Dexter Lawrence’s first practice with the Cincinnati Bengals was an emotional one.
After a fight broke out between the offense and defense, with Ja’Marr Chase in the middle of it, the big defensive tackle diffused the situation by chalking it up to “just the competitive spirits of everybody.”
“There are a lot of alphas out there, and there’s a lot of guys that want it,” Lawrence said. “We have one common goal, and we’re going to do whatever we can to reach it.”
While Chase got entangled with Jalen Davis
and DJ Turner, Lawrence had his own incident with a Bengals veteran on the offense.
Bengals.com reporter Geoff Hobson pointed out that Ted Karras said he yelled at Lawrence, who laughed and said, “Yeah, we were bickering. We were bickering. But that’s the competitive spirit. It’s going to get intense. But honestly, fighting in practice is not going to help us get better. We both are pros and know how to push each other and compete.”
Lawrence called Karras “probably the most competitive guy I’ve ever been against, for real, in practice.” And he said the veteran center helps others keep their edge on account of his professional approach.
Hobson then asked Lawrence if he thinks it got “a little bit more chippy than it should have,” and the former New York Giant said, “No, it’s perfect. Perfect. Perfect.”
Sounds like there’s a fine line between being competitive and letting things get out of hand, and Lawrence, a smart veteran, knows what this defense needs to take a big step forward.
