In his five seasons in the NFL, Cowboys defensive lineman Albert Huggins has been with nine different teams and played for four of them. Last year, he had a career-high 13-game stint with the Falcons and joined the Cowboys on August 6 of this year. Given his experience, he should have known better.
On Wednesday, during the Cowboys’ joint practice with the Rams in Oxnard, California—the team they face in their preseason opener on Sunday—Huggins was ejected after an incident where he knocked a Rams intern or coach to the ground with both hands.
Video footage shows Huggins pushing the intern down, followed by someone from the Rams’ side exclaiming, “What the (expletive) are you doing? No, (expletive) that!”
Rams coach Sean McVay halted the practice at that point, and Huggins was escorted off the field. According to Saad Yousef of The Athletic on Twitter/X, “Albert Huggins was removed from the field after finishing a pass rush drill by shoving the intern to the ground and then giving the Rams the middle finger as he left the scene.”
Albert Huggins was led off the field after finishing a pass rush drill by shoving the guy in shorts and t shirt to the ground. Followed it by giving the Rams the middle finger on the way out of the scrum pic.twitter.com/pB3Lv3y6M4
— Saad Yousuf (@SaadYousuf126) August 14, 2024
Cowboys Defensive Line Remains an Issue
The Cowboys aim to be aggressive in their preseason games, and after facing the Rams three times this week, it’s clear that the repeated matchups are breeding some animosity. Before the Huggins incident, there was already a scuffle between Cowboys tackle Osa Odighizuwa and Rams center Alec Lindstrom, which resulted in a crowd of players pushing and shoving until the two were separated.
There was plenty of trash talk and other minor confrontations between the teams.
“Tensions are high; we need to be smarter about it,” Odighizuwa commented, according to the Dallas Morning-News.
As training camp progresses, the defensive linemen are particularly frustrated. They continue to struggle with their Achilles’ heel from last season: run defense. Reports indicate that the Rams have been able to run the ball effectively against Dallas.
To address this issue, the Cowboys traded for Bills lineman Jordan Phillips on Wednesday. Entering his 10th season, Phillips brings experience, but his recent performance has been underwhelming. Last year, Pro Football Focus rated him with a 35.8 overall, placing him 129th out of 130 NFL defensive linemen, and he earned a 30.0 rating for run defense.
Trevon Diggs Not Scared
On a positive note, cornerback Trevon Diggs appears to be returning to his former self and intercepted a pass from Rams quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo on Wednesday. Diggs is recovering from a torn ACL he sustained in Week 2 of the previous season. After initially starting training camp on the physically unable to perform list, he is now back on the field.
A key challenge for players recovering from an ACL injury is overcoming the mental aspect of trusting the knee to perform without fear of re-injury. However, Diggs mentioned that this hasn’t been a concern for him.
“It felt great to be back on the field, moving around with other players and adjusting to the contact—so it was a positive experience. I had a lot of good reps today. … [The mental aspect of recovery] isn’t really a problem for me. I have confidence in my knee now,” he said, according to the team’s website.
“It’s more about getting the repetitions and reacquainting myself with playing my position and reading routes. Mentally, I’m not worried or scared at all.”
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