Sterling Shepard, Browns cornerback throw punches at end of Giants-Browns joint practice
Browns cornerback Troy Hill and Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard get into a fight during a joint training camp practice on Friday in Berea, Ohio. Credit: AP/Ron Schwane
BEREA, Ohio — Technically, the Giants and Browns made it through two full practices without a fight. Technically.
After the final whistles of the second joint workout on Friday, however, as the players were exchanging pleasantries, two of them apparently exchanged something else. Browns cornerback Troy Hill and Giants receiver Sterling Shepard were seen throwing punches at each other. While none seemed to land, the skirmish was certainly the most violent interaction between the two teams.
That’s not to say things were otherwise light-hearted. The second day’s practice was definitely played with more fire and heavier thumping than Thursday’s, despite the mandate of no tackling to the ground. At one point the two head coaches even stopped the practice to pull their respective teams into separate huddles and remind them to cool things down.
"Coach Judge had clear instructions from the get-go," Daniel Jones said. "It was competitive and chippy at times but I think guys did a good job of keeping it between the whistles."
Ironically, Jones said that at just about the same time Shepard was trading haymakers across the field.
Notes & quotes: Joe Judge said he had not made any decisions regarding who would play and who would not in Sunday’s preseason game. He said he would look at the workloads from each individual player before making that call … Saquon Barkley did not participate in any live drills against Browns players (he did do some 1-on-1’s gainst Giants defenders), but Judge said he was not sure if those same restrictions would be in place for the running back next week when the Giants practice with the Patriots. If they are, Barkley will not be able to practice fully until next Friday at the earliest, which is when the Giants will have a workout on their own at their facility in New Jersey. That practice is 16 days before the regular-season opener … After Friday’s practice the Giants went to play TopGolf. "It’s a great opportunity just to be on the road together as a team," Judge said of the outing. "You don’t get a lot of time with the new rules of training camp to get out and do things in terms of team-building. It’s important at times we step away from the field and just get to enjoy each other as players, as coaches, as a team and get back and just laugh a little bit, smile a little bit, tell a couple of stories and have some friendly competition." Asked how he is at golf, Judge said: "Horrible … I’ve got nothing."
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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