Philadelphia Eagles rookie Andre Dillard almost causes another fight
Philadelphia Eagles rookie Andre Dillard sure knows how to get into the heads of his opponents at practice.
When the Philadelphia Eagles traded up in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft to select Andre Dillard, there were rave reviews for their move. Seeing as though Dillard was one of the top offensive linemen available, getting him at pick No. 22 was a blatant steal.
However, the selection of Dillard wasn’t perfect. Like many prospects, Dillard has his flaws. Notably, many were worried about his potential inability to run-block. Along with that, there were some questions about his grit as well. For an offensive lineman, Dillard seemed ‘too nice.’
Sure, a pleasant personality can go a long way in the locker room — but will it work on the field in the NFL? I guess we won’t need to find out because Andre Dillard seems to be having no problem getting into the heads of his opponents thus far at training camp.
On Monday, word got around that a major scrum broke out at the Nova Care Complex, which caused pretty much the entire team to run in and break it up. At the time, it seemed clear that defensive end Derek Barnett was a part of it. On the other side, it was Andre Dillard.
The rookie isn’t used to that type of confrontation on the football field — hence the reason why the young tackle got emotional after practice while talking to head coach Doug Pederson and general manager, Howie Roseman.
Barnett approached Dillard after practice, though, and the entire ‘beef’ was squashed. Their teammates laughed it off afterward and it seemed as though everything was alright and everybody was ready to move on. But on Tuesday, another defensive end grew frustrated with the rookie left tackle. This time, it was the rookie defensive end, Shareef Miller.
Another altercation for Dillard
Miller was the aggressor, threw a punch at Dillard’s helmet. Jason Peters chirped at Miller. “Come on. We’re playing football, man.”
— Bo Wulf (@Bo_Wulf) August 13, 2019
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According to The Athletic’s Bo Wulf, Miller and Dillard got into some extra action post-play as Miller grew frustrated and took a swing at his opponent. This time, the whole team didn’t have to get involved, but veteran left tackle Jason Peters decided to intervene.
On Monday, Peters spoke on the situation between Dillard and Barnett and just shrugged it off in a ‘these things happen’ kind of way. On Tuesday though, Peters wasn’t as tolerant about it. That now marks the second training camp fight for Dillard — and the second for Miller as well.