Las Vegas Raiders’ star pass rusher Maxx Crosby is known for his ability to unsettle opponents, regardless of the time of year or adversary. During a practice in Henderson, Nevada, Crosby irritated Kirk Cousins, bringing tensions to the surface.

During a team period on Friday, Crosby twice hit Cousins’ arm. This led to Cousins, typically mild-mannered, becoming visibly upset. The quarterback swiftly approached Crosby, grabbed his jersey, and exchanged words. Teammates quickly intervened to separate the two.

Following the incident, Cousins continued with the first-team offense. Crosby, however, was sidelined. Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak commented that such altercations are part of training camp.

“Those are two leaders of our team going at it, so that is part of camp,” Kubiak said. “Obviously, if you fight in a game and throw a punch in a game, then you’re out of the game. So we’ve got to be smart and treat it like a game.”

Raiders tight end Michael Mayer acknowledged Cousins’ intensity but advised against physical confrontations.

“We don’t want to be throwing punches, but I think on any padded day of camp, there’s going to be some tussles,” Mayer noted. “That’s our starting quarterback right now, and you want him to defend your team and you want him to have some edge to him, which he does. He’s always had that since the first day I met him when he came in here.”

“I don’t want him getting thrown out. I don’t want him getting a flag. Nothing like that, but you’ve got to be able to defend yourself.”

The Raiders have shown confidence in Cousins by naming him to open camp, despite drafting Fernando Mendoza as the No. 1 overall pick. Cousins has taken the majority of first-team reps and is expected to start the season against the Miami Dolphins in Week 1.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.