Tensions flared during the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints’ joint practice, which also roped in Dak Prescott. The quarterback and a few other players were involved in some heated exchanges with the other team.

“A near riot almost broke out on the other field. Also Chase Young and Dak Prescott exchanged some words. But it’s all good,” reported Dallas News analyst Calvin Watkins. 

Multiple clips on social media captured Prescott being visibly upset. In one of them, shared by The Athletic’s Jon Machota, Prescott seemed to be in an exchange with New Orleans players before walking off and talking to another one, making a punching motion before pointing to the group he left. It was a heated practice for both sides, with Machota reporting seven or eight fights.

There was Cowboys’ second-year edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku. In a clip shared by Nick Harris, he landed a punch on a Saints offensive lineman and was removed from practice. He had already received a warning from Brian Schottenheimer, who ejected him from practice on August 6 for throwing a punch during practice.

In another clip, Saints rookie wide receiver Brock Rechsteiner engaged in a serious fight with the Cowboys’ Caelen Carson. A serious brawl erupted between the two teams, with several players getting involved. Rechsteiner also threw Cowboys safety Jalen Thompson to the ground. Whistles and air horns continued to ring through the air to break up the fight, but it went on for a few minutes.

When asked if the Cowboys won the fight, Thompson said, “Of course we did. Come on now.”

“A little chippy,” head coach Brian Schottenheimer said about the fight-filled session, per Machota. “Not the way we like to do business. Gotta be better. But I gotta look at the film. We’re certainly not gonna take s— from anybody. But, again, it was chippy on both sides.

“Like I said, I want our guys to play on the edge without going over the edge. One guy seems like he might have thrown a punch, that’s why he left practice. … Ultimately, I’m disappointed— it was sloppy. A sloppy practice.”

According to Patrik Walker, Schottenheimer and Saints head coach Kellen Moore considered calling off practice. But it was a very poignant part of the day, with Moore claiming he was “too busy playing referee.”

“We’re competing the whole time,” New Orleans quarterback Tyler Shough said after the practice, per Jeff Nowak. “We’re getting after it, … I was going out there, talking c–p to guy, talking a bunch. We are out there to compete every single down, and that’s what we want. But we also have to manage the ebbs and flows of the game, too.

The bad blood will carry over to the field as the two sides meet up next on August 28 for Week 2 of the preseason.