-- Green Bay Packers rookie tight end Jace Sternberger received a bit of a 'Welcome to the NFL' moment on Monday.

During the first of what will be two joint practices between the Packers and visiting Houston Texans in preparation for their exhibition meeting on Thursday, Sternberger was leveled by Texans cornerback Lonnie Johnson Jr. trying to catch a pass over the middle.

It was a crushing -- but clean -- hit that sent Sternberger's helmet flying.

Johnson stood over Sternberger's body, flexing; the cherry on top of the rookie-on-rookie crime -- and a gesture that wasn't too well received by either sideline. Texans head coach Bill O'Brien sent Johnson to the locker room for the remainder of practice, but not after a messy scuffle broke out between both teams.

Johnson, a second-round pick of the Texans in April, has since posted on social media that he "wasn't trying to hurt anybody."

Even so, Sternberger is well aware of the repercussions that come with playing his position and the dangers of being sent across the middle of the field where defenders lurk. But it's an unnecessary cost for a practice, especially when there will be more than enough opportunities for these types of plays on Thursday.

"I didn't know the whole second part, the whole flexing over thing. I guess that's why my teammates were so upset," Sternberger said after the joint practice, via Packers.com. It was the first joint practice held in Green Bay since 2005. "I still think it's football. It could've been the exact other way. It was just -- everybody's playing aggressive and intense, so it's a good thing."

The Packers' roster didn't take kindly to Johnson's hit. Wide receiver Davante Adams and offensive linemen David Bakhtiari and Lucas Patrick were all vocal in their disdain over the fact that it happened in the first place.

A Thread of quotes on Lonnie Johnson's hit/flex on Jace Sternberger

WR Davante Adams
"That's unnecessary. We are in practice. We have plenty of time for that, you can do it in the games and get fined. You can be a coward and do stuff like that in practice- it's not a good look."

— Baillie Burmaster (@bayburmTV) August 5, 2019

Said Adams: "That's unnecessary. We are in practice. We have plenty of time for that; you can do it in the games and get fined. You can be a coward and do stuff like that in practice. It's not a good look."

"If they want to play like that and they want to take side shots which we were told wasn't going to happen," Turner said. "You know what, then you gonna keep seeing some of your players out there getting laid out in the middle of the field like they laid [Sternberger] out."

Patrick, who was one of the first players to immediately jump to Sternberger's defense, had been rotating as the team's starting center with Corey Linsley out with a biceps injury.

"It is what it is," Patrick said. "We've got a rule we live by: team first. Jace is a teammate and protect the team at all cost."

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur was reluctant to have his team participate in certain drills, most specifically the one-on-one exercises between wide receivers and defensive backs, which have a higher rate of sparking fights.

But for as much hooplah is being made about the whole ordeal, Sternberger couldn't be more unshaken.

"As long as I'm getting opportunities like that, I'll take whatever comes with it," Sternberger said. "I felt like I've always had bad luck with stuff like that, so I'm used to it.

"As a ballplayer who enjoys catching passes and running up the middle, breaking tackles, it's one of those things that comes with the territory. ... I should say I was surprised by it. As a pass-catcher running with the ball constantly, you're always thinking of getting hit, how you're gonna bounce off and make the next move. I'm not saying I expected it, but I'm not surprised by it."