Saints' Penning won't change playing style: 'You've got to be mean'

New Orleans Saints rookie offensive tackle Trevor Penning doesn't plan to change his style of play despite getting kicked out of practice last week after multiple altercations with teammates.

"Nothing's nice about football. You've got to be mean," Penning said Thursday, according to ESPN's Katherine Terrell. "You want the guy across from you to hate your guts. If the guy hates you, you're doing your job.”

Penning and defensive tackle Malcolm Roach were kicked out of last Wednesday's practice after a confrontation between them led to a fight involving several players, Terrell notes.

That was the third consecutive practice in which Penning was involved in an altercation with a teammate, following friction with safety J.T. Gray and 2021 first-round defensive end Payton Turner. Penning and Turner reportedly threw punches last Monday before their fight was broken up.

"We don't have time for that," Saints head coach Dennis Allen said last week.

The Saints drafted Penning 19th overall out of Northern Iowa in April.