Rookie wide-receiver Laquon Treadwell has always been known as a fiery competitor, and that fire was put on full display this past Monday.
In the second full-pads practice at Vikings Training Camp, tempers flared as two scrums took place during scrimmages. Treadwell did his best Hollywood Hulk Hogan impression and body-slammed cornerback Jabari Price after a tackle that Treadwell took exception to. Both players came to blows and Treadwell ended up without a helmet when the dust was settled. Earlier in practice, running back Matt Asiata and linebacker Emmanuel Lamur mixed it up during goal-line drills after Lamur lowered the boom on Asiata.
With Head Coach Mike Zimmer trying to build an environment of ultra-competitiveness, he sees no problem with these kinds of things taking place.
“It’s not a big deal. Sometimes it’s good,” Zimmer said. “You come out here and everybody’s happy all the time. It’s a physical game and we’ve got to be physical. They won’t do it in a game because I’ll fix it by then. It’s not bad.”
Cornerback Captain Munnerlyn echoed the sentiments of Zimmer, but warned of the possibility of injuries when scraps of this nature break out.
“The fighting, it’s a team thing, but at the same time we’ve got to be smarter than that. We’re teammates,” Munnerlyn said. “You can break a hand when you’re swinging at helmets and things, but at the same time it’s competition. The team wants to get better and we want to be great.”
After an off-day on Tuesday, the action picks back up on Wednesday as the Vikings reconvene for another day of practice. With temperatures rising and jobs on the line, fights of this nature will more than likely continue throughout the rest of camp.
