the week to avoid making news for the wrong reasons, a goal that lasted a little more than 24 hours.
Taylor and McVay commented on the situation shortly after practice and appeared to downplay the severity while talking to reporters.
“It got a little scuffley, and so we just called it,” Taylor said, per Baby. “We were in the last period. We got two really good days of work in. Was it worth getting the extra couple of plays? No. So we called it off. We got two good days of work in and we’ll go play on Saturday.”
"I think in some instances teams defending each other," McVay said, per Gary Klein of The L.A. Times. “Fortunately, my understanding is nobody got hurt and we’ll move on from it. Not going to make a bigger deal than what it is. Not going to look at pointing fingers.”
The NFL has not issued a statement on the melee, though it should be noted that, per league rules, all clubs are responsible for handling any form of misconduct during practice. At the time of publishing, neither the Bengals nor Rams released formal statements on the matter.
Following Saturday’s meeting, both teams will have just two weeks to finish preparing for the start of the regular season. The defending champion Rams kick off the season against the Bills on Sept. 8 while the Bengals face the Steelers in a battle of AFC North foes on Sept. 11.
While fans won’t be able to see what would happen in a rematch between these teams in the regular season, L.A. and Cincinnati’s next opportunity to settle the score could only come in a rematch at Super Bowl LVII next February.
