Daily Slop – 10 Jul 24: Jayden Daniels on Hard Knocks; Bobby Wagner, Emmanuel Forbes and a uniform tweak

A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East and the NFL in general

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Sportico

Bobby Wagner Eyes NFL Future Far Beyond the Playing Field

Bobby Wagner has spent a career shadowing the NFL’s top quarterbacks. But on this day, he’s shadowing the league’s top executive, commissioner Roger Goodell.

As the sun rises over Manhattan, the Washington Commanders linebacker finds himself in a Flatiron District yoga studio heated to over 100 degrees with Goodell, who often does the ancient practice before beginning his workdays running the nation’s most popular league. Led by a class instructor, Goodell and Wagner are put through their poses, focusing on their breathing and breaking a sweat. The private hour-long session was one of several moments the two shared that summer day in 2023, giving Wagner access no other current NFL player has ever had to the head of the league.

After a post-workout shower, Wagner and Goodell reconvened at the league office on Park Avenue. The morning Bikram class was merely a curtain raiser for what was a productive day last year. The nine-time Pro Bowler with a 2014 Super Bowl ring saw the operations of the league through the eyes of the commissioner, from sitting in on a call with all 32 owners to taking a trip to nearby Roc Nation to review strategic goals inside the league’s partnership with the entertainment company.

Wagner witnessed key decisions the commissioner makes daily—and came away impressed with how in tune the boss was with every department from community relations to benefit resources. He accompanied Goodell to nearly every meeting, and in a few of them spoke on behalf of fellow players.

“A lot of athletes want to learn business and go into different spaces, but it’s also important to learn the business that you are in every single day,” Wagner said in a video interview. “There’s so much that goes into the business side that athletes don’t understand.”

The day of shadowing the commissioner wasn’t Wagner’s only foray into the league offices. He spent more time in New York with some of the league’s top decision makers across different departments. It was an eye-opening experience for Wagner, who not only is a budding businessman and venture capitalist but has interest in being a leading figure in the NFL after his career on the field concludes.

“Bobby’s passion for growth and development goes beyond the field,” Goodell said in a statement sent to Sportico. “I’ve had the privilege of getting to know Bobby over the years and seeing his interest in business develop. We were able to see that first-hand when he spent a few days at the NFL shadowing leaders across our office. We were all impressed by Bobby’s enthusiasm and curiosity to learn more about all aspects of our business. Additionally, he was eager to share his perspective as a player on key issues, which is invaluable for us to hear.”

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Riggo’s Rag

Analyst highlights high-stakes situation for Commanders CB Emmanuel Forbes

The pressure is on.

Sam Monson from Pro Football Focus highlighted this predicament after inevitably listing the defensive back among his second-year players under the most pressure in 2024.

“The NFL has been far more ready in recent years to push the boundaries of size thresholds, and so it was last year when the Washington Commanders drafted Emmanuel Forbes at No. 16 overall despite his weighing just 166 pounds at the NFL Combine. He did improve from a lower position on the cornerback depth chart, but his rookie season overall was a struggle. Washington still has an acute need at cornerback, and Forbes is unlikely to pack on 40 pounds of bulk any time soon. So, he enters his sophomore season in need of rapid development in his ability to succeed at this level as an undersized player, particularly in a division with some big and very good receivers.”

– Sam Monson, Pro Football Focus

Forbes has reportedly put on some extra muscle mass in pursuit of brighter fortunes next time around. That’s a positive given how Quinn likes his cornerbacks to be physical at the line of scrimmage within his expansive scheme. Opportunity also knocks for the player looking at the outside coverage options available currently.

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Commanders.com

Commanders bring back gold pants for 2024 season

As a nod to the franchise’s history, the Washington Commanders are bringing back the signature gold pants and will include them in their uniform combinations this season. The decision was made after hearing from several fans who wanted to see the iconic look return to the team. The games for which we will see players wear the gold pants have not been determined.

The gold pants, which match the solid color design of the burgundy and white pants already worn by the team, make a return to the franchise as a regular part of the color combination for the first time since 2018, the last time being in Week 17 of that season against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Washington’s gold pants have historically been a staple of Washington’s uniform since they moved from Boston to the DMV in 1937. The franchise had some of its best years while wearing them, putting together two NFL championship seasons in 1937 and 1942.

Washington moved away from the gold pants after the 1978 season, choosing to play in either burgundy or white for the next 31 years with few exceptions coming in 1994, 2002 (in honor of the team’s 70th anniversary), 2003 and 2007. The gold pants came back as a primary uniform color in 2010.

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CBS Sports

Return of gold pants means much more for Washington football fans

On the surface this is a minor move. Pro sports teams make uniform changes like teenagers change best friends. This kind of thing happens all the time. But in Washington, where the past has been painted by some as tainted — and worse by others — honoring the past is a trickier endeavor.

Still, Harris and crew made that decision to look back and move forward, giving fans a semblance of pride from those previous teams. Sure, it’s just a pair of pants, but it’s also a way to remind fans and foes alike that Washington has a long, rich football history. The move is a cool way to connect to great teams in the 1970s and even more recently when the team occasionally wore the gold pants about a decade ago.

[B]ringing back the gold pants might lighten the mood surrounding the new uniforms and name. It’s football. It’s supposed to be fun. It’s supposed to be a diversion from real life. An escape from Beltway traffic and escalating bills and politics and all else that comes in the real world. For too long, though, being a Washington fan was hardly an escape. It was almost as ugly as the headlines that dominate the local and national news. That era is over. There’s no guarantee the team returns to a perennial playoff contender or a Super Bowl winner. But it has become clear the new ownership group has changed the tone and tenor of what it means to be a Washington fan. Yes, we’re only talking about football pants, but for Commanders fans, we’re talking about much more.

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Podcasts & videos

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Locked on Commanders: Washington Commanders Frankie Luvu and Boby Wagner On-Field Impact | Brandon Aiyuk & Jayden Daniels

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Beltway Football: Brandon Aiyuk nonsense and expectations for Jayden Daniels, with Al Galdi

All a’Twitter