Detroit Lions WR Jameson Williams said there was no bad blood between him and former Detroit safety Ifeatu Melifonwu, now with the Miami Dolphins.
Ifeatu Melifonwu returned to the Detroit Lions practice facility Wednesday, Aug. 13, for the first time since signing with the Miami Dolphins in free agency, and the fifth-year safety was involved in a minor skirmish at the end of the first day of joint practices with his old team.
Melifonwu and Lions receiver Jameson Williams appeared to exchange swings as the Lions and Dolphins broke practice for the day.
Players from both teams were headed to their respective fields after Jared Goff threw incomplete to Williams in the end zone on the final play of practice. Melifonwu and Williams exchanged words, and players from both teams rushed to break up the scuffle as tempers flared.
"No bad blood, just football," Williams said when asked about the incident as he left the field.
Asked if he had any hostility towards Williams or the Lions, Melifonwu said, "Nah, (expletive) just gets chippy. Joint practices."
The Lions and Dolphins exchanged shoves on several occasions Wednesday, though nothing escalated to a full-blown fight.
Rookie receiver Isaac TeSlaa and Dolphins cornerback Jack Jones had a brief shoving match after TeSlaa blocked Jones on a goal-line rushing play, and rookie guard Tate Ratledge bumped helmets with Jones when he ran to Jahmyr Gibbs' side after Jones tried to knock the ball away from Gibbs following a Lions touchdown.
Williams declined to say what prompted his skirmish with Melifonwu, who played for the Lions from 2021-24.
"I forgot," he said. "I forgot. I’m just more focused on tomorrow."
Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said he was happy to see the fight from some of the Lions' young players, even if he doesn't condone fighting in joint practices.
"You love to see young guys compete, that's the biggest thing," St. Brown said. "Isaac's putting his head in there, he's blocking and that's something I feel like as a young guy, us older players respect that cause that's just telling us when he's with us out there on Sundays he's going to put his life on the line, he's going to block, go get that safety.
"For young guys to go in there and put their head in there and hit guys that maybe they've never hitin their first joint practice of their career, things get chippy, guys start fighting. You don't want to fight in joint practices but it happens. But just being able to compete for young guys, it's one of the best things they can do."
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions joint practice with Dolphins: Tussle breaks out
Category: Football
