It seems the string of joint practices against the Carolina Panthers have prompted some irritation from New England Patriots pass rusher Matthew Judon.
The Patriots and Panthers met for consecutive days of joint practices on Tuesday and Wednesday prior to their preseason game at Gillette Stadium on Friday night. But members of the Patriots seemingly expressed their frustrations after fights occurred between the two teams on consecutive days.
Patriots longtime captain Matthew Slater was one who didn’t take kindly to an act by an opposing Panthers player after an injury to New England wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson. Slater, the team’s vocal leader, was forthcoming in his explanation, essentially questioning the value of joint practices.
“Our union and the league think it’s a good idea to keep going, so we’ll keep doing them, but I’m not surprised when stuff like this happens,” Slater said, as shared by NESN’s Zack Cox.
Judon, it seems, isn’t thrilled either.
The Patriots standout linebacker “liked” a tweet from NFL veteran Cam Heyward on Wednesday afternoon after the Pittsburgh Steelers defender posted: “Joint practices are dumb.”
It’s certainly fair for Judon to think that way, especially after the recent dustups on the fields behind Gillette Stadium. A player getting hurt because of the competition in joint practices would be brutal for any organization. And many reporters on scene took to social media sharing how Wednesday’s melee, which actually spilled into the crowd and caused a woman to be landed on, was becoming unproductive.
Unfortunately for Judon and the Patriots who don’t seem to be thrilled with the joint sessions, New England will take on Josh McDaniel’s Raiders next week in a joint session in Las Vegas. Perhaps the familiarity with those two head coaches will ease things a bit.
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