LaFleur vs. LaFleur? Cardinals-Packers joint practice shaping up to be more memorable than most

TEMPE — Joint practices are all the rage in the NFL. Each year, more and more seem to pop up on the preseason schedule given the positive returns teams are getting out of them.

The Arizona Cardinals’ trip to Green Bay this week, however, has a lot more layers than your typical joint practice.

And it starts near the top.

Rumble at the reunion?

Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur didn’t have the luxury of having ample time to work through different joint practice options.

As soon as he got the job, he jumped on the phone.

Naturally, his brother and Packers head coach Matt LaFleur was on the other end willing to set something up.

But did the agreement include a good ol’ sibling throwdown if needed?

“If there’s an issue, I’m going to tell the guys, ‘Hey, you come tag me in. They can tag in my brother. And we’ll throw down on the (50-yard line),'” the Packers head coach jokingly told reporters Monday morning when discussing his plans to curb fighting.

Mike LaFleur, meanwhile, kept it short and simple in his response to his brother’s words.

“No comment. We’ll see what happens”

Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur responds to his brother’s earlier comments 😂 https://t.co/8wDUPNZhH0 pic.twitter.com/EntZns60iJ

— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) August 24, 2026

“No comment,” the Cardinals head coach said. “We’ll see what happens.”

Actions speak louder than words, right?

If anything, the NFL would probably come down easier on any brotherly shoving compared to the $500,000 fines the league levied against the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints for their multi-brawl joint practice this preseason.

More seamless than most

LaFleur may have had some catching up to do when it came to locking down a joint practice, but he made up ground landing on his brother and Green Bay.

“It’s easier I would say to be on the same page with your brother who you talk to about five times a day anyways,” Mike LaFleur said. “Being able to have access to his main assistants and stuff like that because you know him so well. So, the communication there is great, because you do want to send the same message to both the teams.

“Let’s call it what it is, these joint practices, flip a coin on what can happen sometimes. And we know the ramifications now from what the league can do as well. I do think that’ll change some people’s opinions on what the code of conduct should be. So, but it’s been good on the same page on how we’re going to conduct this thing.”

Another notable sibling rivalry

The head coaches may be getting more of the headlines heading into this week, but don’t forget about Max and Bo Melton.

After experimenting at cornerback, Bo Melton is back as a full-time wide receiver as he jostles for position in the room.

Max Melton, meanwhile, is fighting for the CB2 role opposite Will Johnson and is in a tight battle with Denzel Burke.

At some point this week, the two are likely going to line up across from one another.

Arizona’s No. 16 vs. Green Bay’s No. 16. Should be fun.

Not just about football

And while LaFleur is embarking on the Green Bay joint practice for the first time as a head coach, he’s got an idea of what to expect from his days as New York’s offensive coordinator.

That includes an important off-the-field tradition at Green Bay joint practices.

Started during Curly Lambeau’s head-coaching tenure in Green Bay, players from both teams are given bikes from local kids to ride to and from practice.

The kids walk alongside the players, typically holding their helmet or gear.

LaFleur already got a taste of what to expect. Cardinals like Roy Lopez are getting to experience it for the first time.

“That’s cool because you see the pictures and you know it’s their tradition over there. It’s awesome,” the defensive lineman said Monday. “Any sort of way you can share a smile with somebody that’s just there for the love of the game and they don’t even necessarily need to know who you are, right?

“It’s just for the love of football. For the love of just being able to share those whatever 5-10 minutes and share that memory. It’s heartwarming. … It keeps you going.”

I just hope whoever is lending their bike to Andrew “Big Bill” Billings has some reinforced steel to brace the big man (or have bike insurance if that’s a thing).

The War Daddy in the room

There was no way around talking about Arizona’s joint practice without mentioning a very familiar face roaming the opposite sideline now in Jonathan Gannon.

Following his firing after last season, he landed on his feet as Green Bay’s new defensive coordinator.

Sure, there’s been some roster turnover since Gannon was last in town, but for the most part, there’s a lot of carryover from his days as Cardinals head coach.

That includes his former DC Nick Rallis and tight end Trey McBride, who knows plenty about JG-inspired defenses and the trash talk that usually comes with it.

“It’ll be fun to go against his defense. I’m sure they’ll be chirping at us and we’ll be chirping at them. It’ll be exciting to see him,” the tight end said.

“I just hope I can make a big play right in front of their sideline,” McBride added. “Maybe right in front of him would be fun, but (no trash talk) planned yet. I know it’ll be a fun competitive week with the brothers competing as well. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

What could have been

While the attention is squarely on the Cardinals and Packers this week, LaFleur had another team on the brain when it came to setting up this year’s joint practice:

The Minnesota Vikings, the team former franchise quarterback Kyler Murray now calls home.

“That was one of the teams I was talking to right away,” LaFleur said. “And about 12 hours after I got hired, they were already filled up.”

Can you imagine?

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