Heading into his first year as the Las Vegas Raiders‘ head coach, Klint Kubiak surely expected some tough competition during training camp, especially from his veteran players. Instead, he found himself dealing with veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins and edge rusher Maxx Crosby after they got into a verbal argument following a brief scuffle during the eighth practice of camp.

However, the head coach now wants both players to take accountability before the Raiders begin the 2026 season. According to reports, Kubiak is holding Crosby and Cousins out of Saturday’s practice because both violated team rules by fighting on the field Friday. As a result, Crosby and Cousins are expected to return to the field on Monday.

“We have very clear expectations on how we want to practice and how we want to go about our business, and we violated that yesterday, so held those guys out. That’s all I’m gonna say about it” Kubiak said, per ESPN’s Ryan McFadden.

The incident took place at the Raiders’ training camp in Henderson. The scuffle happened late in practice during the final team period, when the Raiders were running an 11-on-11 drill. The Athletic later provided more details on what led to the brief scuffle between Kirk Cousins and Maxx Crosby, ultimately resulting in both players being held out of practice.

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According to the outlet, Crosby had been dominant throughout the practice, repeatedly creating problems for the offensive line. During the final team period, Crosby beat the offensive protection and got into the backfield. Cousins, however, saw the pressure coming and tried to get the ball out to rookie WR Malik Benson on a crossing route.

But Crosby got his hand up at the quarterback’s release point and tipped the pass, causing it to fall short. While the edge rusher reportedly tried to comply with the Raiders’ rule against hitting the quarterback, his hand made contact with Cousins’ arm during the play. The edge rusher has revealed that the new coaching staff warned him about touching the quarterback during practice.

“I just can’t tell you how many people have come up to me already and just been like, ‘All right, so you know at practice, you can’t do this. I got up a whole textbook full of rules that I got to follow, or I’m going to get in trouble, but that comes with it. … I practice one way. I know that I push the line, and sometimes I go over the line,” said Crosby.

As that went down, Cousins confronted Crosby, grabbed his jersey, and the two exchanged words.

“Those are two leaders on our team going at it,” Kubiak said. “Obviously, fighting in a game [or] you throw a punch in a game, you are out of the game. So we got to be smart.”

While their teammates intervened before things could escalate, it’s worth noting that the immediate trigger from Cousins wasn’t Crosby’s pass breakup itself. In fact, it was the physical contact with the quarterback after Crosby had already made contact with him earlier in practice. And it won’t be wrong to add that the HC’s decision carries significant weight for both players.

Ahead of the 2026 season, the Raiders named Cousins the starting quarterback over rookie Fernando Mendoza. Crosby, meanwhile, is heading into the season after dominating the headlines over the offseason after a failed trade to the Baltimore Ravens. How their 2026 season will turn out remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, with Cousins sidelined for Saturday’s practice, Mendoza stepped into his absence. According to Vincent Bonsignore, the rookie took the first-team reps and made the most of the opportunity.

“So Kirk Cousins and Maxx Crosby were essentially on a time out, today, after the scuffle they got into at Raiders practice yesterday, per Klint Kubiak,” Bonsignore wrote. “As a result of this, Fernando Mendoza took all the 1st team reps today. He did not disappoint, whatsoever. Looked comfortable, anticipatory, accurate and in charge.”

That said, after the Raiders selected him with the first overall pick in the most recent NFL draft, Mendoza is all set to start his rookie year as Cousins’ backup.