OXNARD, Calif. — The NFL fined the Dallas Cowboys $500,000 on Thursday. New Orleans was fined the same amount for the same joint practice.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the league’s statement at 3:03 p.m. CT. The Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints practiced against each other Aug. 18 in Oxnard, California.
The league pointed to the Competition Committee, which has treated sportsmanship as a point of emphasis for several years. That emphasis covers joint practices specifically. Every club got a memo before training camp spelling out its responsibility to prevent unsportsmanlike behavior at those sessions, and the league cited the risk of injury in the statement.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Thursday he had heard nothing from the league about discipline. He confirmed the NFL had requested the practice film. He spoke before the Cowboys’ final practice in Oxnard, hours before the statement went out.
The Ejection That Set It Off
Donovan Ezeiruaku was thrown out Tuesday for throwing a punch. It was the second time this month Dallas removed him from a practice for fighting, after the Aug. 6 session.
Schottenheimer was working both fields and did not see it himself.
“When you’re playing head coach and you’re on both fields, you don’t see everything,” Schottenheimer said. “So it was reported back to me that Donovan threw a punch. And so that’s what made us enforce the issue.”
Caelen Carson also threw a punch. Officials did not see that one.
Saints center Erik McCoy threw a Cowboys player’s helmet into the air during one scrum. Jalen Thompson was taken to the ground by a Saints player in another.
Schottenheimer and Saints coach Kellen Moore agreed on the field that another incident or two would end the practice early.
Schottenheimer described his afternoon to Joseph Hoyt of The Dallas Morning News.
“Right now, I’m in charge of fight club,” Schottenheimer said.
Nobody Agrees On How Many Fights There Were
Katherine Terrell of ESPN reported at least two between the Saints offense and the Cowboys defense. Clarence Hill Jr. of All City DLLS put the total at seven or more.
Dallas took Ezeiruaku in the second round in 2025, 44th overall, out of Boston College. He moved into the edge rotation as a rookie and switched to No. 6 for this season.
Carson is a 2024 fifth-round pick out of Wake Forest.
Players Can Still Be Fined Separately
Individual players are subject to fines for fighting at joint practices under the collective bargaining agreement. That discipline follows a film review, so it would not arrive the same day the team fines did.
Coaches are held to the same standard as players under the league’s joint-practice rules.
The Cowboys have drawn practice discipline before. The NFL fined former coach Mike McCarthy $100,000 in 2022 and took away an organized team activity. That was the second straight offseason Dallas was punished for offseason workout rules.
The Two Teams Meet Again Aug. 28
Dallas and New Orleans play at AT&T Stadium on Friday, Aug. 28, in the Cowboys’ preseason finale. Kickoff is 7 p.m. CT. It is the only preseason game Dallas plays at home this year.
Moore spent four seasons as a Cowboys quarterback and four more on the Dallas coaching staff, the last three as offensive coordinator.
Tuesday was the second joint practice of camp for the Cowboys. Dallas worked against the Los Angeles Rams on Aug. 11 in Woodland Hills, California. Neither team had a fighting problem that day.
Thursday was the Cowboys’ last practice in Oxnard. Dallas plays at the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday and holds open practices at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco on Aug. 25 and Aug. 26.
