Eric D. Williams, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Chargers scheduled to host joint practices with Cardinals

SAN DIEGO -- First hinted at by Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians last week, the San Diego Chargers confirmed the team is tentatively scheduled to hold joint practices with the Cardinals before the two teams meet for an exhibition game in San Diego Aug. 19 at Qualcomm Stadium.

University of Phoenix Stadium, where the Cardinals began holding their training camp in 2013, will be hosting a Guns N' Roses concert Aug. 15.

“You can count on us doing it,” Chargers head coach Mike McCoy told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I can’t tell you it’s going to be this day, it’s going to be that day. But we’re going to practice against Arizona.”

This will be the first time a Mike McCoy-led team will hold a joint practice with another franchise, and the first time both teams will participate in joint practices under their current head coaches.

The Cardinals last participated in a joint practice in 2012, when they spent a week practicing against the Kansas City Chiefs in St. Joseph, Missouri, leading up to their preseason game.

The last time the Chargers held a joint practice with another team was in 2012 with the Dallas Cowboys.

Joint practices break up the monotony of training camp while giving coaches another chance to evaluate the talent on their roster against another team and scheme.

“We’re all excited about it,” Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. “We’re all excited about it. Weather’s real nice in San Diego. We get to compete against some other guys. The energy when you scrimmage other teams is completely different.

“It’s not a game, but the speed of it, the enthusiasm -- the motor is just much higher because you know it’s against the other guys. You are competing against somebody else. You can see the defense pulling for the offense. You can see the offense pulling for the defense. There’s a lot of energy, so that’s the part you really like about it.”

NFL Nation Cardinals writer Josh Weinfuss contributed to this report.

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