FOXBORO — Part of Jerod Mayo’s motivation to hold just one joint practice with the Philadelphia Eagles, rather than the traditional two, was to avoid the fights that tend to break out in those settings.
The Patriots have seen plenty of those over the years, most recently scrapping their way through an especially contentious joint session with the Green Bay Packers last summer.
Before they took the field with the Eagles on Tuesday, Mayo issued a stern warning to his players: any fighters will be punished. And not just with the standard ejection from practice.
“I mean, look, you don’t fight in a real game,” Mayo said in his pre-practice news conference. “If you fight in a real game, you get fined; you get kicked out. It’s the same thing here. Look, my message to the players, if you get in a fight out here, if you’re a starter, you’re going to play the whole preseason game (Thursday night). If you’re not a starter, you won’t play at all. That’s kind of my mindset with that.”
Mayo’s message, coupled with similar no-fighting instructions from Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, had the desired effect. Tuesday’s practice featured one minor scrap — edge rusher Joshua Uche took issue with a Philadelphia player after being blocked to the ground on one rep — but no punches, no full-scale brawls and no ejections.
“He’s a players coach, so he knows how to get through to us,” Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers said of New England’s first-year head coach. “But I just think he just wanted to stress the importance of, protect your teammate, but don’t do anything that’s going to get you fined or kicked out of the game or practice or hurt the team.”
Peppers didn’t think Mayo was bluffing, either, with his proposed punishment. For context, entrenched starters typically play just a handful of snaps in preseason games — especially ones that follow joint practices — with the bulk of those going to players further down the depth chart who are fighting for spots.
“He was definitely serious,” Peppers said. “He plays a lot, but when it’s time to work, when it’s time for business, it’s time for business.”