Cleveland Browns left guard Joel Bitonio has accused the Philadelphia Eagles of taking cheap shots at quarterback Deshaun Watson.
On Tuesday, the Browns and Eagles participated in a joint practice. Following the training session, Bitonio told the media that quarterbacks are not supposed to be touched during the offseason.
“You’re not supposed to do that,” Bitonio said. “I mean, it’s just in our practice, you protect the quarterback.
"You don’t want to come close to the quarterback, you don’t want to take cheap shots, things like that where there might’ve been a couple of questionable plays both ways today.”
According to Cleveland.com, a host of Browns players weren't happy with the play of the Eagles defenders. Notably, they weren't receptive to Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat performing a strip sack during practice, saying that he was playing "too fast and loose."
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The play was said to cause a fight between both sides. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski allegedly stepped in to deescalate the scuffle before it turned into a large-scale brawl.
The joint session was the second out of two Eagles and Browns practices. The Eagles defense intercepted Watson twice during the second session, with the Browns reportedly not being happy with the way the Eagles returned the interceptions.
"We’re going into this week trying to get better in practice and work, and sometimes there are some cheap shots and things like that where you want to defend yourself,” Bitonio said.
Cleveland Browns prepares to take the snap during the first quarter of a preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles"I don’t know the exact situation, but there were a couple [of] shots today where we’re trying to make sure we’re getting the best out of practice and not fighting. But it was just a little heated second day. It always gets a little bit more fired up."
The Eagles and Browns are scheduled to play each other in the second week of their preseason campaign. The match will be the third game for the Browns this preseason.
The Browns are hoping that Watson will recover from an underwhelming six-game performance last season after returning from the NFL from an 11-game suspension.
Watson, who signed a five-year $230 million contract with the team, threw the ball for 1,102 yards, seven touchdowns, and five interceptions.
Besides being accused of going too hard in the pre-season, the Eagles have placed high expectations on themselves this season. With the progression of Jalen Hurts, the team has also praised wide receiver DeVota Smith for his progression, going into year three.
“He got all the tools,” cornerback Darius Slay said. “I told him, ‘You know, it ain’t going to be too much longer we’re going to be saying Smitty the best receiver in the league,’ for sure. It ain’t gonna be too much longer.
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