Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett was kicked out of a practice for fighting with a teammate for the second time this summer when he and tackle Bradley Sowell got into it on Sunday.
The fight came after Bennett took issue with the way Sowell, who was also removed from the field, took defensive lineman Josh Shirley to the ground on a previous snap. Bennett said Monday that he thinks his role as a leader on defense involves calls for him to “stick up for the younger guys” and enforce a code that calls for teammates to show more respect for one another.
“It’s a whole new offensive line where before it was guys you had battled with for a long time, three-four years,” Bennett said, via the Seattle Times . “There is just a code in the NFL when it comes to injuries and conditioning and stuff like that. … There’s a code to where we have to find that fine line where it becomes about the person’s safety then it is about the game.”
Bennett’s words echo some of what coach Pete Carroll said on Sunday after the spat, particularly about “working to take it as far as you can and still respect the person across from you” without crossing the line that Bennett feels Sowell crossed on Sunday. Bennett and Sowell both said they talked after scuffling and have the respect for each other that Carroll wants, although it seems Bennett won’t be shy about expressing himself should anyone fail to follow the code in upcoming workouts.