Cleveland Browns Player Alleges 'Cheap Shots' by Eagles at Deshaun Watson and Others in Tense Joint Practice
Joint practice season is upon us, and training-camp scuffles are breaking out across the nation.
We've seen several skirmishes this week, including multiple confrontations between the Baltimore Ravens and Washington Commanders, as well as six separate fights between the Jets and Bucs. A heated joint practice between the Cleveland Browns and the Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday saw tempers flare, and Browns guard Joel Bitonio was not pleased.
Bitonio accused the Eagles of taking "cheap shots" on both sides of the ball during the practice session, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. The veteran guard was particularly perturbed by a play in which Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat knocked the ball from the hand of Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, a move frowned upon in practice settings where quarterbacks wear red jerseys to signify they should not be touched.
"In our practice, you protect the quarterback. You don't want to come close to the quarterback, you don't want to take cheap shots, things like that where there might've been a couple of questionable plays both ways today," Bitonio commented, clearly unhappy with the aggressive actions of some Eagles players.
"You're not supposed to do that," he added, referring to the Sweat play.
"We don't want to fight out here," the five-time Pro Bowler continued. "We want to get better, and when two teams are competing, things are going to get fired up. So it happens."
Contrary to Bitonio's claims, Browns defensive end Myles Garrett stated he didn't witness any cheap shots during the practice.
"I didn't see cheap shots myself," Garrett said, as reported by Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports. "Not saying that they didn't happen, I didn't see any. They have a lot of vets that will help them continue to practice the right way and have good habits. We'll do the same."
A seasoned NFL player entering his 10th season, Bitonio is no stranger to training-camp scuffles.
Watson, in his second year with the Browns following a trade from the Houston Texans in March 2022, served an 11-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy after facing numerous allegations of sexual misconduct. In the six games he played last year, Watson completed 58.2% of his passes for 1,102 yards, throwing seven touchdowns against five interceptions.
