Stephon Gilmore is a man of few words, but he's not afraid to mix it up on the field.
Case in point: The New England Patriots cornerback was at the center of a heated skirmish with Tennessee Titans players during Day Two of the teams' joint practices in Nashville.
Pretty good Dustup just erupted. Rookie AJ Brown remained locked up with Gilmore after running play. Neither was letting go. Brown said some stuff. Gilmore shoved. It was on. Devin McCourty probably the most active Pat in the scrap. — Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) August 15, 2019
According to our Tom E. Curran and others on the scene, Gilmore got tangled up with Titans rookie wide receiver A.J. Brown after a running play, and after a couple verbal and physical jabs, players from both teams entered the fray.
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FIGHT! A.J. Brown and Stephon Gilmore went at it after the whistle during 11-on-11s. Devin McCourty, Terrence Brooks and Tajae Sharpe then jumped in, followed by the rest of the team. Mike Vrabel finally sprinted over and yelled some NSFW things to break it up. — Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) August 15, 2019
Emotions rise at Patriots-Titans joint practice, with Patriots CB Stephon Gilmore and Titans rookie WR A.J. Brown locked up after whistle, with Patriots S Terrence Brooks getting in a few shoves as a crowd arrived at the scene. It was extinguished shortly thereafter. — Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) August 15, 2019
The fight even expanded to include Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and general manager Jon Robinson, according to Jim Wyatt of Titans Online.
First brawl of @Titans and @Patriots just broke out. Mike Vrabel rushed to the scene to break it up, followed by GM Jon Robinson. @Brown1arthur and @Show19ine in middle of fray first vs a bunch of Pats. — Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) August 15, 2019
About 15-20 players in middle of this one. Mostly a bunch of pushing and shoving and yelling until Vrabel jumped in and quashed it. @Titans @Patriots https://t.co/imFJCQP5OB — Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) August 15, 2019
Titans running back Dion Lewis even used the opportunity to troll some of his former Patriots teammates before tensions were diffused.
We had a fracas. Gilmore. The Mccourtys. Jon Jones. Corey Davis. AJ Brown. Dion Lewis making gestures to the Pats sidelines but then laughing #Patriots #Titans — Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) August 15, 2019
Training camp kerfuffles are pretty common, especially during joint practices, when wound-up players finally get the chance to hit someone who isn't their teammate.
That means even quieter types like Gilmore are bound to mix it up at some point, and that we should expect a physical preseason contest Saturday at Nissan Stadium.
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