Minkah Fitzpatrick, Chase Claypool fight at Pittsburgh Steelers practice

Minkah Fitzpatrick and Chase Claypool are two of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ young stars. It’s not uncommon to see fights in NFL practices this time of year, particularly with cuts looming and many roster hopefuls literally battling for their jobs.

Fitzpatrick and Claypool are obviously locks for the Steelers’ 53-man roster, so it was surprising to see the two names who were at the front of the brawl that broke out at Pittsburgh practice on Monday.

Reporters were on hand to witness the action but were prohibited from reporting details according to the Steelers’ media policy. Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said after he had “no idea” when asked about the scuffle, and simply said “immediate feedback sometimes is needed” when referencing his message to the team in the huddle to close out Monday’s practice.

According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Tomlin’s message focused on “just being smart and making sure nobody gets hurt in those situations.”

Steelers’ teammates chime in on Claypool and Fitzpatrick

It’s common for NFL coaches and players to keep quiet in these situations, but a few Steelers players spoke to the media about Monday’s brawl.

“I think we’re still in that training camp mode where it’s that competitive edge. People are getting chippy,” defensive lineman Tyson Alualu said. “I think it’s just part of the game. I don’t think it’s anything you have to look into. It’s part of the game, it’s part of football. But we understand we don’t want — especially our star players, we don’t want anyone getting hurt. We’ve got to be more smart.”

Left guard Kevin Dotson downplayed the incident.

“I just saw a big pile. I didn’t really see what went on,” Dotson said. “You come out here, and you’re pretty much fighting a person for two hours. Eventually, something might happen. That’s been happening since little league.”

Dotson added: “Yeah, I think so, if you’re going to compete, competitors are going to fight. They’re two of our biggest competitors. So, I kind of almost expect it to happen at least once.”

“Everyone’s ready to play someone else other than us every day, other than preseason,” defensive end Chris Wormley said. “Sometimes that’s part of football. But as a whole, we want to stick together as a team and let that stuff go. I think those two guys will make up, and they’ll carry on and prepare for Buffalo in Week 1.”

According to multiple reporters, Claypool and Fitzpatrick were not made available to the media following practice.

For now, it seems like this is the classic late-camp fight between the team’s top defensive back and one of their top wideouts. It’s a tale as old as time, and as long as both are healthy, it’s almost certain they’ve already forgotten about the fight and will continue to push one another as the Steelers open against the ultra-talented Buffalo Bills.