Pete Carroll on kicking player out of Seahawks practice: 'We can't play like that'

Michael Bennett was reportedly jawing with some offensive linemen and got the boot

It has been a strange few days for Michael Bennett. Well, maybe not that strange for the notoriously outspoken defensive lineman who prefers to keep things off balance with some outrageous remarks.

On Thursday, the day after Bennett called Jay Cutler the worst quarterback in the NFL (here's a response to that) and made some other unfiltered quips about his fellow players stationed elsewhere around the league, Bennett experienced a bit of a tumultuous day in Seattle.

He got kicked out of practice by Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. ESPN's Sheil Kapadia explains:

During a team drill, in between snaps, left guard Mark Glowinski appeared to get into it with Bennett and defensive end Cliff Avril.

Bennett had to be restrained by defensive tackle Jordan Hill and others before practice continued. He sat out the rest of the session.

...

After practice ended, Bennett was still upset. He got into a shouting match with the offensive linemen who were huddling on the field before Avril escorted him into the locker room.

That sounds, well, almost completely normal for training camp -- except for the part about Bennett being heated after the initial incident and, you know, how he was kicked out of practice. Training camp fights happen, a lot. Heck, one even happened to his brother, Martellus Bennett, a few years back when he slammed Kyle Fuller to the ground.

Still, Carroll's explanation for giving Bennett the boot made sense.

"It's translating into sometimes we lose a little bit of the poise that we need," Carroll said, per ESPN. "We can't play like that. You get in a skirmish, you get thrown out. That's what happens. So that happened today. And that's just the way you do it, the way we do it."

It made sense because, while Bennett remains one of the best defensive linemen in the league, he's also frequently penalized. According to Pro-Football-Reference's database, Bennett was flagged 12 times last season. Three of those penalties were declined and another was offset by another flag.

The Seahawks also added Brandon Browner this offseason. Browner actually set a penalty record with the Saints last year.

So yeah, Carroll is totally correct in enforcing a strict policy at training camp.