Falcons Practice Ends After Two Fights Break Out

The second fight reportedly broke out on the final play of practice.

Editors’ note (July 30, 6:51 p.m.): An earlier version of this story stated that Atlanta’s practice ended early after the pair of fights. According to the Falcons communication department, practice ended a little past the scheduled time on the last play. 

Two fights broke out between teammates at Falcons practice in Flowery Branch, Ga. on Saturday, reportedly resulting in one player being kicked out.

#Falcons coach Arthur Smith just ended practice after the second right that involved NT Anthony Rush. DL Jalen Dalton was kicked out of practice after the first fight.

— D. Orlando Ledbetter (@DOrlandoAJC) July 30, 2022

The first fight included defensive lineman Jalen Dalton. The 25-year-old was kicked out of practice after a “good-sized scrum,” per ESPN’s Michael Rothstein. Dalton reportedly swung at offensive tackle Germain Ifedi after the two shoved each other.

The second fight included nose tackle Anthony Rush. The 360-pound lineman brought center Jonotthan Harrison to the ground, and that was all coach Arthur Smith needed to see to end practice.

Rush gave a reason for his action after Saturday’s practice, per The Athletic.

“It was all about lunch,” Rush joked. “They took all the forks and stuff so I had to eat with my hands. I didn’t like that too much. I had to get the last piece of grilled chicken so I wasn’t too happy about that.”

Cornerback A.J. Terrell was asked about the fights in his post-practice press conference, and he said he liked the competitiveness of the practice, but he felt like the fights aren’t necessary, per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Even though Smith ended practice early, he appeared positive about his team’s competitiveness on Saturday.

“Nobody did anything really that dumb,” Smith said. “I would much rather have guys you have to pull back than you have to push. They’re competitive as hell. We are having so much fun working with these guys it’s unbelievable.”