RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks had their most physical practice of the Mike Macdonald era on Wednesday, including a postgame brawl in which receiver DK Metcalf swung a helmet and hit a teammate in the head.
The swing of Metcalf’s helmet toward cornerback Tre Brown — one of several confrontations on Wednesday, Day 13 of training camp — was captured on NFL Network.
The fistfights began earlier in the day. Brown began pushing and shoving receiver Jake Bobo, who eventually lost his helmet. Brown punched Bobo in the face and there appeared to be blood on the receiver’s jersey after the scrum.
In the next drill, linebacker Tyrel Dodson and tight end Pharaoh Brown pushed each other and got tangled up during a goal line drill. Brown appeared upset that Dodson hit running back Ken Walker III after the play ended. The next snap led to the scuffle between Metcalf and Brown.
Brown shoved a hand in Metcalf’s face, and as he walked away, the two began to brawl. Metcalf turned, charged Brown, ripped off his helmet and swung it around. But instead of hitting Brown, Metcalf struck the top of safety K’Von Wallace’s helmet, which, as is now mandatory for most players, was covered by a soft Guardian Cap. Wallace, who tried to diffuse the situation, appeared uninjured and participated in the rest of the practice.
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Metcalf had multiple on-field skirmishes last season, earning him five personal fouls (two were denied), including an ejection against the San Francisco 49ers after a fight with linebacker Fred Warner. It was the second ejection in Metcalf’s five-year career (his first was for a fight with the Green Bay Packers in 2021).
Macdonald gathered the team after Wednesday’s incident and addressed them, presumably telling them to tone down the violence. Dodson briefly left the field but later returned and had no further trouble. Metcalf and Brown also continued to practice.
The rest of practice went on uneventfully for about 30 minutes until cornerback Carlton Johnson and receiver Dee Eskridge nearly came to blows and had to be separated. A few minutes later, outside linebacker Derick Hall and rookie guard Christian Haynes were pulled from practice when Macdonald intervened while they were involved in a shoving match during a drill between offensive and defensive linemen.
In an interview with NFL Network, Macdonald wrote that the heated practice was due to players being “tired of competing against each other” after two weeks of training camp.
“We’re on the edge right now,” he added. “I think the guys realize that. Hey, let’s take care of each other. We definitely don’t want people fighting here, especially our own teammates. Then DK gave a great message at the end of practice, to put it all in perspective. The guys finished it the right way. So, proud of our guys.”
When asked what his own message to the team was, Macdonald replied that it was “positive”.
“And the guys are in a good position,” he continued. “But just remind them why we’re here, what we’re trying to accomplish, take a deep breath and let’s finish practice the right way. And we did that.”
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(Photo: Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)
