Rams star Aaron Donald swings helmet at Bengals during brawl originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The second day of joint practices between last year's Super Bowl teams ended with an ugly brawl on Thursday.
At the center of the melee was Los Angeles Rams star defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who repeatedly swung a helmet at members of the Cincinnati Bengals.
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It was the last in a series of skirmishes on the day between the two teams, with Bengals offensive lineman La'el Collins ripping off one of the Rams' helmets and tossing it after a scuffle earlier in the practice.
According to ESPN's Bengals reporter Ben Baby, Collins later took exception to being held from behind by a member of the Rams on a run play and began throwing punches.
That led to the scrum where Donald ripped off a helmet and began swinging it before he got thrown to the ground.
"Things got a little scuffley and so we just called it," Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. "We were in the last period and we got two really good days of work in. So, was it worth getting the extra couple of plays in? No. So, we called it."
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was indefinitely suspended by the NFL in 2019 for swinging a helmet at the head of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph during the final seconds of a Thursday Night Football matchup. Garrett missed the final six games of the regular season before being reinstated by the NFL in February 2020.
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For infractions on the practice field, the NFL typically leaves disciplinary action to individual teams. Whether that delegation still applies after a helmet has been used as a weapon during a fight will soon be determined.
