One of the NFL’s most penalized teams is picking up where it left off last season.
Detroit Lions wide receiver Titus Young was banned from the team’s workouts following a fight last week with safety Louis Delmas, the Free Press reported Monday.
Head coach Jim Schwartz, who made headlines in 2011 for his near-fight with 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, refused to talk about the nature of the apparent scuffle.
“I’m not going to comment on why guys are absent,” Schwartz said as the Lions kicked off organized team activities. “We have guys missing for a lot of different reasons, but they’re all accounted for.”
It is unclear what prompted the fight between the 22-year-old Young and the team’s starting free safety. The Free Press reported Young instigated the altercation, while MLive.com reported that Young punched Delmas while he wasn’t looking.
Young, who tallied 607 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie, was benched for part of a game last December after he was assessed a personal foul penalty for shoving a Saints player in the face.
The Lions racked up 1,075 yards in penalties last season, second in the league behind the Raiders.
Three other members of the Lions’ 2011 draft class have also run into off-field issues this offseason.
Running back Mikel Leshoure has been arrested twice for marijuana possession, while defensive tackle Nick Fairley and offensive lineman Johnny Culbreath were arrested once each for the same alleged offense.
