Eagles training camp ended on Tuesday with a bang and a thud and some more thuds and shoving and the sidelines clearing.
It was an absolute brawl.
Late in Tuesday’s joint practice with the Colts at the NovaCare Complex, Eagles longtime center Jason Kelce took exception to a second big hit from Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin on running back Kenny Gainwell. So he chased Franklin down and bowled him over.
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That’s when a melee ensued and the sidelines cleared.
“Tensions just got the better of me,” Kelce said. “You know, we try and keep things civil on the field and I think for me, I pride myself on being a guy that sustains the emotion and the level of play out there and I let my emotions get the better of me. That certainly doesn't belong out there on the field and a little bit of shame that it got to that level and that I did what I did, so certainly not happy about that and I think very highly of the guys that were out there.
“Forty-four, Zaire (Franklin), I think he's a tremendous player. I think a lot of all their guys up front and they brought a lot of intensity to the day, which made the practice intense. And, you know, I think I didn't handle things properly there at the end.”
While he didn’t throw a punch, the 35-year-old Kelce called his hit on Franklin a “cheap shot.” And that’s what kicked everything off.
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Even though Kelce seemed embarrassed about starting the brawl, Gainwell was appreciative that the captain had his back.
“That’s just Kelce being Kelce,” Gainwell said. “That’s just Kelce being a professional and taking players' backs.”
The brawl happened during what was likely the final period of practice, so once the fight was broken up, the two sides separated and practice was over. Training camp is now over too. These two teams will play in the preseason finale on Thursday night, but don’t expect to see the starters.
After the Eagles and Colts were finally on separate fields, Nick Sirianni gathered his entire team.
What was his message?
“Just keep each other safe,” Gainwell said. “Man, we’re a team. We’re not going to let anybody come in our house and take over. But we’re going to continue to work hard each every day. We whooped their a** though.”
Franklin, 27, is a Philly native who went to La Salle College High School. It was his two hard thud hits on Gainwell that led to Kelce’s eruption of emotion.
“It’s funny, you know,” Franklin said. “Growing up in Philly, watching him play for a long time, a lot of respect for him. Talked to him a little bit after we played them last year. Thought the OGs would at least look me in the eye before. But it’s all good. I’m might get a chance to look him in the eye on Thursday so we’re going to be OK.”
What led to all the chippy play on Tuesday?
“Sometimes your speed ain’t they speed,” Franklin said. “People get offended. That’s life. We’ll be OK. Got some good work in. We compete on Thursday.”
Even before this final brawl at the end of practice, there were a ton of emotional moments throughout practice. At one point, when the Eagles’ defense was on the field, the Eagles got a sack on Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson but then Derek Barnett put his hands on Richardson late.
The Colts obviously didn’t like that and a minor shoving match began. After the next play, Barnett was still jawing with a Colts offensive lineman and Milton Williams had to get in his way and guide Barnett back to the Eagles’ sideline.
Even Colts head coach Shane Steichen — who was the Eagles’ OC in 2021 and 2022 — had to get involved to get his players back to the sideline after that play.
“It’s football,” Nakobe Dean said. “It just boils down to it being football. Everybody’s out there, we’re practicing hard. It’s camp time. It’s hard practice and a lot of alphas on the field. Everything just got in the mix.”
Of course, the final brawl wasn’t football.
And that’s why Kelce showed remorse well after practice ended.
“You have to be intense,” Kelce said. “There's just better ways to do it. So, you know, I love Kenny. I love all of my teammates, but I think that you can't just brush something off. Everybody's out here to be accountable and to get better and that was unacceptable for me and I'm just gonna try and be better moving forward and be accountable to that.”
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