Texans' Hopkins, 49ers' Ward scuffle at joint practice

Tempers flared during a joint practice between the Texans and 49ers on Wednesday, leading to a scuffle between Houston wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and San Francisco corner Jimmie Ward.

The fracas erupted when Ward knocked Hopkins' helmet off jamming him at the line of scrimmage, and the two began throwing punches early in the session.

The pair tumbled to the ground had to be separated.

Hopkins was sent inside the practice bubble, while Ward was reduced to running on the sideline as practice resumed.

"Yeah, it's ridiculous," Texans coach Bill O'Brien said. "Just have to move on."

The teams face off in a preseason game on Saturday, and O'Brien said that he and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan had agreed before the joint sessions that players should be kicked out of any practices for engaging in an activity that would get them ejected from a game.

"He's great to work with," O'Brien said. "We both preach, in practices like that, 'thud', no live tackling, just be in the proper position to make the tackle, to make the block. They do a good job of trying to strip the ball, so we're working on fundamentals there. I think guys really tried to stay on their feet. We both preach staying on your feet. The really good guy to work with."

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