Miami Dolphins players Jarvis Landry and LaMichael James reportedly got into an altercation on Thursday during a special teams meeting.
According to The Miami Herald, the two were in the meeting room along with the rest of the special teams players when Landry cracked a joke.
“From what we hear, Landry — a jovial, fun-loving guy — was joking around at the start of the meeting. James appeared to be in a bad mood, and whatever Landry was joking about rubbed James the wrong way, prompting James to lash out physically. A source said Landry did not level any personal attacks at James.”
Both players apologized to their teammates for creating a distraction. Also, Landry personally apologized to James and told the veteran running back he “was always available to talk if James ever needed anything.”
The team didn’t think it necessary to discipline either player—both of whom are competing to be the return man on kickoffs and punts.
Miami doesn’t need any distractions at this time as the franchise prepares to live up to rising expectations. With Ryan Tannehill coming on strong as one of the league’s new star quarterbacks, along with a defense that should terrify opposing offenses following the addition of Ndamukong Suh, the Dolphins are expected to finally challenge the New England Patriots in the AFC East in 2015.
The Dolphins are in Washington in Week 1. It’s a game most feel Miami should win. Hopefully whatever potential distraction the fight between Landry and James may have been is now firmly in the rear-view mirror.