He just doesn’t care.

“I have a ton of confidence in this team,” Peters told reporters Monday in Ashburn.

“I have a ton of confidence in the coaching staff,” the Commanders GM continued. “We haven’t done a whole lot in terms of showing what we’re gonna be doing offensively and defensively.”

Peters’ confidence comes after a very rough stretch for Washington that saw two preseason losses to the Lions and Ravens and a very one-sided joint practice in Baltimore. Peters’ confidence comes amid a rash of injuries all over the Commanders roster. And Peters’ confidence comes after roster cuts where Washington made no waiver claims or saw any of its former players claimed.

“Obviously our fans are passionate, and you love to have passionate fans and that’s great,” Peters said. “But there’s a lot of stuff that we’re doing here that maybe they don’t see, and there’s a lot of things that I’m really excited to see in a couple of weeks.”

So where does the confidence really come from?

“There’s been a lot of times where we haven’t had our players out there, whether it’s been in the games or even at practice. So, I look back to how we did against the Dolphins and just seeing when we had the full arsenal of players up front, offensively, defensively, to seeing what we’re capable of. And very confident in that.”

When Washington hosted the Dolphins for a joint practice in mid-August that was a one-sided affair too, only the Commanders were the better team. And the margin wasn’t small.

Beyond that, Peters is right. Whether by their own decision making (not playing starters in preseason) or injury, the Commanders barely showed their intended starting lineups in August.

The injuries are uncontrollable. Preseason playing time is their call. We shall see how those decisions play out.

One persistent issue throughout training camp was the injury to starting center Nick Allegretti. He missed almost all of camp and didn’t play in the preseason. Yet, at Monday’s practice Allegretti was out there snapping to Jayden Daniels.

So if Allegretti can go for the regular season, how much harm was done?

“It’s not ideal, obviously, but I would say Nick being there through the spring, in the camp, he’s not away from our building,” Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said Monday. “So, you don’t love it, but you can only kinda control what you can. We’re excited he’s back to work today, I can tell you that.”

Peters echoed Quinn’s sentiment that the organization absolutely believes Allegretti can get the job done at center.

Multiple things can be true. Peters and Quinn might be proven right in their assessment that Washington could cut Tyler Biadasz and roll with Allegretti.

“I don’t wanna go back and talk about Tyler and all that, but certainly, we feel very confident in Nick,” Peters said.

At the same time, however, August revealed that Washington has no real depth behind Allegretti. When the starting center was out the middle of the offensive line caved in repeatedly.

It’s a lot of pressure on Allegretti, now returning from a calf strain, without much center work in his career. He needs to deliver for himself, his teammates, but also to salvage a questionable evaluation from his bosses.

I know Allegretti fairly well. He’s super smart. He’s athletic. He’s generally been durable; starting all 17 games at left guard in 2024. But he’s hardly a guarantee to play center at a high level all season.

The reality is the Laremy Tunsil injury will reverberate throughout the year. Losing Tunsil is a big deal, and as injuries pop up on the line throughout the year, it will only get worse.

That said, the volume of concern during the last week of August probably got too high.

The NFL is impossible to predict week to week, let alone before the season even begins. Outside of Tunsil, which is a big loss, offensively the Commanders will roll into Philadelphia for Week 1 in relatively good health.

Jayden. Terry. Diggs. Chig. Cosmi.

Injuries are a fact of life in pro football, but for Washington’s general manager, he’s ready for the road trip to Philly.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled than to start our season when we’re starting it, and it’s gonna be a great challenge, and we’re looking forward to it.”

Peters’ confidence - real or projected - is obvious. Now we get to find out if he’s right.

The Commanders defense gave up a touchdown drive on the first possession and the offense followed that up with a fumble from rookie running back Kaytron “Fatman” Allen on its first snap.

Objectively, this game was a disaster for the Burgundy and Gold.

It is important to note that this result is not necessarily predictive of the upcoming season. 41 players including every starter did not play.

It’s also important to note, however, that Washington just finished a dismal week of August football full of injuries and insults.

For Commanders head coach Dan Quinn there are real questions.

Why - just one week after being in “disarray” as the coach described last week’s preseason loss in Detroit - did this team not show up looking hungry and ready to play?

Even if it’s the backups and 4th-stringers on the field, shouldn’t they be prepared? It’s even worse if they were prepared and this was the result.

Why - just a few days after getting embarrassed in a joint practice against Baltimore - could the team not perform basic functions?

At about the halfway point of the third quarter the Commanders trailed 31-0. That’s not a misprint. At halftime the Ravens’ offense registered 17 first downs. Washington had one.

The questions aren’t just for Quinn.

Injuries have piled up on the offensive line, and that’s beyond general manager Adam Peters’ control. Losing Laremy Tunsil is a major blow.

Roster questions are Peters’ domain though and the insufficient depth at the center position was absolutely within his control. The team had reasons to release Tyler Biadasz, even if they won’t share those reasons. And the team did make a run at free agent Tyler Linderbaum only to lose in a bidding war to the Raiders.

But to roll into training camp at center with Nick Allegretti, who may prove to be fine and capable in the regular season, backed up by Julian Good-Jones and Matt Gulbin was a mistake.

Good-Jones is a career practice squader with 2 career NFL snaps. Gulbin is a 6th-round rookie with athletic question marks.

Expect the Commanders to add a veteran center next week after roster cuts. Still, with the calf issue limiting Allegretti to basically no work for a month, the missed practice time and reps is hard to measure.

It’s entirely possible Allegretti is back next week, plays Week 1 in Philly and gets the job done. Jayden Daniels completes some passes to Terry McLaurin and Stefon Diggs and folks aren’t so focused on how bad the last week of August went.

But the questions are there in a way they haven’t been before for the Quinn and Peters’ administration.

The first year was the first year. And it was great. The second year was a lot of injuries. And it was bad.

The third year? Whatever happens now is on DQ and AP. This is their team, their draft classes, and their free agent decisions.

Preseason results don’t matter, even when they’re ugly.

Questions about readiness and roster construction linger.

It was underwhelming to say the least.

This is the problem with playing quarterbacks in the preseason. There’s no single right and correct way to put the most important player on the team in danger in a game that doesn’t matter.

Should Jayden have come out for another series? Plenty of fans will vehemently argue he should have.

Dan Quinn made clear the plan for Jayden was to play one series. Well, it was a 3 and out. That happens in football.

For many that’s a flawed plan. “Jayden needs the work!” they shout. “Jayden needs to get hit.” they say.

Well, he got hit. Popped up fine.

The Chargers did the same thing with Justin Herbert earlier this week. One series. 3 and out. Done for the night. Jim Harbaugh coaches the Chargers. Anybody calling Harbaugh soft?

Other teams let their quarterbacks play more snaps. Other teams don’t play their quarterbacks at all. Detroit didn’t play Jared Goff a snap in this game. Detroit head coach Dan Campbell is a self-professed meathead and still didn’t play his QB in the preseason. Anybody calling Campbell soft?

Commanders fans are so hyper focused on Daniels’ health and well being after an injury scarred 2025 season that the preseason attention creates far more discourse than required.

Here’s the reality: Daniels getting 3 or 7 or 14 snaps on August 22nd won’t make much of an impact on what happens in Philadelphia on September 13th. Dan Quinn might not say that publicly but it’s obvious he feels that way.

And it’s a classic “give an inch take a mile” philosophy for fans that want to see Daniels play in preseason. If it’s one series that goes 3 and out, they want another series. If it’s one quarter, they want a half. Whatever it is, some people will say it’s not enough.

What Daniels lone series revealed was trouble on the offensive line. The immediate interior pressure on first down is a direct result of the center situation.

I don’t know if Nick Allegretti will be the answer at center that Dan Quinn and Adam Peters believe he will be, but I do know Allegretti will give them more stability than Julian Good-Jones.

The sack was John Bates beat to inside and Chig Okonkwo not getting across the line of scrimmage fast enough. Washington got beat on that play. Left hand up.

Washington’s starting defense looked good against the Detroit backups. Washington’s starting offense didn’t.

Football in August is pretty much just bad news. Sure there are some cool developmental stories that emerge from training camp and preseason, but in general, if there’s real news from the NFL team you care about it’s bad. It’s injuries.

Washington’s primary goal in preseason games is to stay healthy to compete in the regular season. Get a little bit of work for the 1s and then see what the roster depth looks like. Mission accomplished.

The preseason can’t end soon enough.

Washington’s preseason opener against Miami wasn’t quite a disaster, but for the small part of the game that mattered, it was.

The Dolphins offense marched down the field on its opening drive for a touchdown. 14 plays, 93 yards. Miami shoved it on Washington and while many starters weren’t playing there were some players out there, namely linebackers Sonny Styles and Leo Chenal.

Dan Quinn wasn’t pleased with that drive, and Styles wasn’t either.

But before the microwave-hot takes and social media take over, there is not reason to worry about the preseason opener. Styles and Chenal were playing behind a makeshift defensive line and the run fits didn’t look clean.

Everybody just breathe. Styles will be fine.

Elsewhere with the Commanders it’s time to look ahead. The Marcus Mariota knee injury clearly can’t be that big of a deal if Washington is not going to bring a veteran in for the remainder of the preseason.

Against Miami, Sam Hartman played like Sam Hartman while rookie QB Athan Kaliakmanis showed better. Still, if either is playing regular season snaps for Washington there’s a lot of trouble. AK is an intriguing developmental player though.

What gets much more interesting for the Commanders is what role Jayden Daniels will have in the preseason. With Mariota down, don’t be shocked if Quinn decides to not play Daniels at all. Plenty of fans might not like it, but don’t be surprised if that happens.

And that same excitement waned Saturday morning as star left tackle Laremy Tunsil exited the field after going down in 1v1 drills. The news came out Saturday night that Tunsil tore his tricep, and according to a source, will require surgery.

Tunsil’s season might not be done, but he will miss multiple months, and that absence will have a major impact on the Commanders.

Like waves at the beach, life in pro football comes and goes. Injuries are a part of the game and how teams respond is what defines the winners.

Moving forward expect Brandon Coleman to play left tackle. And for as disappointing as the 2025 season was for Coleman - losing the left guard spot to Chris Paul and going inactive for multiple weeks - the third year lineman did start at left tackle for the bulk of his rookie season in 2024.

Coleman was somewhere between fine and good in 2024 protecting Daniels’ blindside that season. The team won, a lot. Coleman played a major role in that.

The flip side of that coin, however, is clearly Adam Peters and Dan Quinn wanted more from their tackles. Following the 2024 season, Washington traded for Tunsil and drafted Josh Conerly in the first round. No matter how Peters and Quinn tried to spin the acquisition of two new tackles being about Coleman’s versatility, the actions showed their intent.

So now it’s back to square one with Coleman. Going way back to the 2024 draft when Washington selected him with the 111th pick, there were some questions about where he slotted in on an NFL offensive line. Coleman played everywhere in college, to his credit.

Coleman was selected on April 26th, 2024, and on the morning of April 27th I got the following text from someone inside the Commanders draft room:

6044

313

4.99

34 7/8

10 3/4

84 wing

34 vertical

9’6 broad

He’s pretty big and athletic!

The text made clear the excitement among the Washington brass they landed Coleman and the belief he could play tackle. After two very different seasons, Coleman likely gets that shot to prove he can do it. Again.

The bigger question in Washington is what Tunsil’s absence does for the season. Losing Tunsil is undoubtedly a downgrade. There’s no way to gloss this over.

But football is a team game and the Eagles won’t care who lines up at left tackle come September 13th.

Keep this in mind too: David Blough’s offense will look much different than Kliff Kingsbury’s scheme did. Daniels will not line up in the shotgun on nearly every snap. There will be more misdirection, there will be more play action, and there will likely be a better run game.

All of those things will help the offensive line, with or without Tunsil. And don’t forget the Commanders did just sign Stef Diggs.

It’s not good news. Losing Tunsil is bad news.

But the season ain’t over yet either. It hasn’t even begun.

One year after a disastrous 5-12 2025 campaign marred by injuries up and down the roster, this time the Commanders general manager decided to add veteran talent before it was too late.

Enter Stefon Diggs.

The numbers speak for themselves: Diggs has over 11,000 career receiving yards and more than 70 career touchdowns. Last year in New England, Diggs emerged as the primary receiving threat. He led the Patriots with more than 1,000 yards receiving on a team that won the AFC Championship.

Perhaps more importantly - in multiple conversations with sources close to the Patriots locker room - Diggs was a model citizen and leader for the young players last year.

So now he’s coming to Washington. Coming home. A product of Good Counsel High School and the University of Maryland is now wearing burgundy and gold.

It feels right, and while the homecoming story is cool, it’s not what’s most important.

What is most important?

Diggs makes the Commanders a better football team. Immediately.

He has elite hands and runs great routes. He will be invaluable to Daniels on 3rd downs and in the red zone. Last year he was still recovering from a major knee injury suffered in 2024. This year, it’s entirely possible Diggs gets more speed back to add to his veteran savvy.

Terry McLaurin is the established star in Washington’s offense. His injuries last year, coupled with Jayden Daniels own injuries, buried the Commanders offense.

Now instead of Terry and a crew of younger WRs that offer excitement but also question marks, there’s another veteran with a proven track record of NFL success.

The move will help McLaurin and help Daniels while also helping the rest of Washington’s pass catchers. Diggs ability to draw coverages and find soft spots in zones will force opposing defenses to not overly focus on McLaurin.

Want to help Chig Okonkwo and Washington’s tight end group? Let Diggs run a crossing route and the tight end settle down into a spot on the seam.

It’s a one-year deal. At 32 year’s old, Diggs is not part of the long-term here in D.C. But that’s ok. The Commanders have a number of young WRs that can maybe learn a bit from Diggs, or take advantage of the coverage he will draw away.

Washington made significant moves at many positions this offseason, though understandably, rebuilding the defense was the top priority. The Commanders defense was awful in 2025 so Peters set out to fix it. He spent real money on the defensive line, used his 1st-round pick on LB Sonny Styles, and invested in the defensive backs.

The defense already looks different, faster and possibly much better. On offense, however, questions remained at receiver. Now there’s far fewer questions.

It would be tremendous if somebody from the collection of Treylon Burks, Luke McCaffrey, Dyami Brown, Jaylen Lane or rookie Antonio Williams breaks out for a great year. But that happening is hardly a given, and now there’s much less of a need for that to happen.

There’s a cottage industry of people that try to make football seem far more complicated than it actually is. At it’s core, life in the NFL is about the win/loss column. To quote Herm Edwards, “you play to win the game.”

Washington needs wins this year. Diggs helps with that.

It’s important to note the specific language that Washington coach Dan Quinn used to describe the injuries:

Quinn said both injuries don’t appear serious or long-term, though it does sound like Allegretti’s might require more missed practice time.

Let’s try to look at this through a balanced lens. Neither injury is serious, and as long as neither drags longer than a week, will be long forgotten by preseason play.

But the depth of both positions was a question coming in and now seems more pressing. With Allegretti out Julian Good-Jones got to work with the starting offense, and the results weren’t great. JGJ has been mostly a practice squad player throughout his NFL career. In fact he’s been active for only one game: Week 17, 2023, a 38-10 loss to Dallas where he played two offensive snaps.

Now that’s not a reason in and of itself to freak out. 1) Quinn says Allegretti will be ok. 2) NFL rosters are currently sitting at 90 men. By the end of August those rosters will be at 53/70, so there will be experienced centers either hitting the wire or available to poach off other practice squads. Maybe this Allegretti calf issue will encourage Adam Peters to add a veteran after roster cuts.

It’s also possible that Washington would actually go with Matt Gulbin, the 6th-round rookie out of Michigan State, if Allegretti missed time. But maybe they’re not ready to do that in July.

Listen, it’s not good news that Allegretti strained his calf on the first day of camp. Coupled with fan confusion over the offseason release of Tyler Biadasz and not adding another veteran snapper in free agency, it seems worse.

It’s something to monitor, for sure, but probably too early to worry.

Burks’ injury lands a bit different, mainly because of his lengthy injury history. A 1st-round pick in 2022, Burks has never played more than 11 games in a season. He’s a big, strong receiver with good hands that runs good routes. He’s just never been able to stay healthy, and like Allegretti’s calf issue, foot soreness on the first day of training camp is unnerving.

The good news is unlike at the center spot Washington did much more to build WR depth this offseason. The team brought in veterans Dyami Brown and Van Jefferson, so they’re in better shape then last year when the injury bug hit the WR room.

Could the Burks foot scare hasten the organization’s desire to sign a veteran free agent wideout? Maybe. And Stef Diggs remains available.

If Quinn is telling the truth and it’s just a minor thing, maybe not.

Wrapping up the other injury news, I did ask Quinn about the return of Deatrich Wise and Dorance Amrstrong. Quinn didn’t give timetables but said both players were recovering well, and made clear Armstrong is much closer to getting back on the field than Wise.

Both defensive ends suffered major injuries in 2025, but Wise’s quad tear presents a very difficult recovery, so that information tracks with what we saw last year.

Onto the notes:

• The defense mostly outperformed the offense on Thursday, and some of that may have been a byproduct of the center changes. The starting defensive line looked particularly dominant in a few goal line drills.

• Speaking of the D-Line, in a jumbo set, the Commanders rolled with Odafe Oweh, Daron Payne, Tim Settle, Javon Kinlaw and K’Lavon Chaisson. That’s a lot of beef and the group took over on one series that started with 1st down from about the 5-yard-line and ended with what seemed like a 3rd-and-20.

• Plenty of safeties get work for Daronte Jones but with the first team on Thursday it looked like a lot of Jeremy Reaves, Nick Cross and Quan Martin. Cross seemed to be playing all over the place, including much closer to the line of scrimmage on some snaps. Keep in mind the work Thursday was almost exclusively red zone sets.

• Both kickers Jake Moody and Drew Stevens made all 6 of their attempts in team drills. Impressive for both men in a battle that will likely stretch throughout camp.

• Both Bill Croskey-Merritt and Rachaad White made impressive plays but there were a few on the other side too. A day after Quinn praised White’s ‘soft hands’ the highly capable pass catcher dropped a swing pass on the left sideline. And worse for Bill, he had a fumble in traffic. Looked like maybe Mikey Sainristil punched the ball out.

• John Bates didn’t get much action (maybe a vet day?), so in his place there was plenty of work for Chig Okonkwo and Ben Sinnott. It was another impressive day for both tight ends, although arguably the catch of the day belonged to Colson Yankoff.

• Dyami Brown looked good with Trey Burks on the field, and Brown again looked good without Burks on the field. Same for rookie Antonio Williams.

• This story from Terry McLaurin was funny. The rookie better have the snacks.

• It was also good to hear from McLaurin, who spoke to reporters at the team podium, and I particularly liked his answer about this year compared to last year: “It just feels like normal. So, business is business and that was last year, but I’ve just been really excited to be a part of the whole process this year.”

• There’s a legit battle going for the left guard spot. Brandon Coleman and Chris Paul both worked with the first team. Paul took the spot from Coleman last fall so it will be interesting to watch that unfold. It will be a lot more interesting once the pads come on.

• Saturday is the first camp practice with fans in attendance. It should bring a good pop of energy. If you see me and want to say hi, please do.

"Sure, they’ve got Terry McLaurin, but what about No. 2?”

Well over the last 48 hours in Ashburn maybe some answers have emerged.

On Monday night Washington GM Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn reiterated how much they like the current receiver group. As they’ve done every time that question has been asked this offseason.

So if they keep saying they like the current group - even if Peters allowed the organization is always looking to get better at every position - maybe we should believe them?

Training Camp Day 1 was a good day for the believe them crowd.

Dyami Brown and Treylon Burks both made toe tap touchdown grabs on contested catches. Rookie Antonio Williams repeatedly made impressive grabs, showing quickness and speed, which are different.

It’s too early to be too excited about any of the receivers not named McLaurin, but in a primarily red zone practice, the receiver group answered the bell. Williams in particular made a move on Commanders LB Leo Chenal that looked close to unstoppable.

The question for Williams will be what happens when the pads come on. The slippery rook has impressed, but let’s see him do it facing press coverage against a long-armed NFL corner like Amik Robertson, or when the threat of a shoulder pop from Chenal impacts the possible movement in the open field.

It was just one day, but it was a good one for the receiving group. (That still doesn’t preclude Adam Peters from signing another vet.)

Elsewhere:

• Dyami Brown was the first player on the field for practice.

• Ben Sinnott made an impressive TD grab on an out route at the goalline. He beat the defender easily and showed nifty footwork to get both feet in the end zone before the pylon. Sinnott joined BMitch & I on our radio show and talked about how frustrating it was his first two seasons to not get many chances and how he’s using that as fuel for Year 3.

• Some encouraging rushes from third-year pro Javontae Jean-Baptiste, who suffered a bad injury in Week 4 last season against Atlanta. JJB has good length and was able to get the corner on a few different plays. Washington has added a lot to it’s D-line depth so an impressive camp will be important.

• Speaking of increased depth along Washington’s defensive line, the size is also obvious. Odafe Oweh and Charles Omenihu showed their burst and length too.

• For all the talk of the new offense, the defense is an even more significant overhaul. Daronte Jones’ group might have showed more blitzes on Day 1 of camp than Joe Whitt’s design did all of camp last year.

• Speaking of the new offense, it was cool to see the designs in goalline work. Dan Quinn made clear Wednesday’s session would be red zone focused and in turn the Commanders offense featured a number of different formations with a lot of tight ends and plenty of motion. Jayden Daniels was under center for about half of the snaps too.

• Speaking of Jayden, when he drops his arm angle and fires lasers near the goal line is a true joy to watch. Just a casual reminder what a quality QB Washington has in Daniels. Anybody remember this throw?

• Maybe I should have included this above, but when people say Washington needs a big WR, here’s a casual reminder Trey Burks is 6’3, 225.

• Nick Allegretti did leave practice at some point and backup center Julian Good-Jones took snaps with the 1s. Dan Quinn will provide some level of update on Thursday morning. Could be nothing, could be something. I’m going to withhold opinion until we learn a bit more.

• Both Bill Croskey-Merritt and Rachaad White had a strong practice. Didn’t see much from the Fatman, but as he told me in minicamp, he prefers to do his running once the pads come on. Bill looked quick and White showed his “soft hands” that Quinn described.

• The increased defensive speed in the middle of the field is noticeable, especially when the Washington offense got down inside the 10-yard line. There weren’t holes in the middle of the field or trailing LBs.

• For the first day of camp, the weather was fantastic. Let’s hope that continues.

• 2 dropped INTs on Day 1 - Mikey Sainristil dropped one in the end zone and immediately dropped down to do push ups. Jordan Magee made a leaping INT attempt but couldn’t bring the ball down. The result for both was still positive for the defense with the passes hitting the ground.

That’s it for today. My plan is to post notes/thoughts each day after the Commanders practice. Subscribe and comment and I’ll do my best to engage. Also watch NBC, listen to 106.7 the Fan and download Beltway Football.

The headline comes from the firing of tight ends coach Ben Steele.

The news comes after a June arrest for DWI. Steele now faces four charges from Loudoun County from the June incident and the organization decided to make the firing public two days before practices start.

The legalities of drunk driving are serious. Steele needs to deal with the legal process. Washington did place the TE coach on administrative leave after the arrest, according to a source close to the situation, which meant Offensive Assistant Wes Welker coached the tight ends during minicamp.

Two takeaways:

1. With Josh Harris at the helm the Commanders organization is running a much tighter ship. It seems Steele’s arrest presented too much of a distraction for Washington to deal with in camp. Players/coaches/scouts/execs get DUIs around the NFL (just like in regular life) and it’s not a lock they’re fired.

2. From a football perspective this will not sink the ship. Losing a tight ends coach two days before camp is hardly ideal, but Washington has the luxury of using Welker in the role for now (or possibly for the season). It also helps that David Raih - the team’s tight end coach the past two seasons - is still on the staff now in the elevated passing game coordinator role. Expect Dan Quinn to provide an answer for the Commanders plan at the coaching slot when he speaks Tuesday night before training camp opens.

Two other notes: the team announced that Nick Bellore was moved to the retired/reserved list. If this is the end for Bellore, congrats on a great career.

Lastly, I don’t have any words to describe the situation unfolding with Eric Bienemy’s family. I knew EB when he was here and met his wife on the sidelines a few times. My prayers are with the family. What shocking news.

It’s not necessarily remarkable that an NFL head coach told the truth, but it doesn’t happen all that often either. Quinn prides himself on his ability to not divulge much information, but he doesn’t do the outright misinformation spew that many other NFL coaches thrive in either.

So what did Quinn tell the truth about? The Commanders held an unusual minicamp where the second and third-stringers got the bulk of the work while the starters mostly did jog-throughs.

It was kinda weird but Quinn explained he wanted to see where the depth was on the roster, and to my eye, it was quite obvious the depth at cornerback was suspect.

Now enter Rasul Douglas.

The Commanders signed the veteran corner earlier in the week and he immediately provides depth in the corner room. Heck, he could maybe compete for a starting job.

A third-round pick in 2017, Douglas has been largely healthy and productive throughout his nine-year NFL career. He’s not young, he will turn 31 before Week 1, but he’s a real NFL corner.

The Commanders defense needed that. We can argue about the abilities of Mikey Sainristil, Trey Amos and Amik Robertson, but they’re NFL corners. After that was real questions. Douglas adds a real NFL corner to the room.

While most fans focus on starters and potential Pro Bowlers to count up possible wins, what really tanks a season is poor depth.

Think about the receiver position in Washington last year: Terry McLaurin dealt with injuries and Noah Brown basically missed the whole season. Add in injuries to other players and all of a sudden Chris Moore was the 5th most targeted wideout on Washington’s roster.

Positional depth raises the floor for position groups. Which is exactly why Washington added Dyami Brown and Van Jefferson this season. It might not impact the ceiling of the receiver group - that hinges more on Antonio Williams development and Treylon Burks’ health - but the floor is much higher than last year.

Similarly bringing Douglas in raises the floor of the cornerback room, and that’s arguably more important than the floor of the receiver room. In a typical game five cornerbacks get defensive snaps. A lot of guys play week after week at that position, and that’s not even counting special teams work.

Listen I’m not suggesting that adding Douglas in July will change the Las Vegas win totals for Washington. It won’t.

But it raises the floor of a defense that was terrible last season. And that matters a lot.

It’s nice to write an article about a roster move that will actually impact the upcoming season instead of postulating about the latest social media videos posted by a receiver on another team.

Speaking of those videos, in Brandon Aiyuk’s latest he said Jayden Daniels isn’t calling him back and that’s it time to get serious because there’s money on the line.

This is all so asinine. Now is the time to get serious because there’s money on the line? THERE’S BEEN MONEY ON THE LINE FOR A YEAR PLUS.

Assuming Aiyuk is telling the truth - which is a big assumption - that’s great news for Daniels. The third-year quarterback has handled this entire Aiyuk nonsense with true professionalism, and if he’s reached a breaking point, good.

More than that, if Aiyuk plans to stick to his guns and refuse to reinstate with the 49ers, than none of this matters. At all.

Like most American kids I grew up liking soccer and playing soccer. Maybe it was a bit amplified in my house because my dad was from Europe, but football was always king and I loved hoops too. But I liked soccer.

So I’ve watched the World Cup as long as I can remember. We watched the Euro Cup and English and Scottish leagues too. I remember as a young kid going to the old Flanagans basement bar in Bethesda to watch matches.

So maybe I’m a bit more into soccer than the average American dude but I’m hardly a soccer guy on the soccer guy scale. Like a 4 out of 10 I’d say.

That said, I love that the World Cup has expanded to more teams. That means more matches. More chances for small countries (Scotland!!!) to make the tournament and more chances for small countries to advance.

But for true soccer people I can understand if they’re mad.

Expansion of the World Cup waters down the tournament and makes the best teams play more games where shit can hit the fan. A star player can get hurt, or like we saw with the U.S. team, a star player can get a junk red card. Or maybe even a great team plays a subpar match and loses a knockout to a lesser team.

That stuff happens in sports.

But I’m cool with it. I’m along for the ride. I’m not super invested like folks in Europe or South America or other spots around the globe obsessed with futbol.

So that’s where I’m worried about my hypocrisy.

When it comes to college basketball I do not want the NCAA Tournament to expand. Even the move from 64 teams to 68 teams like they currently play seems outrageous to me. And there’s talk of 72 or even more asinine teams making the tourney.

And while I love the college football playoff the further expansion talk kills me. It shouldn’t be a 24-team playoff. I’m not even sure it should be 12. Eight seems perfect.

Some playoff expansion has worked though.

Ironically the old, stodgy, boring game of baseball has done the absolute best job of changing rules and postseason play to make it more exciting for a lot more teams, while the “progressive” NBA has terribly watered down its own product with the “play-in tournament.” It’s terrible. Don’t even get me started on the “in-season tournament.” That’s awful.

That said, if I hate expansion in college hoops, college football and NBA hoops am I a hypocrite for liking it in the World Cup? Am I overthinking all this?

Or maybe it’s a byproduct of how invested I am in the qualifying process of those sports (a lot) and not in global soccer (a little)?

What’s undeniable in all of this playoff expansion is that it’s merely a cash grab for the governing bodies of all sports. FIFA seems the biggest cartel of them all; laughing at the NCAA’s attempts to control their games. They’re all getting richer while expanding the playoffs. That much is sure.

More games. More TV. More tickets. More everything.

So on the 250th birthday of the greatest country in history, I wonder, are we really celebrating the U.S. into the second round of the World Cup? Or are we really just at the beginning of the knockout stages of when the global soccer tournament was at its best?

I’m not sure. Who cares?

Beat Belgium!

Daniels comments were nominally about learning the new Washington offense but the reality is the third-year quarterback was letting his teammates know that just because the players won’t be back in Ashburn until late July, the work must continue.

After a miserable 5-12 season in 2025, the entire offseason tone for Washington has looked and sounded different. More urgency. More rapidity. New coordinators. New players.

There’s no certainty that a new approach - along with new offensive and defensive schemes - will deliver more wins and another playoff run, but at least Commanders head coach Dan Quinn recognized the status quo wasn’t getting it done.

The Commanders wrapped up their offseason workouts with an interesting three-day minicamp. The starters didn’t get much work beyond jog-throughs while the 2nd and 3rd string players got the bulk of the snaps.

It was unusual but Dan Quinn explained his methodology as such: In 2025 the Commanders suffered a ton of injuries, so let’s get an honest assessment of the team’s depth.

What went unsaid, however, was that Washington likely wanted a good look at depth pieces to evaluate if the roster needs more changes.

Notes and nuggets below:

• Jayden Daniels made clear he’s done talking about the 2025 season which saw him play just four complete games. Quinn went so far as to burn the coaching notes from last year in an effort for a clean slate in 2026. At this stage of the year, that all makes sense. Whatever lessons are out there from a bad year, it’s time to turn the page.

• It’s quite noticeable what a difference Terry McLaurin makes. Last year a contract holdout and injuries limited Washington’s best receiver. This offseason McLaurin is healthy and locked in. His competitive nature shines through watching the practice sessions and is rubbing off on younger players.

• Rookie WR Antonio Williams knows how to get separation. He has a chance for a real role in this offense, as does Treylon Burks. The former first-rounder just needs to stay healthy, something he’s been unable to do so far in his NFL career. Burks did tell me this year feels like a fresh start. Quinn also went out of his way to salute the strong summers for veterans Dyami Brown and Van Jefferson.

• The running back battle should be interesting in training camp. Jacorey Croskey-Merritt aka Bill talked about wanting to expand his game. Bill missed much of the OTA sessions with a hamstring tweak but was back for minicamp. After a mostly impressive rookie season, Bill needs to be better in pass protection for his role to really expand. He looks a bit bigger and more muscular now and seems to be aware that in the new offense there will be more required of the backs in pass pro and with the play action concepts. Elsewhere in the RB room, Rachaad White and Jeremy McNichols had strong offseasons. Two rookies will look to impress in training camp: Kaytron “Fatman” Allen and undrafted rook Robert Henry. Fatman had a brilliant explanation that his power running style will make more of an impact once the pads come on.

• Quick note on Henry - he’s wearing the 30 jersey and when he’s on the field looks a bit like Austin Ekeler. He’s my early pick for preseason leader in rush yards (which does not mean a roster spot but is a silly prediction game we play on the Beltway Football podcast).

• Ben Sinnott and Chig Okonkwo had strong offseasons. David Blough’s offense is going to offer more verticality for the tight end position and expect both to be able to show their athleticism. Okonkwo will be the lead dog at the position but Sinnott might finally be able to prove why he was a Top 100 pick.

• Rookie linebacker Sonny Styles looked fast and fluid throughout the offseason. He has a knack for being in the right spots in 7v7 and 11v1 and there will be a lot of excitement to see if that football intuition stays on track once the pads come on in August.

• One of the most impressive things I saw throughout the summer was from Laremy Tunsil. Known around the league as a hard worker and leader but with little regard for showing that publicly, this summer allowed a peak. Tunsil talked about second-year tackle Josh Connerly coming to stay and workout together in Alabama and the results showed. Connerly looks bigger and with broader shoulders than his rookie season. Still the single moment that stood out for me came from the conclusion of minicamp practices when the entire team ran a series of short sprints. Tunsil - the five-time Pro Bowler going into his 11th season and with career earnings of well over $100 million - was grinding out the June sprints. Actions not words.

• Perhaps my favorite moment from the summer came in an off-field conversation. I stood on the sideline watching practice with former Redskins RB Ricky Ervins and Commanders team president Mark Clouse. Ricky is an all-time great dude and hysterical to chat with. Clouse is very cool and has gone out of his way to engage with the tea’s alumni base. As the three of us watched the workouts, we talked about the ongoing construction of the new RFK stadium. Ervins told a story about the first time he played at RFK and saw the stands bouncing and explained the scene nearly drove him to tears. He asked Clouse if the bounding seats would be re-created at the new stadium, and the team prez explained that it would for a portion of the seats. It was a cool moment of the past meeting the future, something the organization is trying to do and something the fan base desperately wants.

During the season head coaches are mandated to address the media at least four times a week. In the offseason the pace slows, but still the head coach is by far the most visible mouthpiece for the organization.

Where the NFL doesn’t grant much media access? That would be assistant coaches. Position coaches. Those dudes almost never talk publicly.

Once a year, however, all of the assistants answer questions. For the Commanders that happened this past week and there was plenty to learn, especially as Washington is in the middle of installing a new offensive playbook and defensive system.

So what did we learn?

• Commanders LB coach Ken Norton is a no-nonsense dude. He played linebacker in the NFL for over a decade and won three Super Bowl rings. His father was a Heavyweight Champion of the World as a boxer. Did I mention Norton is a no-nonsense dude? Well I couldnt help but laugh when I saw Norton’s reaction to the organization drafting Sonny Styles. Check out his face even when I bring it up. Clearly Norton is fired up to coach Styles.

• Special Teams Coordinator Larry Izzo made clear the kicker battle is very real. I asked if incumbent Jake Moody had a leg up (no pun intended) in the competition with rookie kicker Drew Stevens. Izzo said no. This summer is all about who makes the most kicks and added that accuracy is more important than distance. Stevens definitely has more distance than Moody, but the rookie has to prove he’s more accurate.

• Wide receivers coach Bobby Engram voiced confidence in the current WR group and particularly pleased to have Terry McLaurin back in full for the offseason programs. Engram, echoed by most of the offensive coaches, talked about how much he believes Jayden Daniels playing more snaps under center and more motion behind the line of scrimmage will help the entire offense. (Ed. note: I agree.)

• Offensive assistant Wes Welker also talked about the strong work from the overall WR group this summer. Welker provided particular insight on rookie Antonio Williams.

• A very funny moment happened talking with defensive line coach Eric Henderson. I asked Henderson if he heard Javon Kinlaw’s very positive but very profane assesment of the current DLine room. Henderson didn’t miss a beat, “I saw it. I liked it and agree with him. But I won’t quote it.” Well done coach. Henderson is a Louisiana native but has spent his most reaching coaching stint at USC in Los Angeles. The weather was quite hot in Ashburn and I asked coach if he missed the heat and humidity. He made clear he did not. Funny guy.

• Commanders running game coordinator Anthony Lynn said we won’t see the best from rookie RB Kaytron “Fatman” Allen until the pads come on and made a direct comparison to former Washington RB Chris Rodriguez. That’s the tough life in the NFL for running backs: C-Rod played well, got some good money in Jacksonville, and Washington hopes it drafted his replacement.

• Lynn also said that Jacory Croskey-Merritt aka Bill wants to be back on the field but that the second-year player is dealing with a minor hammy issue. The Commanders are just being ultra careful, which is the right course of action being in June.

• Commanders outside linebackers coach John Pagano said that Odafe Oweh’s explosion at the snap is among the most impressive he’s seen and believes the free agent acquisition will make a major impact this fall.

• Pagano also told an awesome story behind the viral picture of Commanders players and coaches with former President Barack Obama last week at a golf course. Pagano said the groups finished their round around the same time and that Obama couldn’t have been cooler or nicer. It was the first President that Pagano ever met.

• Of the group in that photo, I’ve only played with Frankie Luvu. I can report first-hand that Luvu has game. He bashes it off the tee and shows a nice touch around the greens.

Unrelated: Knicks/Spurs Game 4 is one of the most memorable games I’ve ever watched. A great reminder why we all love sports.

Terry McLaurin explained it best: multiple formations and a lot of movement.

All of these things point to a better offense for Jayden Daniels to run. Multiplicity in formations will force opposing defenses to adjust their personnel on the field. Motion will allow Daniels to identify coverage looks pre-snap.

Motion will also allow McLaurin to operate from different parts of the field and could free up the remaining group of wide receivers from being strict X/Z receivers.

Perhaps most telling from McLaurin’s insightful comments: the stem vs the tree. Wide receivers can run a tremendous amounts of different routes, even more than the old 1 through 9 route tree suggests. But they all start from the same stem.

The problem in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense was there wasn’t a ton of variation in the routes. The fact that McLaurin ran a hitch on nearly 40 percent of his routes rate last season is preposterous.

Motion. Play action. Route variance and complementary routes. All positive steps for the offense. For Terry. For Jayden.

Another interesting comment I heard came from Josh Conerly. As much as new Commanders offensive coordinator David Blough is going to bring in new concepts to the offense (obviously) he also mentioned that some of the previous concepts will remain in the playbook.

That’s good. Under Kingsbury there were good elements of the Commanders offense.

So I asked Conerly, the second-year right tackle, what from last year he’d like to see continue.

“I think we were really good running outside zone,” Conerly said, before adding, “we just didn’t do it enough.”

Watch the full interview here at the 13:30 mark.

Conerly’s words are telling here. Washington ran the ball pretty well last year, particularly on outside zone rushes. They finished fourth league wide in rush yards and averaged 4.7 yards-per-carry.

But those total numbers are a bit skewed by the run game of Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota. The eye tests reveals the Commanders didn’t run the ball often enough last year.

Under Blough, expect a much more consistent run game, and a run game that doesn’t look different than the pass. People often discuss the marriage of the run and pass game but that’s hard to do when working almost exclusively out of the shotgun formation.

Getting Daniels under center more - which will absolutely be a feature of the 2026 offense - will also help the run game. Play action comes from under center, which will also help the run game.

Offensive linemen always believe the offense should run the ball more. That’s the nature of the position. In Washington, they’re right.

Laremy Tunsil - one of the best left tackles in football with a history of missing voluntary team activities - was there. That was a big statement in itself. Washington GM Adam Peters promptly took care of Tunsil this offseason when the tackle approached an offseason without guaranteed money on his contract, and perhaps reciprocally, Tunsil showed up for OTAs.

Tunsil’s attendance was simultaneously not a big deal but also a big deal. It showed a level of buy-in from arguably the team’s most accomplished player. Go back a year, Tunsil wasn’t at OTAs and Terry McLaurin was in the midst of a contract showdown.

None of that energy existed inside the Ashburn practice bubble on Wednesday. The energy was high.

It helped this was also the first time to watch Jayden Daniels sling it since an early December injury in Minnesota. Daniels looked sharp, and more importantly, completely in tune with the new offense installed by David Blough.

“It’s been awesome just to see his offensive mind, his creative mind and juices flowing and we’re building this thing together,” Daniels said. “I love the offense. I mean, I love what Blough’s doing. I love how he’s creating and designing different things and then we’re going from there.”

There was an obvious tempo to the offense, especially during 11v11 work. To be clear, this wasn’t an up-tempo offense like we saw with Kliff Kingsbury running the show. Rather, there was a pace to the practice, getting in and out of the huddle, and an attempt to maximize practice reps. Speaking with one veteran offensive player after practice I asked if that was intentional, and the reply was “oh yeah.”

It was an encouraging first look at the new offense, and the players seemed enthusiastic about the early results.

More notes below:

• NFL rules dictate the media can’t provide many specifics about formations or play design from practice sessions, but a few things were obvious from a broad prism. Daniels will be under center much, much more in Blough’s offense, and the skill position players will be in motion at a much higher clip. That doesn’t mean shotgun looks and the pistol formation won’t continue to be a feature, but the days of almost all shotgun and McLaurin lined up exclusively on the left side appear to be over.

• For all the fan angst about adding a new veteran receiver, the current crop looked impressive on Wednesday. Beyond McLaurin, Dyami Brown looked highly productive, Jaylen Lane made a number of catches from different positions, and Luke McCaffrey found the correct soft pocket for a good outlet connection with Daniels.

• Speaking of receivers, rookie Antonio Williams certainly looked like he belonged. Check out this video:

• The kicker battle will be a fun one to watch all summer. And it should go on all summer. Undrafted rookie free agent Drew Stevens definitely has the stronger leg, but veteran Jake Moody has proven to be accurate inside 40 on the NFL level.

• I spoke with veteran tight end John Bates after practice and asked him specifically about the TE role in the new offense. Bates explained tight ends will have a bigger role and expect to see multiple sets with multiple tight ends on the field. Maybe even 13 personnel like the Rams ran to great success last season. That’s exciting.

• Speaking of tight ends, for the past two seasons Zach Ertz was Washington’s top pass catcher at the position. Ertz was very good at getting off the line of scrimmage and a real tactician running routes. This offseason the Commanders brought in Chig Okonkwo and he’s a different player than Ertz. Chig has a level of athleticism and agility that Ertz once had but not in his two years in Washington. On one pass reception down the right sideline Okonkwo showed a burst of speed and movement that should be a big boost to the Commanders offense.

• Sam Cosmi talked about what a weapon play action can be for the offensive line, and the excitement of more play action in the offense. That’s good news.

• One fun part of watching practice is watching the coaches interact with the players. Blough has a stoic, serious demeanor on the field. He’s locked in but not very emotional. Another offensive coach that got a big promotion this offseason is David Raih, where he got bumped up from tight ends coach to passing game coordinator. Quite often Blough and Raih were standing next to each other though their reactions to plays were quite different. Blough maintained a steely focus while Raih jumped around and showed an infection enthusiasm. On one play in 11v11, Daniels connected with McLaurin in the deep middle of the field and as Terry jogged to the sideline Raih greeted him with a jumping high five while Blough looked at his play sheet. Teams need all different types of personalities, and coaching staffs do too.

• Want more? Watch the newest episode of All Ears.

Ed Note: As always leave comments or questions and I’ll do my best to respond. Also at the first OTA session I made a point to watch the offense. Next week I’ll try to focus on the defense.

It’s vital to stress these are May workouts and actual football is months away. These are glimpses, brief ones, into what things will be so don’t go crazy with assumptions.

That said, there are things worth watching, particularly new coordinators on both sides of the ball.

Systems check - Commanders head coach Dan Quinn had a busy offseason, hiring two new coaches to run his offense and defense. Neither the new defensive or offensive coordinator has even been in this role before. That’s a big deal.

For Daronte Jones at least he has a litany of NFL coaching experience and has called defenses on the college level. There will still be an adjustment for Jones but the uphill climb doesn’t seem as severe. It also helps that Quinn has plenty of experience running defenses so should Jones need some support, it’s there.

The offensive side of the ball will be far more interesting.

New play-caller David Blough has never called plays before, let alone been more than an assistant position coach. Add in the fact that Blough is installing a brand new offense, that he largely had to build this offseason, and it’s going to be super intriguing to watch how things look early on.

I almost expect there to be some confusion and misunderstandings. That’s normal this time of year under the best of circumstances let alone with all the moving parts on this Washington offense.

Blough maximizing third-year QB Jayden Daniels is probably the most important piece to the 2026 Commanders season. We know the offense is going to look different, but the hope is the offense looks good.

Don’t hurt me again - Part of the reason the 2025 Commanders season went so poorly was injuries. Offense, defense and even special teams were affected, some more so than others. The injury headliners were Daniels and Terry McLaurin, but don’t forget Austin Ekeler, Zach Ertz, Dorrance Armstrong, Trey Amos, Luke McCaffery and on and on.

I’ll be keeping an eye out for players that finished the season on injured reserve to see where they are to return this fall. Amos and Armstrong were playing at a high level last year and will be important parts for an improved Commanders defense this season. Amos should be ready, DA is more of a question mark.

Daniels and McLaurin should be completely healthy. We’ve already seen social media videos of those two with other skill position players going through workouts in Los Angeles.

Washington needs a healthy season to get back to the playoffs. If guys are missing workouts in May is ok as long as the rehab is on track. Wednesday we get to see.

Look out - An unfortunate reality of the NFL is contract issues happen. Last year the organization’s tough stance in contract talks with McLaurin drove a wedge in the entire offseason.

This year there aren’t any obvious contract disputes but it won’t be a shock if some of the veteran players going into the final year of their deal don’t show up for OTAs. Especially if there’s no guaranteed money left on the deal.

OTAs are voluntary. It’s reasonable for players to miss them. Another thing that happens often, players take part in most of the offseason workouts but skip the days the media attends. That gets their message out.

With all the newness going on in Ashburn the team doesn’t need the added distraction of contract issues. There doesn’t appear to be anything simmering behind the scenes, but you never know who might skip an OTA session.

But that wasn’t just fantasy fodder. Blough told McLaurin the same thing.

I got to catch up with McLaurin on Tuesday at a cool event introducing golf to kids. In a wide ranging chat McLaurin made clear his excitement to play in Blough’s offense, specifically mentioning more sets, formations and pre-snap motion. Watch the video.

The excitement is understandable. This should be a much more balanced, pro-style offense based at least in large part on Blough’s previous work with now Bears head coach Ben Johnson.

Go back even further and McLaurin’s trust level with Blough is significant. Yes, McLaurin played his college ball at Ohio State, but playing at Purdue was a serious consideration prior to committing to the Buckeyes. The Purdue QB back then? Blough.

Their relationship has real history.

The “10 targets a game” idea got me interested though. How realistic is that?

17 games x 10 targets per game = 170 targets.

Well I think it’s important not to get bogged down by semantics here. Only two receivers literally got to 170+ targets last season (Ja’Marr Chase and Amon Ra St. Brown). In 2024 only Chase got to 170+.

For me the idea of 10 targets is much more about identifying McLaurin as the alpha receiver and feeding him the ball regularly, regardless of situation. That seems what Blough intends to do.

And there are numbers to support that.

Ben Johnson ran the Detroit Lions offense for three seasons from 2022 to 2024. During that time, St. Brown averaged 150 targets per season. McLaurin has never had more than 130 targets in a season, and that came back in 2020.

In Detroit, Johnson clearly identified St. Brown as the Lion’s best receiver and made sure he got the football. Expect Blough to do that in Washington with McLaurin.

It’s a bit harder to extrapolate much from the Bears offense in 2025, Johnson’s first year as a head coach. It sure appeared that second-year WR Rome Odunze grabbed the alpha role for Johnson’s offense but he only played in 12 games. Still, in just 12 games, Odunze led the team with 90 targets.

Enough about Johnson. Now it’s Blough’s time in Washington.

It’s not as simple as “make sure to throw to Terry.” If the offense stinks and doesn’t generate first downs, there won’t be enough plays to get Terry targets.

A balanced offense will get McLaurin more looks. So the notion of getting McLaurin into that 150 target range also implies a healthy running game and plenty of looks to tight end Chig Okonkwo and other wideouts.

Terry is aware what this year means. New offense, new opportunities.

The 2025 season did not go right for Terry McLaurin. The Commanders best receiver of the last decade fought with the organization for a new contract in the offseason and then dealt with injuries once the season started.

Past performance does not guarantee future results.

The age old Wall Street disclaimer can also be applied to football, and to be clear, the entire 2025 season in Washington was a mess. That doesn’t mean, however, the 2026 season will be too.

Ed. Note: Leave some comments. I’ll respond.

1. Soft Hard Open - Starting the 2026 NFL season with back-to-back division games on the road presents a difficult task for Washington. Following that up with a home opener against the freaking Super Bowl champs makes it among the hardest opening stretch in football. Seriously: @ Philly, @ Dallas, home against Seattle. The Commanders will likely be underdogs in all three contests, and after that get “rewarded” with a home game in London. Seattle at home does present an immediate chance for Washington to show improvement from last season. As much as the Commanders got blown out in 2025, no game was as lopsided as the home loss to the Seahawks. It was 31-7 at halftime and Jayden Daniels got hurt late in that game. Remember the whole “Dan Quinn was going to take Jayden out and then he got hurt” storyline? Week 3. It’s back.

2. Ready or not - The Commanders did not make a head coaching change last year despite the 5-12 record, and that was the correct decision. Dan Quinn more than earned another year with the team’s terrific 2024 season as well as a litany of injuries impacting Washington last year. That said, Quinn did make significant changes to his staff by hiring two new coordinators. Defensive coordinator Daronte Jones has plenty of NFL coaching experience so the thought of consecutive division road games to open the year should not be too difficult. But offensive coordinator David Blough has zero offensive coordinator experience. He’s never been the primary play-caller. Sure he’s played the quarterback position in NFL games and been a part of the Washington staff as plays were getting called. But Blough has never had 35 seconds to make a call on 3rd-and-6 late in the fourth quarter with his team down a touchdown. That’s an indescribable pressure for anybody, let alone a 30-year-old first time OC. Listen I am a Blough believer (a Bloughliever maybe?). Go back and check the tapes; I called my shot in the 2025 offseason and said I thought Blough would get the job when Kliff Kingsbury left. People thought I was crazy. Here we are and Blough has the gig. He has the smarts and the savvy and the relationship with Jayden. But he still has never made that 4th quarter play call, and the first chance comes in Philly with Eagles fans tailgating all day. Get ready dude.

3. Wood chopping season - From Week 10 to 13 the Commanders don’t face a single playoff team from last season. Three of those four teams had worse records than the Commanders last year (NYG, Arizona and Tennessee). Granted, Washington also missed the playoffs last year, but if the Commanders can get through the first nine weeks of the year hovering close to .500 then real opportunities open up to rip off a 3 or 4-game win streak.

4. Highs and lows - When the Commanders face the Bengals on Monday Night Football in Week 11 expect to see a ton of replays from the 2024 Week 3 MNF matchup between the same two teams. That means seeing that Jayden Daniels to Terry McLaurin touchdown again and again. It’s going to be awesome.

The flip side of that coin is when the Commanders play the Vikings in Minnesota in December, expect to see plenty of replays of Jayden getting injured on the interception return from last December in Minnesota. That won’t be awesome.

The Redskins and Bengals were locked in a tight game and it was Halloween weekend in London. The stadium was packed, but it wasn’t like a typical NFL game in the U.S.

There was no press box; the media sat in regular seats with a row of desks built out what seemed like that morning. Looking around the stands, there were some ‘Skins jerseys and some Bengals jerseys, but there were far more random jerseys. I specifically remember the jersey I saw most - and it wasn’t close - was the Dolphins’ teal Dan Marino. Maybe the folks in Europe were big Marino fans or maybe they just loved Ace Ventura, but seeing those jerseys always stuck with me.

I’ve talked plenty about my first experience covering a game in London but not sure I’ve ever written it down. It was a football game for sure, Josh Norman racked up like 15 pass interference penalties and Kirk Cousins threw for almost 500 yards, but the atmosphere was quite different.

It felt more like a football carnival. A celebration for British and European football fans to be at a game more so than fans watching to see the outcome of Skins/Bengals.

And that brings me back to the commercial break between the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth. It was Halloween weekend and over the loud speakers Michael Jackson’s Thriller came on. The place erupted.

Wembley is huge and the place was packed. Thousands and thousands of people were trying to do the Thriller dance from the music video. It was incredible.

The game was two middling teams, Wild Card periphery, but that scene was electric.

As the game continued and went to overtime it got even weirder. Normally in the U.S. the media works from the press box and there’s devoted elevators to get us down to the field level for postgame. Not in Wembley.

At the bottom of the lower section of seats, there was a gate down to the track before the field. Next to the gate was a big burly security guard standing there. Before Dustin Hopkins lined up to win the game in overtime with a field goal, I walked down to the gate. I told the security guard I needed to get to the field. He replied - sternly - nobody gets on the field until the game is over. He didn’t seem thrilled with me.

I explained that once Hopkins makes this kick, the game will be over. It’s sudden death.

The security guard didn’t flinch. Nobody on the field until the game is over.

My concern was I was supposed to be on TV within 5 minutes of the game ending, and the layout in Wembley meant we were on the opposite side of the field from the live shot location and it was going to take some time to get over there. I didn’t quite make a scene but I made it clear I wasn’t happy. I kind of squatted in the row near the gate and announced my intention to run to the live shot as soon as the kick went in.

Only it didn’t. Hop missed a chippy. And the game continued.

Then the security guard made a point to look at me, look at the clock, and then look at me again. Eventually the clock hit zeroes, it was a tie, and the big bloke let me through.

It’s a funny snapshot in time. Jay Gruden. Kirk Cousins. AJ Green. Andy Dalton. 10 years. A decade.

The NFL has expanded so broadly across the world that I doubt anything like that would unfold again. There’s multiple games per year in London. The security guards probably better understand the rules now, because the fans certainly do.

Working last year for the Dolphins/Commanders game in Madrid I again saw another international overtime but this time without any questions or issues about when and how we would get back downstairs from the press box. There was a similar football carnival atmosphere, but the fans seemed far more understanding. They cared about the game.

In London in 2016 they did too, but in a different fashion.

It’s remarkable to go back to London for a game knowing how much has changed in Washington. The owner. The name. A bunch of coaches and quarterbacks and even one deep playoff run.

Football has changed around the world too. There are devoted fans I know and message with all over Europe, and that is spreading across the world. It’s very cool to watch unfold.

Let’s hope London 2026 is as fun as London 2016. But let’s hope it doesn’t end in a tie.

Ed. Note: I’m on a golf trip in Bandon Dunes. The travel is a giant pain in the ass but the payoff is worth it. Granted it was on a Par 3 course but I made 3 birdies in our first round. But because of the time difference and the travel and the golf my writing might be a little light this week. I’ll get something done on the schedule once it’s released in entirety. It’s also kinda nice to be away on schedule release day and not track down every little rumor of a game. As always feel free to leave a comment below or call me an idiot. Whatever you prefer.

The math goes like this: 6 draft picks, 9 undrafted free agents, a few holdovers from the 2025 practice squad and then a host of “tryout” players. It is technically a tryout, but the reality is much more that these young men get invited to rookie minicamp but rarely heard from again. Not always, but the theory is the coaches want enough players on the field to run 11v11 drills.

Covering rookie minicamp for over a decade the most important lesson I’ve learned is to not take anything too seriously.

Now, with all the caveats out of the way, Sonny Styles absolutely looks like the real deal. Fluid, quick, smart. In 7v7 passing drills any time a pass went near the line of scrimmage or towards the middle of the field it seemed like Styles was in perfect position to absolutely blast the pass catcher.

In fact, on one play Styles made contact. Nothing crazy but his shoulder connected with the receiver. The coaches had to pretend to be upset with Styles, but we all know they loved it.

Beyond the size and the speed - and a frame that actually looks like he could still add some weight - Styles impressed when he spoke after practice. He’s clearly comfortable in this role. His father played in the NFL so I don’t think this transition will be too surprising for him, especially coming from a football factory like Ohio State. Other rookies answer questions with some version of “I’m just so happy to be here” and it’s earnest but Styles talks about giving his all to an organization and it seems obvious that he will.

Let’s move on from Styles, who seemed every part the green dot linebacker Washington expected on draft night.

• Antonio Williams also impressed. He was quite productive n 7v7 and 11v11 and I don’t think had a single drop. He’s wiggly at the line of scrimmage and plenty of quickness. Encouraging first look.

• There was one specific rush from Joshua Josephs that had me very intrigued. He lined up on the right side and beat the tackle off the snap, then used bend to turn the corner. We know he’s got long arms but he looked like Stretch Armstrong as he made his move past the tackle and towards the QB. It was legit impressive. Then I got to talk with Josephs after practice and really liked him. The rook seems like he is all about football, and specifically, getting the ball. “If you get the ball, you get the money.” Loved that line.

• Got to meet Kaytron “Fatman” Allen and that’s a humble young man. He seemed very excited to be part of an NFL roster, but more importantly, he looked the part on the field. Dan Quinn called the rookie RB out of Penn State a back with “demonstrated power.” Nobody was wearing pads at rookie camp so there was no contact, but Allen does an excellent job of keeping his shoulders square even as he turns. You can also see in his body, he’s a bigger guy but carries it well. The path to a roster spot for Fatman is prove to be a capable short yardage back. He looks the part. He did have a drop on a pass out of the backfield, but hard to know how good the pass was either.

• Two practice squad receivers from the 2025 roster also took part on Friday - Ja’Corey Brooks and Jacoby Jones. Both had nice catches during the afternoon’s session.

• New undrafted WR Chris Hilton Jr. was the last man on the practice field, working the Jugs machine. He played his college ball at LSU and knows Jayden Daniels well. He was a 5-star recruit but things just never went right in his time at Baton Rouge. Somebody interesting to keep an eye on.

• I’ve been pretty adamant that Washington needed to bring in competition at kicker. They did. Undrafted free agent Drew Stevens has a monster leg. Watching him kick field goals (where admittedly I had a bit of a weird angle to see how many he made) the power was obvious. He was bombing. On kicks inside 40 yards it seemed like the ball was still on the ascent as it crossed through the uprights. After practice he told me he’s very comfortable inside of 60 and social media videos suggest he’s comfortable past that too. Speaking with Stevens it became clear, he’s not here because it’s cool to be at an NFL camp. He wants the job. The kicking competition will be fun to watch this summer.

• Credit to the Commanders organization for bringing in a long snapper and holder so Stevens could get real work. That’s thorough. So let’s shout those dudes out: Ashton Ngo and Nick Veltsistas.

• Athan Kaliakmanis seemed like a super nice kid that is legit excited to be on the same text thread as Marcus Mariota and Jayden Daniels. As for the play on the field, he made some throws, but largely looked like a 7th-round QB that just got the playbook.

• I was standing watching practice with a member of the Commanders PR staff when John Taumoepeau got through the line of scrimmage to register a tackle for loss. It was a nice play for the tryout guy from BYU, and the PR staffer told me to write that one down. So here it is. Big John goes 6’2’ and 300 lbs. For a team that signed Tim Settle and looks like will be playing some traditional nose, perhaps Big John is a name to watch for the practice squad.

• Last thing: Looking at the ages on the rookie minicamp roster was wild. There were guys 25, 26 and 27. The Covid era of college football where guys could play 6 years has been a crazy transition, but I think is coming to a close?

Ok that’s more than enough about rookie minicamp. Hope you enjoyed. Leave some comments or ask some questions and I’ll do my best to respond. I’m down at the beach with the girls for the day Saturday then driving home for Mother’s Day so responses might be slow. Hope everyone enjoys Mother’s Day with their loved ones.

Also my picks so they’re in writing: Colorado over Carolina for the Stanley Cup. And I can’t wait to watch Spurs/Thunder. Whoever wins that wins the NBA Finals (not really going out on a limb there).