Kevin O'Connell won't tolerate fighting at Vikings-Browns joint practices this week

O'Connell's policy has always been that anyone who fights gets kicked out of practice.

The Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings prepare for a drill during a joint practice in Eagan, Minn., Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. / Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Vikings are headed to the Cleveland area this week for a couple joint practices with the Browns on Wednesday and Thursday. Those will be two very important, valuable days of work for everyone on Minnesota's 90-man roster, so Kevin O'Connell won't allow them to be derailed by extracurricular activity.

Within these joint practices that take place across the NFL, fighting can be an issue. The competitive juices tend to run very high for players who are getting a break from facing off against their own teammates. It was a major problem when the Lions and Giants met up for practices last week, causing the league to fine both teams $200,000 afterwards.

O'Connell has always made it clear that fighting won't be tolerated. His policy is that if you fight in a joint practice, you get kicked out and can't play in the upcoming preseason game (if you were set to do so). That's a pretty good deterrent when players are (metaphorically) fighting for roster spots and roles. The Vikings hosted the 49ers for joint practices in 2022 and both the Titans and Cardinals last year, and of those all occurred with minimal scuffling.

"We're both trying to simulate game reps, and you can't fight in a game, so why would you be able to fight in a practice?" O'Connell said on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday. "What happens when you do fight in a game? You get kicked out. I have kind of a standing rule that if guys fight, they're first and foremost going to get kicked off the field.

"Secondly, if they were set to play in the game, trying to fight for a roster spot, they will no longer play in the game. And if they were a guy that we were going to hold out of the game, they're probably going to strap on the pads and go play a little bit in that game that weekend. That tends to be enough to hold off those guys that may be thinking about it. But at the same time, you don't want to take out the competitive side of it."

The Vikings want these joint practices to be physical and competitive, because they're a great way to evaluate their team and help players get better. They just don't want anything to go over the line. O'Connell feels confident that they'll be able to avoid that this week in their trip to Northern Ohio, in part because he knows Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski feels the same way about practice fights.

"It's about who you practice with, as well," O'Connell told McAfee. "Kevin Stefanski is a guy I have so much respect for. We kind of feel similar about that. Hopefully we have two really good days of work, physical work, it's going to be a physical football team we're going to practice against. Both teams are trying to prepare themselves for 17-plus games that are out in front. So any rep, any period, any drill that gets cut short, it's a damn shame and we can't let it happen."