Now that every team is roughly three weeks into training camps, players across the league are getting tired of seeing the same color jerseys on the opposite side of the field everyday. They’re tired of hitting their teammates in practice and look forward to the preseason games for the opportunity to let loose on someone from a different team for a change.
It leads to increased tempers and the occasional flare up on the practice field among teammates ready. One of those flare ups took place with the San Francisco 49ers.
According to Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press, safeties C.J. Spillman and Michael Thomas got into a fight during practice on Tuesday. Spillman was sent to the locker room and the fight resulted in Spillman’s pant leg becoming torn.
Per Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, head coach Jim Harbaugh dove into the pile in an attempt to separate the two players.
The unique aspect of this scuffle wasn’t that it happened but that it was between two defensive players who play the same position. It’s normal to see battles between an offensive lineman and defensive lineman who are tired of hitting each other for the 14th day in a row. However, it is a bit odd to see it among guys at the same position.
Still, there probably isn’t too much to read into the fight other than players just frustrated with the dog days of camp.