Dolphins, Giants are latest teams to brawl in joint practice

New York Giants guard Jermaine Eluemunor is one of the players who was removed after a brawl broke out during the joint practice. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

NFL must address the real problem after Dolphins, Giants become latest teams to brawl in joint practice

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Aug 21, 2026 8:23 AM ET

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The NFL handed out significant fines to the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints on Thursday for their series of brawls in a joint practice session this week. There might be more fines coming for the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins as they decided to join the fight club as well.

Several players removed from Dolphins, Giants joint practice for brawls

Thursday's practice had to be stopped multiple times due to brawls that were taking place, while Dolphins offensive lineman Austin Jackson and Giants offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor were removed from the session for their parts.

Giants backup quarterback Jameis Winston was also reportedly involved.

There is some video from the brawls.

All out brawl Dolphins Defense vs Giants Offense pic.twitter.com/W3Lnmh0t3Y
— TonyH (@TonyH305) August 20, 2026

Giants head coach John Harbaugh acknowledged that these practices are not a game environment, but that it is still a physical environment and that lines were going to get crossed at times. He said they made the decision to remove any players who threw a punch, just as they would be during an actual NFL game.

NFL must address the elephant in the room

These brawls are starting to become a common occurrence in joint practices, and it is a problem the NFL is going to have to find a way to address.

The league has left it on the teams themselves to discipline players for their involvement. The only fines the league will hand out are to the teams themselves.

The Saints and Cowboys were fined $500,000 each, and while that is a big number, it is a drop in the bucket for what NFL teams have. At some point, the fines might have to start getting bigger and more significant if the teams do not clean this up.

The league might also have to just put a stop to all of this entirely and force teams to only practice on their own.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on X @AGretz

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