The dog days of summer have officially reached the Miami Dolphins’ training camp after offensive tackle Ja’Wuan James and defensive end Kendall Montgomery got into a brief skirmish during Monday afternoon’s practice.
The scuffle, which was reported by The Sun Sentinel, began when Montgomery twice attempted to get past James during the one-on-one drills, but came up empty both times. During the second attempt, James proceeded to slam Montgomery to the ground.
It was at that point that the fisticuffs started. Montgomery, who had lost his helmet during the second attempt, got up to punch James, but missed. James hit Montgomery in the face at least once before center Mike Pouncey grabbed Montgomery, while other lineman helped put an end to the situation.
Montgomery is trying to stand out among the players in camp after signing as a free agent out of Bowling Green University. James, on the other hand, was the team’s top selection last year out of Tennessee and is currently in the second year of an $8.4 million contract that included a $4.45 million bonus.
Since fights are always a part of virtually every training camp, there was little concern about any lingering issues. For example, strong safety Reshad Jones said, “That’s part of football. We get after it, but at the end of the day it’s about a brotherhood. We take care of each other and we care about each other.”
Head Coach Joe Philbin was equally non-plussed about the situation, indicating that while he hadn’t seen it, “Yeah, it’s time. Those things happen during training camp.”
Miami officially opens up its preseason schedule on Thursday when they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears. Kickoff is set for just after 8 p.m. ET.
