“Everybody knows we’re all highly competitive athletes and Michael is always on edge and plays with that chip on his shoulder. But, all of us need to know where those lines are that we can’t cross.”

That last comment referred to an exchange between Thomas and members of the coaching staff after he was separated from a fight with safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Several reports suggested that parting shot played a bigger role in Thomas being benched for the prime-time Chargers game than the scrap itself; frustrations often boil over in practice and sometimes punches get thrown, which Jenkins noted isn’t unusual. So maybe this is a learning experience for his younger teammate.

Jenkins continued, “One mistake doesn’t change how we feel about our teammate. We know where his heart is.”