According to Sam Warren of The Athletic, Las Vegas Raiders star pass-rusher Maxx Crosby and veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins got into a bit of a scuffle during Friday’s practice after Crosby tipped a pass and Cousins “got in [Crosby’s] face afterward,” which resulted in a bit of a shouting match between the two.
Following practice, first-year Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak addressed the incident.
Klint Kubiak downplays Maxx Crosby, Kirk Cousins scuffle
“Yeah, that’s training camp,” Kubiak said, per Austin Boyd of Heavy. “Those are two leaders of our team going at it. So, that is part of camp. Obviously, you fight in a game, you throw a punch in the game, especially, then you’re out of the game. So, we’ve got to be smart, treat it like a game.”
As Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk noted, “teammates getting into it is a part of” just about every team’s training camp. Meanwhile, Crosby and Cousins will likely enter September as the leaders of their particular units.
Regardless of the “exhausting” trade rumors that continue to hover over the Raiders, there remains no indication that Crosby will be going anywhere anytime soon. As for Cousins, he reportedly will enter the regular season as the Raiders’ QB1 over rookie and No. 1 overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza.
Michael Mayer seems to confirm Kirk Cousins news
Tight end Michael Mayer was among the Raiders players who seemingly liked the fact that Cousins stood up for himself in this particular instance.
“We don’t want to be throwing punches, but I think on any padded day of camp, there’s going to be some tussles,” Mayer said, per The Associated Press (h/t ESPN). “That’s our starting quarterback right now, and you want him to defend your team, and you want him to have some edge to him, which he does. He’s always had since the first day I met him when he came in here. I don’t want him getting thrown out. I don’t want him getting a flag. Nothing like that, but you’ve got to be able to defend yourself.”
Of course, the “right now” portion of Mayer’s comment doesn’t necessarily confirm that Cousins will start the Raiders’ Week 1 game versus the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 13. That said, all signs continue to point to Cousins getting the nod for the Miami contest.
