Redskins' Gruden: Practice brawls with Texans brought us together
Things got chippy between the Washington Redskins and the Houston Texans' joint practices last week. Redskins head coach Jay Gruden confirmed that his players will not receive any penalties for their actions.
"No, there's no disciplinary action," Gruden told reporters, per CSN Washington. "It was just training camp, and both teams were a little hot-headed, and things happen."
Gruden even found a silver lining in the incident. With a roster that underwent major turnover this offseason, there are several players playing together for the first time. These kinds of events can build continuity, according to Gruden.
“I think it brought us together a little bit, actually,” Gruden said Monday. “When you watch tape -- who was right, who was wrong -- when you see Redskins players helping Redskins, that’s a good thing.”
Gruden acknowledged the fact that these kinds of fights can have different repercussions during the regular season. When 15-yard penalties and potential supensions are on the line, Gruden understandably has a different take on the issue.
“Obviously on gameday, you make a big deal about [the fact that] you can’t come off the bench, you can’t enter fights on gameday,” Gruden said. “That’s 15-yard penalties and possible suspensions. So we made a made a big deal about that.”
The Redskins will match up with the Texans in Thursday's preseason opener. With the right side of the offensive line banged up, following Brandon Scherff's injury in Monday's practice, Gruden might consider shifting his intention to keeping Robert Griffin III upright against J.J. Watt and the Texans' defensive line.
(h/t CSN Washington)