Cowboys Rumors: Cowboys and Chargers plan to have joint practice

According to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News, the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Chargers are planning to have at least one joint practice in California this summer. The meet-up between the two teams would take place at the Chargers’ facility in Costa Mesa, which is just about 100 miles south of the Cowboys’ training camp facility in Oxnard, California.

It’s common for teams to hold a practice or scrimmage with another NFL team during training camp. According to NBC Sports, the last time Dallas and the Chargers met was back in 2012 in San Diego. Things apparently got pretty heated ten years ago. Cowboys tight end Andrew Szczerba ripped off Chargers linebacker Melvin Ingram’s helmet and swung it at the linebackers head. Not ideal.

The Cowboys faced the Chargers early in the 2021 season in Los Angeles and Dallas narrowly escaped with a 20-17 victory. This likely means members of the Chargers will be excited to get their chance to prove themselves against America’s Team.

Cowboys are reportedly planning to have at least one joint practice with the Chargers in Costa Mesa this summer

For some reason, these joint practices always seem to get chippy. It’s almost inevitable. Last year, the Los Angeles Rams made the trip to Oxnard to face off with the Cowboys. Now-former Cowboy Connor Williams made a not-so-wise decision to get in a tussle with Aaron Donald. Personally, not a guy I’d want to try and fight. There were no injuries and it didn’t lead to an all-out brawl, but both coaches made it clear that the intention was not to have any scuffles.

Here is what Mike McCarthy said last year ahead of the Rams arrival:

"“We have no interest in fights. That’s a waste of everybody’s time. Those days, to me, are over. That’s not what I’m looking for. It definitely will penalize your team if it happens in a game, so why the hell would you do it in practice? I think Sean feels the same way. We just want the quality work.”"

I’d assume that the goal for both McCarthy and Brandon Staley will likely be the same heading into the 2022 joint practice.