Latest news with #Ashburn
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Washington Commanders training camp: Takeaways from Day 5
The Washington Commanders were back on the practice fields in Ashburn on Monday morning. It was hot, so the Commanders got an early start. Monday's practice was different, though, as Day 5 meant the first day Washington was in pads. NFL teams are allowed 16 padded practices during training camp, but there is a five-day acclimation period from the start of camp. The Commanders were ready for the pads. At one point during practice, second-year safety Tyler Owens and rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt collided, but they were fine. Here are some quick takeaways from Day 5: Head coach Dan Quinn likes to give his veterans more rest to help keep them healthy and reduce the wear and tear. Tight end Zach Ertz, entering his 13th NFL season, joked on Sunday that quarterback Jayden Daniels didn't like to see him receive rest days. Monday was a rest day for Ertz, as well as others. Laremy Tunsil, Von Miller, Marshon Lattimore, and Clelin Ferrell all joined Ertz with a day off. In his press conference before practice, Quinn spoke of using Deebo Samuel as a kickoff returner. Veteran running back Austin Ekeler handled the role last season but dealt with concussions. Luke McCaffrey took over late last season. It's uncertain how much the Commanders want to use Ekeler in that role. The new kickoff rules favor players like Ekeler and Samuel, who excel at their best work after the catch. It seems doubtful that Washington would use Samuel as a kickoff returner often, but it's an option to explore this summer. Some of the Washington beat reporters mentioned Croskey-Merritt as one of the camp's top standouts. Quinn discussed how it was hard to glean too much from a running back until the pads come on; however, he praised his "violent cuts," which were on display Monday. Making the team is not really a question. The Commanders loved Croskey-Merritt in the pre-draft process and believe they stole him in the seventh round. He's going to play this season. Stacking good practices only helps his cause. This is promising. Washington used its resources to improve its offensive and defensive lines this offseason. The run defense was the Achilles heel last season. Several resources were allocated to the defensive line, as the Commanders sought to add size and strength. It's early in camp, so you can't learn too much about the run defense, but this could go a long way toward Washington closing the gap on Philadelphia. What helps here is depth. The Commanders will rotate a lot of bodies up front and these players understand the importance of keeping bodies off their linebackers. Here's what Zach Selby of said about Daniels on Monday: We're not even a week into camp, but Daniels looked sharp on Monday's practice. It might have been his best practice of camp so far, as he was throwing precise, accurate passes to his weapons. One of the best came during a red zone period, as he connected with Austin Ekeler near the goal line. Ekeler made the catch and stretched the ball over the end zone before jogging out of bounds. Why does it not surprise you that when the pads came on, Daniels was at his best. This came the day after Daniels threw a dime in the back corner of the end zone for rookie Jaylin Lane, who made a phenomenal catch. For the second consecutive day, wide receiver Terry McLaurin came on the field toward the end of practice, had a conversation with his agent, and then went over to the fans and signed autographs. He briefly spoke to the media, telling them that he was taking everything day by day. Adam Schefter reported later on Monday that he believes McLaurin is asking north of $33 million, which is what new Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf is now making after signing a new contract. However, McLaurin is over two years older than Metcalf. Schefter said the two sides remain far apart. Teammates are happy that McLaurin is at least back in the building. This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders training camp: Takeaways from Day 5
Reuters
3 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Commanders inducting Santana Moss into Ring of Fame
July 27 - The Washington Commanders will induct wide receiver Santana Moss into the franchise's Ring of Fame during the Sept. 7 season opener against the New York Giants, the team announced Sunday. Moss played the last 10 seasons (2005-14) of his NFL career with Washington following four seasons with the New York Jets (2001-04). He ranks third in Washington franchise history in career catches (581), fourth in receiving yards (7,867) and seventh in touchdown receptions (47). Moss made his lone Pro Bowl in his first year in the nation's capital, catching 84 passes for a career-high 1,483 yards and nine TDs. His yardage total remains the Washington single-season record. The Commanders surprised Moss, 46, during a live broadcast with the team at training camp in Ashburn, Va. He was surrounded by friends and family members wearing burgundy caps with "MOSS" on the front and his jersey No. 89 on the sides. "Normally, I am so nonchalant," an emotional Moss said. "I don't know how to take in stuff, but man, that one right there ... I don't want to show my tears, but I'm about to shed some. I appreciate that news." Drafted in the first round (16th overall) by the Jets in 2001, Moss retired with 732 receptions for 10,283 yards and 66 scores in 197 games (135 starts). He had 24 100-yard games and four 1,000-yard seasons. --Field Level Media
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
4 standouts from Day 3 of Washington Commanders training camp 2025
The Washington Commanders moved up practice on Friday due to the excessive heat. Temperatures in Ashburn, Va., and most of the East Coast were expected to be in the 90s. Washington's defense got the memo, dominating the offense on Day 3 of training camp. After a strong start to training camp, the offense encountered numerous issues with the defense on Friday. The Commanders' defense even forced quarterback Jayden Daniels into a few mistakes. Over the first two days, offensive players have dominated our practice standouts column. Day 3 was different, however. Which players stood out the most on Day 3 of training camp? Here are our top four standouts from Friday's practice. It's only been three days, but the Commanders must be loving what they're seeing from their second-round pick. Amos doesn't look like a rookie. He's confident, using his length to his advantage and creating turnovers. Sure, the interceptions don't count now, but it only helps build the rookie's confidence. Amos already looks like a starter alongside Marshon Lattimore and Mike Sainristil. If you thought Sainristil would rest on the laurels of a phenomenal rookie season, think again. Sainristil has a little bit of Jayden Daniels in him, in the sense that he lives and breathes football and is always looking to improve. He studies and it shows up in how he plays. Sainristil was all over the field on Friday, even picking off Daniels once. Sainristil is a tone-setter. He has spent the early days of camp working with Lattimore, pushing one another to get better. Whether he plays inside, outside, or both in 2025, Sainristil will be outstanding. You have to appreciate Von Miller. At 36, he wanted to keep playing because he knew he could. Most importantly, he believed he could help a team win. On Day 3 of training camp, Miller showed off his moves. Sure, there's no real pass rush in training camp, but Miller's participation is notable. The future Hall of Famer could be taking it easy this summer, "roll out of bed" in Week 1 to rush the passer. That's not his mentality. That's why he fits Dan Quinn's culture. Younger players will follow Miller, too. There wasn't a lot to brag about for the offense, but second-year wide receiver Luke McCaffrey had a solid day. One report said McCaffrey, facing tight coverage from Amos, made an excellent play on the ball to come away with the catch. Undrafted rookie Ja'Corey Brooks has been the story early in camp, which is fine with McCaffrey. The Commanders believe we'll see a different version of him in 2025. He's quietly going about his business early in training camp, making plays each day. It's not the big plays for McCaffrey, it's consistency. This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders training camp: 4 standouts from Day 3
New York Times
5 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Austin Ekeler, NFLPA executive committee member, says the union remains in good hands
ASHBURN, Va. — Despite a leadership void following the controversy-ladened resignations of executive director Lloyd Howell and chief strategy officer J.C. Tretter, Austin Ekeler said the NFL Players Association leaders are telling membership that the union is in good hands and still operating with their best interests in mind, while asserting that things remain more stable than they appear. Advertisement Members of the union's executive committee and the board of player representatives continue to deliberate over the selection for an interim executive director, and there is no public timeline for filling the position. However, Ekeler, the Washington Commanders running back and member of the 11-person executive committee, said on Friday that, as players reach out to NFLPA leaders with concerns, leaders have worked to assure players that the union is not rudderless. 'We're telling guys that, Hey, we need to move urgent, but we also need to move smart right now,' Ekeler told The Athletic. 'We don't want to put ourselves in a place where we continue to set ourselves back — because we have had a setback and we need to fill those gaps — but we want to make sure we're moving smart and urgent, and this isn't something that has to be immediately done to fill these spots. We have a lot of great staff that we can trust that are in leadership roles. But understand, we're in training camp, so we're not going to get a lot done right now anyway, but when we do bring you stuff, it's going to be important.' Howell resigned after two years on the job amid a storm of criticism over his leadership and missteps including: • Reaching a confidentiality agreement with the NFL to conceal information regarding an arbitration decision involving potential collusion by owners around guaranteed contracts. • A federal investigation involving potential improprieties by leaders of the MLBPA and NFLPA relating to the OneTeam Partners group licensing firm. • Concerns about a conflict of interest because of consulting work Howell was doing for a private equity firm that was recently approved by the NFL to pursue minority ownership stakes. • Concerns over Howell's use of NFLPA money to fund two extravagant trips to strip clubs — actions for which he received reprimands. Advertisement Ekeler acknowledged that numerous players had expressed concern after learning of the calamity through media reports. And Washington Commanders player representative Tress Way said players on many teams had contacted him and his player-rep counterparts, raising similar concerns. Ekeler and Way said that, in some cases, NFLPA player leaders were learning the details of the controversies surrounding Howell at the same time as other players were. 'It's a little bit unfair to criticize them, 'Like why are we just finding out,' because some things they couldn't tell us until it came out, and in some cases, they were just learning about aspects themselves,' Way said. 'So, it's a tough deal, but we trust those guys. We take those votes for executive committee members very seriously, and I put my coins with those guys and trust that they're going to have us pointed in the right direction.' Initially, it was believed that either Tretter or chief player officer Don Davis would fill the role of interim executive director. But Tretter resigned in part due to frustrations over what he viewed as unfair criticism directed his way, he said in an interview with CBS Sports. Earlier this week, NFLPA president and former Detroit Lions linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin (currently a free agent) issued a statement saying that the union would hold an election for the interim position as soon as possible, and offered players assurances that the process was being handled with extreme care. Ekeler said on Friday that the worst thing union leaders could do is rush through the selection process, even if it is a temporary position. 'We get a lot of pressure because of headlines in the media about, the leadership is this, or this person steps out, and it almost causes a false sense of us needing to react — and we do need to react, but it doesn't need to be immediately,' Ekeler said. Advertisement He said that a careful selection process is necessary because of several pressing matters facing the NFLPA, and therefore the interim executive director. 'It's definitely a to-do list because first of all, we need to make sure we're gaining the trust and righting the ship where it is as far as the union and where we're going with the players, making sure there's trust there,' Ekeler said. 'And I'd say making sure there's trust with the (non-player NFLPA) staff and making sure the staff knows this is something we have to buy into. We have some issues that are going on with investigations, with several cases we have going on right now. And we have general operations of the union that go on. We have some people retiring, people that need to be hired in key roles. So, it's going to be an active job … the entirety of the NFLPA, which is kind of a three-headed monster — the union, OneTeam Partners and Players Inc., the three buckets we have — and I'll just stop there, because those are the details that this person is probably going to be handling in those 90 days or whatever it is that they're in that role.' Ekeler said that while it's unfortunate Howell's hiring in 2023 didn't play out as the long-term, beneficial move players envisioned, he remains proud of the work of the executive committee during that hiring process. At the time of Howell's hiring, which was determined by player election, Tretter and fellow leaders drew criticism for the way that they conducted the search, with perceived secrecy. They kept the field of candidates under wraps until presenting the top two choices to the player body for a vote with little time for membership to conduct their own research. Tretter and his team also drew criticism for excluding high-ranking NFLPA staff members from the process, which restricted the amount of input those advisors could have offered the executive committee members leading up to the selection. Ekeler still views the handling of the process favorably, but does think there are lessons to be learned for the next executive director hiring. 'What people don't understand about our 'secretive process,' as it's been called, is, the union is not an easy job,' he said. 'You need top talent, and if you're looking for top talent, they already have a job somewhere — we have to protect their name in secrecy so we can protect them at the job that they're currently at. So, I love what we did as far as our process. Maybe there is some involvement with staff that we could have a little bit more of for their impact, maybe bringing them in and broadening our hiring process, potentially. But that's not really up to me. That's up to the board on if we want to change anything on how we handle the process the next time around. 'But, for me, I think it was a good process. There were a few issues that wound up biting us that we couldn't have foreseen at the time, but I like where we're at.' (Photo of Austin Ekeler: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
Washington Post
7 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Terry McLaurin's holdout is a concern, not a crisis for the Commanders
Let's be clear about the Terry McLaurin situation: It's uncomfortable, not unprecedented. Yes, Washington Commanders training camp practice began Wednesday without the team's top receiver and model citizen. No, this isn't a nuclear standoff. It's July, not September. There's time. 'It's part of the business of the NFL,' Coach Dan Quinn said before the team's initial workout in Ashburn. 'I don't judge or get too worked up about it.'
