Panthers, Patriots get into practice brawl that injures fan
The Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots got into a practice brawl Wednesday that injured a fan.
Patriots defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr. took Panthers star Christian McCaffrey to the ground while the back was already out of bounds, according to ESPN's David Newton and Mike Reiss. McCaffrey took exception to the hit and spiked the ball at Wise, causing a melee that led to the defensive lineman falling on a fan.
Another fight breaks out during @Patriots and @Panthers joint practice. @MikeReiss #NFL pic.twitter.com/zeduIBO31T
— Janilson Lopes (@Ja_Lopes_7) August 17, 2022
The Patriots offered the fan - who sustained a swollen foot - tickets to a game, Newton and Reiss added. Wise apologized to the fan and McCaffrey also reached out. Wise was ejected following the incident, as was Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard.
It wasn't the only incident during Wednesday's joint practice. The teams also clashed when Panthers defensive back Kenny Robinson stood over Pats wideout Kristian Wilkerson, who was down on the ground. Wilkerson was carted off, according to Mark Daniels of The Providence Journal.
Initially thought Wilkerson might’ve gone down before being contacted, but it sounds like the consensus from the Patriots is he was hit (cleanly) which led to his injury.
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) August 17, 2022
Panthers coach Matt Rhule ejected Robinson, who was also sent off during Tuesday's practice, for taunting Wilkerson.
"We sent Kenny off the field," Rhule said, according to NFL Network's James Palmer. "I didn't really see the hit, but I did see him standing over the player. That's not how we want to practice. Things happen in football; there were some good, clean hits. But we don't stand over somebody and taunt them. It can affect their livelihood, so we sent him off."
Things between New England and Carolina also got heated during Tuesday's practice.