Panthers WR Xavier Legette explains his side of fight with Browns safety

It didn't take long for there to be some fireworks in the Carolina Panthers' preseason, although it may have arrived in a much different fashion than what everyone was expecting.

Midway through the first quarter of last week's game against the Cleveland Browns, second-year wide receiver Xavier Legette and Browns defensive back Rayshawn Jenkins exchanged punches in a mini back-and-forth skirmish after a play, which led to both of their ejections.

Legette knew right away that he messed up, and as soon as he reached the locker room, he pulled out his phone and tweeted out an apology to the fans. “It was just something I shouldn’t have did. That’s not supposed to happen in a football game, so I felt like I owed the fans an apology," he told reporters on Monday.

Xavier Legette getting peppered with questions about the fight / ejection on Friday night. Says he’s never been tossed from a game before and explains what happened. #Panthers pic.twitter.com/DYFlqFbUJs
— Alex Zietlow (@alexzietlow05) August 11, 2025

Surprisingly, Legette revealed that there wasn't any smack talk involved that sparked the altercation. “He didn’t say nothing. We didn’t exchange words. It was just what happened.” When asked if it was just his emotions getting the best of him, he responded, “Something like that. It was just a little something that happened. That’s all that was."

“We ask our receivers to finish the play with hands on. He was. He had his hands on the guy the whole time through the echo of the whistle," Canales said in his postgame press conference on Friday. "The guy swung and chopped his arms down, and Xavier kind of held onto his jersey, then they started exchanging punches. You can’t do that. We can’t have that as a part of our game. It’s a physical game. Can’t handle that. Tempers are going to get hot, but as soon as you throw a punch, all of a sudden, we’re at a disadvantage. We want to see better from X, for sure.”

Canales did meet with Legette to discuss the situation with the message basically being to "keep the main thing the maing thing."

“I know I ain’t supposed to do what I did. I just need to leave that on the field," Legette said.

The Panthers plan to play their starters for three series this week against the Houston Texans, and after an early exit last week, those reps will be extremely valuable for Legette.

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