Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur took safety Josh Jones off the field following an incident at practice on Wednesday.
A fight between players spawned after Jones tackled running back Tra Carson to the ground at the end of a play during team drills, violating specific directions from LaFleur.
Jones spent the rest of the practice on the sideline.
“I just told him to ‘get out’ at that particular moment,” LaFleur said after practice. “That’s not what we want to be about, we have to take care of our teammates. We are a team. We need everybody. That’s how we operate.”
Jones took issue with Carson bowling over cornerback Tony Brown.
LaFleur said the Packers have a “zero tolerance policy” on fighting during camp. He’s also against tackling unsuspecting teammates to the ground.
“I don’t want to tackle,” LaFleur said. “We’re in a thud situation. It’s one thing if a guy knows he’s about to get tackled, it’s another thing when a guy gets tackled and he’s not necessarily expecting it. I think that leads to injuries. We want to stay off the ground. It’s unfortunate but it happened.”
Jones created some offseason drama by skipping OTAs and sitting out minicamp, reportedly in an effort to force a trade out of Green Bay. He’s since put those events in the past and recommitted to helping the Packers in 2019.
He’ll now have to shake off a mistake at practice and get back to earning a role on defense on Thursday.
