Daily Slop – 12 Jul 24: Links to articles, podcasts and tweets to keep you up-to-date with the Commanders and the NFL

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

Commanders links

Articles

Commanders Wire

Commanders QB Jayden Daniels wins ESPY for Best Men’s Collegiate Athlete

Jayden Daniels is still winning awards for his performance as quarterback for the LSU Tigers in 2023. Heading into Thursday night’s ESPY awards, Daniels already won the Heisman Trophy, Walter Camp Award, AP College Football Player of the Year, Sporting News College Football Player of the Year, Davey O’Brien Award, Manning Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and SEC Offensive Player of the Year.

That’s quite the list. At the ESPY’s, Daniels added the 2023 Best Male College Athlete Award to his list of accomplishments.

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Riggo’s Rag

Every wide receiver picked ahead of Terry McLaurin in the 2019 NFL Draft

The decisions of others proved fruitful for the Commanders.

If McLaurin takes another leap, the regret from those who turned down the chance to draft the pass-catcher in 2019 will only increase. No fewer than 11 receivers were taken ahead of him. Some have gone on to achieve success. Others failed to meet lofty targets.

It’s a mixed bag. Taking into account the dominance of A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf – coupled with Deebo Samuel’s dual-threat ability – a strong case for McLaurin being the fourth-best wideout from this class can be made. Fans could even aim higher looking at his supreme consistency while all around him seemingly crumbled.

The aforementioned trio were placed in much better situations. That’s what makes McLaurin’s rise to prominence so impressive. It’s also earned him a huge payday along the way. Something that looks like a real bargain now based on what the top-end receivers are getting on their current extensions.

There’s been a lot of change across the franchise this offseason. McLaurin is a constant and hugely respected by his peers. He’ll be tasked with keeping everyone focused, motivated, and in line with increased standards.

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Sports Illustrated

Top-10 Honorable Mention Safety Still Available Should Washington Commanders Need One

While the Washington Commanders appear set right now the need for another safety could come up, and Justin Simmons would be a good one to consider.

[W]hile Washington appears pretty confident with its safety group led by second-year free safety Quan Martin and new addition Jeremy Chinn, there’s no reason the front office shouldn’t have tabs on what’s happening with free agent safety Justin Simmons.

“Still really good but not the blue-chip player he was,” an NFL personnel evaluator told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN while he was compiling his ranking of top-10 safeties in the league. “More of a high-level red at this stage. Still versatile and can play in the post with leadership and smarts.”

Simmons didn’t rank inside of the top-10 of the ESPN poll that asked league executives, coaches and scouts to rank the position group.

Instead, he was an honorable mention meaning he got enough votes to move the needle but not land inside the top 10 officially. That list ran seven deep, totalling 17 NFL safeties getting votes.

But there was another category. The ‘also receiving votes’ category. In there, eight more safeties were named, making 25 total getting at least a little love from league executives, coaches, and scouts.

None are on the Commanders roster currently. Only one is a free agent.

[If] Washington found its way into the category of needing a safety again, it could do a lot worse than a soon to be 31-year-old veteran from Manassas, Virginia who just this February was competing in the NFL’s Pro Bowl Games.

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Riggo’s Rag

3 recently added Commanders who are already cut candidates in 2024

These Commanders players will be looking to avoid short tenures with the team.

Damiere Byrd – Commanders WR

The Washington Commanders are expecting more from their wide receiver options next season. Jayden Daniels looks like a franchise-caliber presence under center. That’ll count for nothing if those at the skill positions cannot make plays when called upon.

Terry McLaurin remains the top dog and could benefit more than anybody from Daniels’ improved distribution. Hopes remain high that Jahan Dotson can finally break out in 2024 after failing to meet expectations during the previous campaign. The Commanders spent a third-round pick on Luke McCaffrey, who’s made a strong start over early workouts and seems to be developing a nice rapport with his signal-caller for good measure.

Despite failing to impose himself up to now, Dyami Brown’s vertical threat is something that can become an asset if he wins the confidence of offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. As for the rest? They’ll be fighting with everything to earn places on the 53-man roster in the coming weeks.

It could go either way for most. The Commanders will examine developments closely day by day. Adam Peters could even bring in additional reinforcements if things aren’t progressing as expected.

One cannot dismiss the importance of special teams’ prowess for those further down the pecking order. Washington tried several players in the kick return game to see what they could offer. This will become especially important during the 2024 season considering how the new rules seem to benefit the return team.

That’s a big reason why Damiere Byrd was acquired on a one-year deal. Dan Quinn knows him well from their time together on the Atlanta Falcons. He’s bounced around the league since gaining 604 receiving yards with the New England Patriots in 2020. He was seldom seen last time around, but the Commanders are giving him a shot to see if he can be impactful in a different environment.

That’s a positive for Byrd, but it doesn’t come with any concrete assurances. Beating out the likes of Dax Milne, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, Mitchell Tinsley, and Jamison Crowder is the only way he’ll secure his spot.

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Podcasts & videos

Deep Dive: Dan Quinn Defense From The Legion of Boom to DC | Podcast | Washington Commanders

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NFL league links

Articles

Front Office Sports

NFL Will Dip Its Toes in Private Equity by Year’s End

Speaking Thursday on CNBC while attending the Sun Valley Conference in Idaho, commissioner Roger Goodell (above) said the league is still on track to formally approve PE investment by the end of the year, as has been long expected. But Goodell said NFL owners will likely cap that investment at 10% of a team’s equity, a figure that also has been frequently discussed.

“We believe that would be something that could make sense for us in a limited fashion,” Goodell said. “That would be something we think could complement our ownership and support our ownership policies.”

The 10% threshold remains below those in other leagues—such as the NBA, NHL, and MLB—that go as high as 30% for private equity involvement, and could ultimately prove insufficient to help address franchise values that are now soaring beyond $6 billion in some cases. But Goodell said it’s critical to not just mirror what other properties are doing in this space.

“We’re not other leagues. We’re going to do what’s right for the National Football League,” he said. “We like our ownership policies and think this is a complement.”

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Pro Football Rumors

NFLPA Director Lloyd Howell Addresses Potential Expansion To 18-Game Schedule

As things stand, an 18-game schedule could be implemented no earlier than the 2031 season. Significant support exists amongst the league’s owners to arrange for one preseason contest to be replaced by a regular season one well before that point, however. Knowing concessions will need to be made to the player’s union for such a move to be possible, Howell is open to negotiations taking place now to avoid any work stoppages.

“I’m glad Roger said 18. I’m glad that he’s leaning into international [games],” Howell said, via The Athletic’s Mike Jones (subscription required). “I think it gives our guys the opportunity to kind of get their thoughts together, get our position together, to say, ‘This is what and how we’re thinking about it.’

“It makes no economic sense for anyone to have a strike or a lockout. The world’s most popular sports league is going well. How do we keep that going? A lockout is an irrational thing. What’s more rational is, ‘Hey, if I could grow this two times, if I could grow this three times, then we should figure out what the agreements would need to be.’”

A number of issues will need to be addressed for traction to be gained on negotiations between owners and the NFLPA regarding an 18-game arrangement. Howell noted the handling of bye weeks – to little surprise, given the widespread expectation expansion could be accompanied by a second bye week – is one element where concessions could be required. Others include playing surfaces, travel related to international games and general player compensation.

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All a’Twitter