The Giants spent a lot of resources on new offensive linemen this offseason, so rookie coach Pat Shurmur couldn’t have been pleased when one of them nearly got brained and another one limped off after a practice scuffle that got out of hand.
Via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com, the incident between defensive tackle Damon Harrison and second-round pick Will Hernandez got out of control, with Harrison pulling the rookie’s helmet off and swinging it at him.
Fortunately, Harrison missed, but there was nearly some collateral damage.
Left tackle Nate Solder, the big-money free agent pickup, walked away from the scrum with a limp after being rolled up on by a teammate. Solder said his knee “hurt a little bit,” though Shurmur said on the field he was told Solder was “fine.”
“It has been very competitive the whole camp and there are certain things that we certainly can’t do,” Shurmur said of the fight. “We get them out of the drill and try to settle them down. That happens. It’s very competitive up there.
“Will Hernandez is a very competitive guy, and they just kind of butted heads.”
Hernandez is fortunate he still has his.
Practice fights are the kind of things some coaches will tolerate, but this one clearly crossed a line, and Shurmur was smart to get it broken up quickly.