Jason Kelce's 'cheap shot' sparks practice-ending brawl between Eagles, Colts

Philadelphia Eagles veteran center Jason Kelce admitted it was his "cheap shot" that set off a fight during a Tuesday joint practice against the Indianapolis Colts that prompted an early end to the session between both teams.

With the Eagles and Colts set to play in Philadelphia on Thursday in the teams' preseason finale, both squads are going through joint practices at the Eagles' facility. During Tuesday morning's practice, Kelce took exception with Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin knocking Eagles running back Kenneth Gainwell to the ground on consecutive snaps. After it happened the second time, Kelce came charging down the field and barreled into Franklin, setting off a brawl that emptied both sidelines.

After the players were separated, both teams decided to end practice around 13 minutes before its scheduled conclusion.

"I think tensions just got the better of me," Kelce, a five-time All-Pro, said Tuesday after practice. "That certainly doesn’t belong out there on the field. And just a little bit of shame that it got to that level, that I did what I did ... . I think I didn’t handle things properly at the end."

Gainwell said that he appreciated Kelce for "being a professional and sticking up for his brothers" and said tensions were high after Philadelphia "whooped their (butts)" during the practice.

Franklin was born in Philadelphia and said he supported the Eagles when he was younger.

"I thought the OG would at least look me in the eye before (hitting me)," Franklin said of Kelce. "But it’s all good. I’ll get a chance to look him in the eye on Thursday, so we’re going to be OK."

It is unlikely that Kelce and Franklin, both of whom are starters for their respective teams will play in the preseason finale.

That wasn't the first time in Tuesday's practice that players had to be separated. During a drill between the Indianapolis offense and the Philadelphia defense, Eagles defensive linemen Jalen Carter and Derek Barnett met in the backfield for a would-be sack of Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson; quarterbacks wear non-contact jerseys and are not supposed to be hit. Barnett, however, knocked the ball out of Richardson's hands, prompting Colt offensive linemen to shove him, leading to a small dustup.

"You want to play this game with emotion and intensity, but you can’t obviously let your emotion take control and cause you to do something, that’ll hurt the team in the long run," Kelce said about head coach Nick Sirianni's message after practice.

"You can’t be out there acting on every instinct that we have, then we’re not going to be unified, working together, and (those are) penalties that will cost us games and ultimately the season. So certainly, (Sirianni) used it as a way to say how we can't react in situations like this."