With joint practices growing more popular in the NFL, it's unsurprising to see a seemingly new fight break out between two new teams every day this summer.
The very nature of a practice environment featuring elite athletes with so many competitive juices flowing almost inherently lends itself to this dynamic. It's also important to remember that many of the guys participating in joint practices won't really be getting much time in preseason games. So the action they see in these practices is kind of the only action they'll see against opposing competition until the real games start in September. You can understand why some of them are chomping at the bit for contact and are perhaps a little too eager to create some for themselves.
All in all,
it's a volatile chemistry mix of competitive pride bound to spill over and blow up from time to time.
We saw another classic example of this during the Chicago Bears' joint practice with the Tennessee Titans on Thursday afternoon. When Titans receiver Wan'Dale Robinson went over the middle for a catch, former Titan and current Bears safety Xavier Woods laid him out. Hard. Robinson's Titans teammates took obvious exception to the hit. Meanwhile, the playmaker had to leave the field to be evaluated for a concussion.
His exact status is unclear at this time:
Bears safety Xavier Woods just laid out Titans WR Wan’Dale Robinson. Hard high hit over the middle. Flag thrown. Titans players went after Woods.
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) August 27, 2026
After the practice was over, first-year Titans head coach Robert Saleh was almost certainly never going to let this moment slide without even mentioning it. When a reporter tried to get Saleh's thoughts on the hit and the overall situation with Robinson, Saleh offered a curt "cheap" description for the Bears' general approach to the play.
Think about it. One of Saleh's starters just got hurt in a practice. Of course he's that upset about it:
Titans' Robert Saleh had only one word after WR Wan’Dale Robinson left joint practice with the Bears early after taking a hit
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) August 27, 2026
(Via Titans) pic.twitter.com/sOsJ54LGhC
The Bears and Titans will play their third and final preseason game against each other this Saturday. While it's unlikely that many, if any, big names will play in the exhibition reserved for fringe roster players to make a final impression before cutdown day, we'll have to see whether any bad blood from the Robinson sequence spills onto the field with everyone who is in uniform.
When is NFL roster cutdown day?
All 32 teams must have their final 53-man rosters set by 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Robert Saleh has 1 salty word for Bears after Wan'Dale Robinson hit
