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Daily Slop – 13 Jun 25 – With July 15th deadline nearing, politics take a front seat in RFK Stadium site discussions

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

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Articles

Front Office Sports

$3.8B Commanders Stadium Deal at Risk Over Political Rift

The $3.8 billion proposal for a new Commanders stadium has devolved into a political back-and-forth between the District of Columbia’s top two officials.

Less than two months after first completing the stadium deal with Commanders owner Josh Harris, D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser said that delays by the D.C. Council to approve the latest budget are already imperiling a plan for the facility targeted for a 2030 opening.

“A delay sacrifices our exclusive seat at the table and $2.7 million in private investment,” Bowser said. “The Commanders and my team are ready to iron out the details with the Council and respond to any concerns. It should be clear, but let me emphasize: If the Council strips the deal terms or budgeted dollars from the budget, it kills our agreement with the Commanders.”

The agreement between Bowser and the Commanders does require preliminary approval of the stadium plan by July 15, at which point the team would be able to talk with other jurisdictions. Neighboring Maryland and Virginia have made separate pushes toward a new stadium, but never got as far in negotiations as D.C.

D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson, already a skeptic of the $1.1 billion in public support targeted for the Commanders stadium and related infrastructure, called Bowser’s comments inaccurate. He also said, despite the language in the stadium deal, there is more time to work with than what Bowser suggests.

“The Commanders have said the earliest they would need the District’s money and go to the bond markets to finance construction is next summer,” Mendelson said. “We will work within the Commanders’ 2030 timetable.”

Part of the backdrop of the political battle between the two officials is Bowser’s late May delivery of a proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, weeks later than expected and a particular source of public frustration for Mendelson, as he claimed it has unduly compressed the Council’s legislative work to fund the upcoming year.

Commanders.com

Minicamp notebook | Coaches tell Commanders to stay prepared for their moment

— Neither Jayden Daniels nor Marcus Mariota participated in the 11-on-11 periods, leaving Sam Hartman and Josh Johnson to lead the offense during the period. Hartman had his moments, like when he tossed a touchdown to Luke McCaffrey, but he also threw an interception to Car’Lin Vigers near the goal line.

— Noah Brown left practice Wednesday with an undisclosed injury and did not return for the rest of the day. He also didn’t participate in Thursday’s practice, and when asked about his status, Quinn didn’t have an update other than to say Brown was supposed to get an MRI.

— Quinn said running back Chris Rodriguez has “really applied himself” to the suggestions he and the rest of Washington’s staff given him this offseason. Rodriguez was elevated to the active roster at various points in 2024 and had strong moments but could not hold onto an active roster spot. Quinn wants Rodriguez to be “at his absolute best” so he can compete in what Quinn called a “crowded” running back room. Being in the best shape possible might help him stand out and earn a consistent spot in the rotation.

Commanders.com

‘A true Commander’: Reaves inks extension with Washington

“I’m just filled with gratitude, man,” Reaves told reporters after Wednesday’s minicamp practice. “I was just talking to some of the young guys and telling them if you take anything from me, just understand that the turtle does win the race.”

Reaves, a 2018 undrafted free agent who originally signed with the Philadelphia Eagles before joining Washington’s practice squad later that year, has become a fixture of the Commanders’ roster after years of waiting for his opportunity. He spent four seasons going through a cycle of being released, added to the practice squad and elevated to the active roster before finally making roster cuts ahead of the 2022 season.

Reaves went on to become one of the best special teams players in the league. He finished the 2022 season with a career-high 33 tackles, 17 of which came as a special teams player. He finished second in the league in terms of special teams tackles and was selected to the Pro Bowl on top of getting First Team All-Pro consideration from the Associated Press and NFLPA.

Reaves had another solid campaign in his first season playing under head coach Dan Quinn, recording 20 tackles and a forced fumble. When asked about the extension, Quinn started by saying, “That honestly makes me smile.”

“This is a true Commander, one of our heavy hitters and an absolute all around BMF, in every way,” Quinn added. “It’s no surprise he was elected one of the captains when the postseason began but he affects all sides of the ball.”

Riggo’s Rag

Michael Gallup’s hamstring strain could put his Commanders’ chances in doubt

Gallup was absent from Commanders’ minicamp on both Monday and Tuesday as he tended to what is being reported as a strained hamstring. It’s unclear when or how the veteran suffered this complication, but it’s not good news for either the player or the team.

The Commanders brought him in as a low-risk flyer, with no expectations of playing anything more than a backup role and no guarantee that he would even make the roster. It was simply a shot in the dark to provide the former Cowboy with an opportunity to get another shot in the pros.

That said, the Commanders are thinner than expected at wide receiver right now. Not only has McLaurin been absent, but Noah Brown was carted off the field on Tuesday with an undisclosed injury. That, along with Gallup’s issue, means that Washington’s top available receivers are currently Samuel, Lane, and 2024 third-round pick Luke McCaffrey.

It’s not ideal. And for Gallup, it feels like a missed opportunity.

The Draft Network

Commanders’ 2025 Make Or Break Player: Brandon Coleman

Coleman is now tasked with making a successful transition from tackle to guard. A failed experiment could see him lose his standing as a Commanders’ starting offensive lineman. Good thing Coleman possesses the skills required to develop into a quality blocker inside.

Coleman worked specifically at left guard during OTAs and again at the first practice of mandatory minicamp. Coleman did have some experience playing across the interior in college.

Now that the Commanders are moving Coleman to his best predicted position, he’ll face a make-or-break year at left guard. Last year’s starter in that role was Nick Allegretti, who played 99 percent of Kliff Kingsbury’s offensive snaps. The Commanders are placing Coleman in that spot, possibly demoting Allegretti to reserve swing lineman.

However, Allegretti could potentially compete with Andrew Wylie, who is also making the full-time transition from tackle to guard, for the right-sided interior role. Guard Nate Herbig is also in that mix. Regular starter Sam Cosmi suffered a season-ending torn ACL injury in the divisional round matchup with the Detroit Lions. The lateness of that setback threatens to derail the start of his 2025 season.

Podcasts & videos

NFC East links

Pro Football Talk

Dak Prescott: I want to win a championship for my personal being, my sanity

The Cowboys quarterback has a 2-5 postseason record and has never advanced past the divisional round despite being the No. 1 seed in 2016. The franchise won its last championship in 1995.

Winning a championship is personal for Prescott.

“I want to win a championship,” Prescott said, via Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “The legacy, whatever comes after I finish playing, will take care of itself. I want to win a championship. Be damned if it’s just for my legacy or if it’s for this team. It’s for my personal being, for my sanity. The legacy will take care of itself.”

Prescott is returning from a torn right hamstring, which ended his 2024 season in Week 9.

NFL league links

Articles

The Athletic (paywall)

NFL executive Brian Rolapp leaving for PGA Tour CEO position

Brian Rolapp of the NFL is expected to be announced soon as the PGA Tour’s new CEO, sources confirmed to The Athletic. Jay Monahan, the current commissioner of the PGA Tour, will remain in his role, but Rolapp, who has held various executive positions at the NFL since 2003, will lead the tour’s new for-profit arm, PGA Tour Enterprises.

He has held his current role since 2014, and many believed he could be Goodell’s successor as NFL commissioner.

Goodell’s contract has been extended again, as The Athletic reported last month, making it a logical step for Rolapp to seek experience elsewhere and demonstrate his ability to direct the future of a major sports organization. The PGA Tour CEO role is a newly created position.

ESPN

Shemar Stewart leaves Bengals minicamp amid contract dispute

Bengals rookie defensive end Shemar Stewart left Cincinnati’s mandatory minicamp Thursday amid a contract dispute.

Stewart, the Bengals’ first-round draft selection, has not participated in any of the team’s offseason workouts. According to a source, the dispute is centered on interpretation of language in the contract that could affect guaranteed money.

Stewart isn’t the only Bengals pass rusher trying to iron out a contract situation.

Trey Hendrickson, a four-time Pro Bowler and an All-Pro selection last season, skipped the entire mandatory minicamp as he seeks a long-term contract extension. He has said he has no intention of playing out the final year of his current deal.

Pro Football Talk

Impasse between Bengals and Shemar Stewart comes down to one specific contract detail

The Bengals and Stewart are haggling over language regarding the potential voiding of his future guarantees.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Bengals want to include a phrase that causes a default in the current year to trigger a default in all remaining years. The problem is that the contract signed by last year’s first-round pick, tackle Amarius Mims, does not not include the language that the Bengals are now attempting to insert into Stewart’s deal. And Mims was taken one spot lower in 2024 (No. 18) than Stewart was picked in 2025 (No. 17).

The key phrase, we’re told, also doesn’t appear in contracts signed earlier this year by receiver Ja’Marr Chase and receiver Tee Higgins.

So, basically, the Bengals hope to pivot from their existing contractual language regarding the voiding of guarantees to new language, with Stewart’s contract being the first one to get it. One one hand, the Bengals should be able to change their policies and procedures. Every business at some point does. On the other hand, in an industry where the contracts for the key employees develop a clear pattern and practice, it’s not typical to make a sudden shift to a new way of doing things.

It would be easy for the Bengals to justify the change by saying, “Well, other teams use contracts that apply a default in one year to all remaining years.” However, other teams pay out more of the signing bonus up front, too.

Discussion topics

Front Office Sports

NFLPA Reignites Grass-Turf Debate Ahead of Club World Cup

The NFLPA has lobbied for years for teams to change the playing surface at stadiums from turf to grass.

The Club World Cup might be struggling to sell tickets, but at least it got the attention of the NFL Players Association.

The union weighed in on the installation of a grass field at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey ahead of its hosting of the preliminary rounds.

The NFLPA’s crusade to get all of the league’s stadiums switched from turf to grass has been years in the making. Players prefer it, though the league disputes that data show any difference in safety. Major international men’s tournaments require grass, which is in about half of NFL stadiums. But the temporary grass isn’t perfect either: The new surface for the Copa America at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium was criticized for being bumpy.

Next summer, seven NFL stadiums will have to make the temporary switch from turf to grass in order to host matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The World Cup has long been a rallying cry for the NFLPA to point out that team owners can switch the playing surface at their stadiums if they really wanted to.

“We’ll remind everyone that just saying ‘it can’t be done,’ or ‘we’re not going to do it,’ well, you’re doing it,” NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell previously told Front Office Sports at the NFL Scouting Combine.

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