Cowboys and Saints joint practice descends into multiple brawls; Prescott visibly animated amid skirmishes

Key facts

At least six separate altercations during joint practice in Oxnard on Tuesday
Dak Prescott caught gesturing intensely, exchanging words with Saints edge rusher Chase Young
Cowboys linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku ejected for throwing punches, his second removal this offseason
Saints tight end Brock Rechsteiner body-slammed a Cowboys defender during one scuffle
Coaches Brian Schottenheimer and Kellen Moore discussed ending practice early but allowed it to continue
Teams play preseason matchup August 28

What happened

The Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints joint practice in Oxnard on Tuesday devolved into repeated physical altercations. At least six separate fights broke out during the session, with the chaos drawing wide attention after quarterback Dak Prescott was caught in the middle, visibly animated and gesturing at players from both teams.

Prescott’s involvement

A roughly 31-second video showed Prescott walking through groups of players, talking intensely and making gestures before what appeared to be a handshake with a Saints player. According to reporting, he exchanged words with Saints edge rusher Chase Young during one of the altercations. The footage, posted by The Athletic’s Jon Machota with the caption “Dak Prescott not happy about something,” circulated widely among fans of both teams reacting to the visible intensity.

Key incidents and ejections

Saints tight end Brock Rechsteiner, the son of WWE Hall of Famer Scott Steiner, body-slammed a Cowboys defender during one scuffle. Cowboys outside linebacker Donovan Ezeiruakov was ejected for throwing punches—his second removal from a practice this offseason following a similar incident earlier in training camp.

What the coaches said

Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer called the practice “a little chippy” and said it was “not the way we like to do business” and that the team needed to “be better.” He also stated, “We’re certainly not going to take s— from anybody.”

Saints head coach Kellen Moore took a more measured view. “All the chippiness of it, not the ideal flow of a joint practice, but we got the work we need,” he said. Moore noted that he and Schottenheimer communicated and decided to continue the practice rather than end it early. Moore emphasized that emotional intensity is part of football but that players need to focus on executing plays. “There’s some edginess to football,” he said. “We get to learn from how this one navigated and we got some good stuff out of this.”

Player reaction

Cowboys safety Jalen Thompson was asked whether Dallas came out ahead in the scraps. “Of course we did,” he said. “Come on now.”

What’s next

The two teams will meet again in the preseason on August 28, giving both rosters a chance to settle any remaining tensions under actual game conditions.

Sources

Featured photo: DaRealConMan via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)