Joint practices give coaches a better way to evaluate starters in more competitive environment

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baker Mayfield got in the middle of a scuffle and injured All-Pro tackle Tristan Wirfs went onto the field on a crutch to join his teammates.

Welcome to joint practices.

Players get an opportunity to hit opposing teams, which sometimes can lead to fighting. This was a minor tussle between the Buccaneers and Titans on Thursday.

“Everybody’s in the skirmish,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said. “Nobody wants to throw a punch. It’s not necessary. We’re not trying to do that right there. They’re not trying to do it as well. If it’s hot and you got pads on, it’s going to happen.”

Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, a former All-Pro linebacker and two-time Coach of the Year in Tennessee, jumped into a pile of players and came out with a bloodied cheek at New England’s practice with the Washington Commanders on Wednesday.

But the main purpose of joint sessions is to give coaches a better way to evaluate starters in a more competitive environment than preseason games. Teams don’t want future opponents to see much of their playbook in exhibitions and most coaches prefer to keep key starters out of harm’s way so facing opponents within a controlled setting has become a priority for most teams.

Overall, 29 of 32 NFL teams are holding joint practices this summer, up from 27 in 2023 and 23 in 2022. Only the Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals, and New Orleans Saints aren’t doing them.

Tampa Bay practiced against Tennessee two days ahead of the exhibition opener on Saturday night. Both teams also have joint practices scheduled next week with their opponents.

“These are all pretty standard in the sense that you’re going to get most situational work, you get some base down, some third down, some red zone, a two-minute drill,” Titans coach Brian Callahan said.

The New York Giants and Jets have two days of joint practices next week, one at each team’s practice facility.

Veteran Giants quarterback Russell Wilson has played long enough to appreciate the evolution of joint practices and their importance. The NFL decreased the preseason schedule to three games when the regular season went to 17 games and it’ll likely be down to two exhibition games if the league goes to an 18-game season.

That shift came as more teams were starting to lean on practices against opponents as their primary source of preparing quarterbacks and veteran starters for Week 1.

“I think the joint practices are great just because you get to go against another team, get to see, match up and just play football,” Wilson said. “Once again, everything’s about preparation, getting ready for the season.”

The San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos held a joint practice on Thursday also ahead of their game on Saturday. They became the sixth pair of teams to do it already.

“I think it’s really valuable,” Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said. “Sometimes you can’t do it. I always would like to do it. ... It’s always good to go against different schemes, too. Different players. We’re going against each other every day. Same guys, same scheme. It gets a little bit old and it’s a good way to switch it up.”

For a coach on a new team like Vrabel, facing another team in practice also helps build a foundation for his unit. The Patriots are coming off a terrible 4-13 season and Vrabel is aiming to change the culture.

“The goal is just to be able to put the identity out on the field against another team, to put the fundamentals that we put out there, the installation, to be able to do it against another defense, to be able to adjust to different play styles of players, players that maybe are longer or quicker or stronger, just different play styles of each player throughout this league,” Vrabel said.

The league embraces joint practices from a player health and safety perspective because fewer starters are playing in preseason games and data has shown players are more susceptible to soft-tissue injuries early in the season if they don’t hit similar load, speed and exertion levels in training camp.

Dallas Cowboys guard La'el Collins, left, and Los Angeles Rams linebacker Josaiah Stewart face off during a training camp scrimmage, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Oxnard, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Denver Broncos offensive linemen Mike McGlinchey, left, and Xavier Truss run a drill during a joint NFL football training camp with the San Francisco 49ers, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) throws a pass during Back Together Weekend at an NFL football training camp practice Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Dallas Cowboys guard La'el Collins, left, and Los Angeles Rams linebacker Josaiah Stewart face off during a training camp scrimmage, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Oxnard, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Denver Broncos offensive linemen Mike McGlinchey, left, and Xavier Truss run a drill during a joint NFL football training camp with the San Francisco 49ers, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama, kicked off his campaign for governor Friday, saying voters deserve a choice and a leader who will put aside divisions to address the state's pressing needs.

“With your help we can finish what we began. We can build the Alabama we’ve always deserved,” Jones told a packed crowd at a Birmingham campaign rally featuring musician Jason Isbell.

He said the state has urgent economic, health care and educational issues that are not being addressed by those in public office.

The campaign kickoff came on the eighth anniversary of Jones' stunning 2017 win over Republican Roy Moore, and Jones said Alabama proved back then that it can defy “simplified labels of red and blue.”

“You stood up and you said something simple but powerful. We can do better,” Jones said. “You said with your votes that our values, Alabama values, are more important than any political party, any personality, any prepackaged ideology.”

His entry into the race sets up a possible rematch with Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who defeated Jones by 20 points in 2020 and is also now running for governor. Both will have party primaries in May before the November election.

Before running for office, Jones, a lawyer and former U.S. attorney, was best known for prosecuting two Ku Klux Klansmen responsible for Birmingham’s infamous 1963 church bombing.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Jones said families are having a hard time with things like health care, energy bills and simply making ends meet.

“People are struggling,” he said. “They are hurting.”

Jones used part of his speech to describe his agenda if elected governor. He said it is time for Alabama to join most states in establishing a state lottery and expanding Medicaid. Expanding Medicaid, he said, will protect rural hospitals from closure and provide health care coverage to working families and others who need it.

He criticized Tuberville's opposition to extending Affordable Care Act subsidies. Jones said many Alabama families depend on those subsides to buy health insurance "to keep their families healthy."

Alabama has not elected a Democratic governor since Don Siegelman in 1998. In 2020, Tuberville held Jones to about 40% of the vote, which has been the ceiling for Alabama Democrats in recent statewide races.

Retired political science professor Jess Brown said Jones lost in 2020 despite being a well-funded incumbent, and that's a sign that he faces an uphill battle in 2026.

“Based on what I know today, at this juncture of the campaign, I would say that Doug Jones, who’s a very talented and bright man, is politically the walking dead,” Brown said.

Jones acknowledged being the underdog and said his decision to run stemmed in part from a desire for Tuberville not to coast into office unchallenged.

Jones pointed to recent Democratic victories in Georgia, Mississippi and other locations as cause for optimism.

Tuberville, who previously headed up the football program at Auburn University, had “no record except as a football coach” when he first ran, Jones said. And “now there are five years of being a United States senator. There are five years of embarrassing the state.”

Jones continued to question Tuberville’s residency, saying he “doesn’t even live in Alabama, and if he does, then prove me wrong.” Tuberville has a beach house in Walton County, Florida, but has repeatedly said Auburn is his home.

Tuberville's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment but has previously noted that he defeated Jones handily in 2020. Tuberville spent part of Friday with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Huntsville to mark the official relocation of U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama.

Jones' 2017 victory renewed the hopes, at least temporarily, of Democratic voters in the Deep South state. Those gathered to hear him Friday cheered his return to the political stage.

“I’m just glad that there’s somebody sensible getting in the race,” Angela Hornbuckle said. “He proved that he could do it as a senator.”

Former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., and gubernatorial candidate waits to speak during an event Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., and gubernatorial candidate speaks during an event Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., and gubernatorial candidate speaks during an event Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Gubernatorial candidate former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., speaks during an event Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)