The sparks may not fly in Sparkle City next week.
Following Sunday’s outing of training camp, Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich was asked about the potential—and even the inevitably—of summertime fisticuffs. But he hopes no one squares up when the New York Jets come to Spartanburg for joint practices next week.
“The fighting thing . . . I just cannot stand,” Reich told reporters. “I mean, it’s just useless. I mean, I get it. It’s a very emotional game. Hopefully, we’ll be pros about it. Coach [Robert] Saleh and I will talk and we’ll talk to the teams.
“Listen, the guys don’t wanna fight. Nobody wants to fight. But, everybody’s a very prideful competitor. And, so, we will do everything in our power to promote non-fighting.”
The Panthers weren’t able to avoid the smoke each of the last two summers—getting into it with the New England Patriots multiple times in 2022 and the Baltimore Ravens and Reich’s Colts in 2021. But Reich’s Panthers and Saleh’s Jets may not have many chances to get heated.
“The good thing is with the Jets—we’re gonna work real hard the first day and the second day’s gonna be much lighter,” he added. “A lot of times, the fighting comes the second day. That’s been my experience, anyway. So we’ll minimize the opportunity for that. We have a little bit of work with ’em. That second day, we’re gonna work together a little bit, but we’re also gonna work separate a little bit.”
