Training camp fights are part of the game; that much is true. What happens afterward, however, can reveal more about the altercation and why it started in the first place. The intensity at the Las Vegas Raiders‘ training camp was expected, especially from Kirk Cousins, set to start in Week 1, and Maxx Crosby, who has already been surrounded by trade rumors.

However, things escalated when the two got into a brief altercation, prompting first-year head coach Klint Kubiak to hold both players out of practice for one day. Now, ESPN’s Kevin Clark believes Kubiak’s decision suggests there could be something else happening behind the scenes.

“It was anything till they held them out of practice for a day, which seems to suggest that there was a level of seriousness to it,” Clark said. “Maybe that rises above a normal training camp fight. Rex Ryan used to have what Rob Turner to start training camp fights if things were going a little boring or a little quiet, like training camp fights are a part of the process here. The fact that Klint Kubiak wanted to say, ‘Hey, we don’t do that here,’ Suggests that something was a little bit amiss.”

It’s not the first time someone has raised questions over Cousins and Crosby’s fight, which occurred on August 7. During one of the recent Nightcap podcast episodes, former NBA player Joe Johnson admitted that Crosby hit Cousins on purpose to force the Dallas Cowboys to make a move for him.

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“Y’all know Crosby want to be in Dallas, man… He’s trying to do whatever he can to get on up out there man, go come to Dallas. Yeah, yeah, he hit the quarterback on purpose… yeah, he want him to be pissed off… see, yeah, go get me out,” Johnson said.

Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson pushed back against that idea, yes. But that hasn’t stopped the debate surrounding Crosby and Cousins’ fight. Crosby indeed wanted out of Las Vegas earlier this offseason, and for a brief moment, it appeared that he would get his wish when the Raiders traded him to the Baltimore Ravens before ultimately backing out of the deal. Since then, however, Crosby has hinted that he wants to remain a Raider, even though his recent fallout with Cousins suggests something else.

The altercation took place during the Raiders’ eighth training-camp practice in Henderson, Nevada. Crosby reportedly was aggressive during the practice. However, when he hit Cousins for the second time after tipping a pass, the quarterback confronted the veteran edge rusher and grabbed his jersey before teammates separated them. As that went down, Kubiak held both players out of the next day’s practice.

“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.

That said, the Raiders are all set to begin their 2026 campaign with renewed optimism following the arrival of their new head coach. As for the Maxx Crosby and Kirk Cousins fight, however, what led to the altercation appears to be a storyline that will continue developing as the season approaches.