The Sports Xchange

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant got into a scuffle with a teammate at practice Sunday in Oxnard, Calif.

Bryant and second-year cornerback Tyler Patmon were on the sideline when their jawing match escalated, with Bryant throwing a straight left. Other teammates, including quarterback Tony Romo, separated them.

“It’s two great competitors going at it,” Bryant said, according to NFL.com, “We were chirping a little bit back and forth. I got a little bit overheated. … I was giving him a little bit of mouth, talking about a whole bunch of stuff to him. He was talking back to me, and it just escalated to the next play. … He wasn’t going to back down, I wasn’t going to back down. … At the end of the day, we shook hands, we hugged and we respect one another.”

“We’re family. It’s intense out here, it’s training camp,” Patmon said, according to NFL.com. “It’s part of it. … We love each other.”

Last month, Bryant signed a five-year, $70 million contract that includes $45 million guaranteed, with a $20 million signing bonus.