Associated Press

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll ejected defensive end Michael Bennett from practice Thursday after Bennett got into an altercation with teammate Mark Glowinski, per ESPN.com's Sheil Kapadia.

According to Kapadia, Jordan Hill and fellow members of the Seahawks defense had to intervene and hold back Bennett to de-escalate the situation.

The News Tribune's Gregg Bell shared a photo of Bennett exiting the field:

"It's translating into sometimes we lose a little bit of the poise that we need," Carroll said, per Kapadia. "We can't play like that. You get in a skirmish, you get thrown out. That's what happens. So that happened today. And that's just the way you do it, the way we do it."

Bell also reported Bennett was taking exception to his treatment by rookie offensive lineman Germain Ifedi. Ifedi was reportedly remaining engaged with Bennett after plays were over.

The News Tribune posted an interview in which the first-round pick talked about how he wasn't going to be intimidated by a veteran such as Bennett (the relevant portion begins at the 20-second mark of the video below):

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“[Carroll] just said he wanted to show the team if he can kick me out as one of the best players on the team he will do it to anybody,” Bennett said, per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. “Just a message. It’s cool with me.”

While a certain level of aggression is natural during practice, Seahawks safety Earl Thomas thought Thursday went over the top.

"I think we to [sic] harness it the right way," he said, per Condotta. "Besides today—it kind of got out of hand today; the energy felt a little weird. But the intensity has been great."

Carroll was likely trying to send a message by throwing Bennett out of practice.

The coach might also be trying to rein Bennett in, with the NFL's recent rule change calling for an ejection if a player receives two specified unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties in a game. Since arriving in Seattle, the 30-year-old has ranked third, first and fourth on the team in penalties, per NFLPenalties.com.