Cardinals have fights, injuries on second day of public practice

There’s an old saying that goes, “Any publicity is good publicity.” The Arizona Cardinals have embodied that all year.

Welcome to the Arizona Cardinals training camp, where there are 50-plus guys all trying to make the team. Some have better shots than others, and there are plenty of veterans to go around. With so many jobs on the line, the Arizona Cardinals are dealing with a lot of emotion and extra-curricular events happening on the field.

Tuesday’s practice might have been preceded by watching Fight Club the night before, as multiple fights broke out amongst the Cardinals’ top players. First, Marco Wilson grabbed an interception that was intended for DeAndre Hopkins, and the defense celebrated.

It was during the celebration that Isaiah Simmons started chirping at Hopkins, and a scuffle ensued. Then J.J. Watt and Will Hernandez got into a shoving match after a play as well. On top of all of this, Greg Dortch basically got into a slap exchange with one of the corners.

This grew into the whole team, with Simmons and Hopkins coming back to bicker over their previous scuffle, all according to Darren Urban.

Arizona Cardinals fight, lose offensive lineman to injury, gain Marquise Brown back.

On top of all of this, Justin Murray sustained an ankle injury and will be out 2-3 weeks. The team signed five-year veteran Rashaad Coward out of Old Dominion as a replacement. Coward has played with Chicago, Jacksonville (one game), and Pittsburgh. Pro Football Reference has him listed as a DT, but rest assured, Coward is an offensive lineman.

In the “Good news” department, Marquise Brown was back at practice on Tuesday, but he didn’t practice. For his hamstring injury, who knows its severity and what is going with it. It’s nice to see Brown back on the field, as the Cardinals need all the help they can get with Hopkins out for the first six games.

To put a lid on all of this, I personally like the fact that the team is getting in scuffles in training camp. It means the players care and have passion for the upcoming season. Given how the past two seasons have gone, there’s no time to be putzing around.

As long as it doesn’t divide the locker room at the end of the day, there’s no harm caused.