Training camp tussles are nothing new, and the Detroit Lions have had plenty of them over the first four days of practice, with linebacker Derrick Barnes being involved in multiple of them.
And Barnes got himself into another scrap with a teammate on Saturday, this time with backup offensive lineman Dan Skipper, as ESPN’s Eric Woodyard detailed.
“Things got heated between Dan Skipper and Derrick Barnes during a full team drill today where they were involved in an aggressive skirmish during a chippy practice,” Woodyard wrote. “Barnes has been involved in a few tussles throughout the week, but none of them have carried over off the field.”
Thankfully, as Woodyard notes, none of the skirmishes have resulted in issues off the field. Both players addressed their tussle after practice, and it’s clear it’s all love between the two despite the skirmish.
“I told everybody yesterday that this year is personal for me so I ain’t with all the BS,” Barnes said, per Woodyard. “But at the end of the day it is all love, it’s still my teammates and we’re gonna pick each other up. That’s how it is, but it’s football. That’s how it gets out here.”
“At the end of the day, you’ve got a bunch of type-A individuals and life comes at you fast,” Skipper said. “Everyone’s hot, everyone’s tired… things spill over sometimes … love the guy.”
While teammates going at each other in practice is never ideal, some instances are far worse than others. In this case, Barnes’ and Skipper’s heated exchange appears to be on the less serious end of the spectrum and it’s clear neither took it personal.
