It took a dozen practices, but tempers finally boiled over in Spartanburg.
With temperatures hovering near 90 degrees during Sunday morning's practice, Carolina Panthers cornerback Bené Benwikere had to be restrained by running back Jonathan Stewart and linebacker Thomas Davis at the end of a 2-minute drill.
Seconds earlier, Benwikere was covering receiver Damiere Byrd, who caught a lob from quarterback Derek Anderson in the back of the end zone. Quarterback Cam Newton sprinted onto the field to lead a celebration, while Benwikere walked back to the sideline. But something then set him off, which is when Stewart and Davis stepped in.
"It boiled over more than I really want," coach Ron Rivera said after a post-practice huddle that took about 10 minutes. "The thing that we all have to understand is that at the end of the day, the Panthers don’t play the Panthers. We’re not on our own schedule. I think that’s the thing that we lost sight of today. The competitive nature got carried away."
That competitive nature again featured plenty of chirping, led by usual suspects Davis and Newton.
Davis, who was late to practice for personal reasons, had reason to talk as soon as he walked onto the field. Newton had hoped to get through camp without throwing an interception to Davis or linebacker Luke Kuechly, so when the latter picked Newton off on the first play of 7-on-7s, Davis let out a loud "got him!"
Newton countered on the next play with a long touchdown pass to receiver Devin Funchess, who returned a "got him!" as he ran back to the huddle.
Because of the volume of trash talk throughout camp, what happened Sunday seemed inevitable. But Rivera was adamant the scene had nothing to do with all the chatter.
"It had more to do with a couple of shots that were given and taken out on the field," he said. "We had a couple of guys take a couple of shots and a couple guys took exception to it more than anything else.
"It got a little more physical than it should have been. The thing that we’ve got to understand is we are in pads but that doesn’t give us liberty to do some of the things that happened out there."