A couple skirmishes broke out in Tuesday's practice, the Jets' final before their joint session with the Commanders on Thursday (Wednesday's practice will be a walkthrough).
The first encounter came after LB Marcelino McCrary-Ball tacked RB Xazavian Valladay by the offense's sideline. McCrary-Ball was quickly greeted by a handful of offensive linemen as pushing and shoving ensued.
Two plays later, and in a new team period, QB Aaron Rodgers fired a ball to the sideline intended for Garrett Wilson, who jumped in the air with D.J. Reed in tight coverage. Wilson, who did not catch the ball, fell to the ground and immediately got in Reed's face.
Players from both sidelines met at midfield as HC Robert Saleh and LB C.J. Mosley addressed the team.
"Getting chippy is fine," Saleh said. "It's just being responsible with one another. There are two types of fights. There are fights because you feel like the other guy is going too hard, which then you need to pick it up. Then there are fights because it looks like you're being cheap. Those are the ones we want to avoid. The overall message being we have practice to finish and take care of one another. Continue to compete and continue to battle."
Saleh isn't worried about Tuesday's tempers bleeding into Thursday's joint practice.
"I know our guys will compete, their guys will compete and there's still a level of respect that you should have for your opponent," he said. "I don't think anyone is coming in here talking about fighting. That's not what we're looking for. We're just looking to find a way to compete, look at different schemes, lean on different bodies and find ways to get better. I know [Commanders HC Dan Quinn] is preaching the same message."
LB Quincy Williams added: "Very excited about [joint practices]. What I saw today, loved it but hated it because we're teammates. But it also shows we have a competitive nature. We're not out here just trying to get through the day. There's still a certain sense of pride about ourselves and we have some people who are going to come into our house and try to take over. I'm not saying we have a fight-type mindset, but a controlled combat. That's the mindset we want to have."
Offense Performance
The defensive line had its best performance of camp Tuesday as Javon Kinlaw, Will McDonald, Braiden McGregor and Eric Watts were some of the players who provided a significant push up front.
The highlight on offense came in the move-the-ball period. Aaron Rodgers and the group were backed up after RG Alijah Vera-Tucker was flagged for holding on LB C.J. Mosley. The defense sent some heat as LB Quincy Williams squeaked through the offensive line on a blitz, but the ball was already out of Rodgers' hands and into RB Breece Hall's, who found space over the middle of the field for what would've been a long catch-and-run and potentially a touchdown.
"He's a wide-receiver-type running back," Williams said. "He's like one of the guys we're going against in Week 1, Christian McCaffrey."
QB Tyrod Taylor led the first-team offense in the competition period as Aaron Rodgers watched next to GM Joe Douglas. Down by 25-24 with 54 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and no timeouts, Taylor orchestrated a three-play drive that started on the offense's 30-yard line and ended in field goal range.
After an incompletion, Taylor found WR Allen Lazard on the right sideline on consecutive plays. The group hustled to the line of scrimmage after the second completion and spiked the ball with four seconds remaining.
Jetcetera
LT Tyron Smith (tightness) returned to practice but only participated in individual drills. … WR Xavier Gipson (leg) practiced for the first time since his injury and had a nice third-down conversion. Head coach Robert Saleh said of the second-year WR, "He took a big step I felt like in OTAs." … CB Tre Swilling made a nice pass breakup. … RB Breece Hall had a strong practice running the ball from the jump as the first play of practice was a long run down the left sideline. … S Ashtyn Davis (rib) left practice early and will be evaluated. … DE Eric Watts had a would-be sack on Tyrod Taylor. … WR Hamze El-Zayat made a great grab down the sideline near the end zone on a pass from Adrian Martinez.
