Daily Slop – 21 May 24 – RGIII: “Without Alfred Morris, 2012 is not a reality”

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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Articles

Riggo’s Rag

Commanders’ front-office shake-up shows Adam Peters means business

Adam Peters is completely changing the landscape.

With the 2024 NFL Draft firmly in the rearview mirror, Peters had the green light to bring in staff he believes can fit his way of thinking. It’s also another sign that the front-office leader will stop at nothing to make the Commanders an industry leader on and off the field.

Commanders make major statement with front-office alterations

The first notable arrival was Brandon Sosna, who became the team’s vice president of football operations. Among his chief responsibilities will be heading up the analytics department and being in charge of contract negotiations. It’s a big challenge, but Peters believes his previous experience with the Detroit Lions will serve him well based on comments via the team’s website.

David Blackburn also reportedly joins the Commanders as director of player personnel according to Ben Standig of The Athletic. It’s a short distance to travel for the new arrival after leaving the Baltimore Ravens. He’s played an influential role behind the scenes for the AFC juggernaut, so his expertise is going to be another outstanding source of knowledge for Peters to depend upon.

This also leaves Chris Polian – who held the position previously – to take up a role with the Cleveland Browns.

The Commanders also struck a deal with Dwaune Jones, per Neil Stratton. He joins from the Atlanta Falcons and has also spent time with the New Orleans Saints and Ravens. He was part of the process that identified Lamar Jackson as a franchise quarterback while most of the league held significant reservations, so his credentials are there for all to see.

Washington’s respected general manager is laying the foundations for a brighter future with some of the league’s shrewdest talent evaluators.

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Commanders.com

Zach Ertz wants to mentor, guide Commanders’ young TEs

“I’m just trying to help them in any way I can,” Ertz said. “It’s something I think in this stage in my career that I’ve taken a lot more pride in than maybe I did when I was younger. I’m just trying to maximize this team with any way I can help.”

Ertz was the first recognizable name that Washington signed once Dan Quinn became the Commanders’ head coach, and he was the start of an effort by the coaching staff and front office to inject the roster they inherited with veteran leadership.

That’s a role Ertz has embraced since he came to Washington in March. Though the rookies and veterans haven’t worked together long, Kingsbury has seen him with second-, third- and fourth-year players like John Bates and Cole Turner, which has been “awesome” to view from afar.

To be clear, Ertz isn’t being a helicopter veteran. He’s not “holding their hands” on the practice field, but rather pulling them aside and offering his insight on things they need to work on or how he would approach certain aspects of the position.

“It’s not just me being the salty vet…trying to tell them what to do every play, because they’ve got a coach for that,” Ertz said. “I’m just trying to help them in any way I can.”

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WUSA 9

With current debt levels, can DC afford to build new Commanders stadium?

By 2030, the District is predicted to be more than $1.7 billion dollars in debt, including the $520 million committed to renovations at Capital One Arena.

According to data obtained from DC’s chief financial officer, by 2030 the District is predicted to be more than $1.7 billion in debt, including the $520 million the city just shelled out for renovations at Capitol One, as part of a deal to keep the Wizards and Capitals from leaving D.C. That puts the District smack up against the city’s limit on debt based on D.C. law. Essentially, the D.C. government is out of borrowing power.

“I would say the overall conclusion is that sports stadiums actually produce enormous revenue for the cities,” Evans said. “You’ll have economists say it never does anything, and in some cities it doesn’t.”

But Evans says D.C. is different. Nationals Park, which revitalized Navy Yard, is paying off its debt far faster than planned.

The former councilmember says there’s one key to making a football stadium a financial win for the District.

“There’s so much that a domed football stadium can do for a jurisdiction,” Evans said. “If we are going to do this, that is what we absolutely should do. Because you can use it year-round.”

Evans said a potential alternative to taking out bonds to help pay for a new football stadium, is to create a special taxing district around the RFK site, known as Tax Incremental Financing. A portion of that money would pay off the cost of D.C.’s investment in the stadium over time, while not counting against the cap the city has on its bonds.

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Bullock’s Film Room (subscription)

State of the Roster Update: Commanders Offense

Breaking down where things stand with the Commanders offense after the draft.

Running Back

On the roster: Brian Robinson, Austin Ekeler, Chris Rodriguez, Jeremy McNichols, Michael Wiley, Austin Jones.

Short term need: Low.

Long term need: Low.

Analysis: In the short term, the Commanders are pretty well set at the running back spot. Brian Robinson will likely be the workhorse back with Austin Ekeler playing the third down back role. Chris Rodriguez flashed some potential last year and should be a solid back up to Robinson in the workhorse role. They may well only keep three running backs on the final roster and at this point it would likely be those three. If they opt to keep a fourth, veteran back Jeremy McNichols would be the back up to Ekeler’s third down back role. Michael Wiley and Austin Jones were two undrafted free agents the Commanders picked up, but I think they’re both long shots to make the final roster and more likely camp bodies. Their best shot at making the team would be to outperform McNichols for the back up third down back role, but even then the Commanders might just opt to keep three running backs instead of four.

Over the long term, I did consider bumping the need up to medium and I’d probably have it borderline right now. Robinson and Ekeler are two good running backs and both are under contract through the end of the 2025 season, so the position could well be set for a while. But the nature of the running back position is that teams churn through multiple backs all the time. Players can reach their peak and fall off dramatically, they can get hurt and sometimes a younger, more explosive option is available as a late round pick and comes at a much cheaper price than a veteran. So it would well be the case that Robinson doesn’t end up meshing well with Kingsbury’s system or Ekeler’s drop off in production last year was the start of a negative trend rather than just a few injuries, in which case the Commanders would need to add a running back or two next year. But it’s most likely that we’ll see this pair in Washington for a few years before a decision needs to be made on Brian Robinson’s second contract.

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Podcasts & videos

Javontae Jean-Baptiste Is Ready to “Go to WORK Everyday”

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NFC East links

NFL.com

NFC East projected starters for 2024 NFL season: Did Cowboys improve? Eagles to contend again?

With the 2024 NFL Draft and most of free agency in the rearview, Gregg Rosenthal will project starting lineups for all 32 teams because that’s his idea of fun. Check out the NFC East breakdowns below.

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Pro Football Talk

Eagles WR DeVante Parker announces retirement

Receiver DeVante Parker signed a one-year, $1.2 million deal with the Eagles this offseason. Parker, though, won’t play a down for his new team.

He announced his retirement Monday night.

“I want to see my [four] kids, spend quality time with them,” Parker told Adam Schefter of ESPN. “I want to be there for them whenever I can.”

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Bleeding Green Nation

DeVante Parker announces retirement on the first day of Eagles’ OTAs

Well, that didn’t last long.

Parker was expected to be the WR3 alongside A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and was the most tenured guy in that room with 10 years of experience. Now, six-year veteran Parris Campbell has an opportunity to show that he’s still the dynamic player people expected him to be when he was drafted out of Ohio State, and earn that WR3 spot.

After Campbell, Brown, and Smith, the most experience any other player has at the position is three years, and that’s Britain Covey and Jacob Harris. The rest of the WR roster consists of a bunch of one-year guys and rookies.

Parker would have at least served as another experienced player, and a depth guy who has played in big games and in the postseason — something that’s helpful when the team gets down the stretch.

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Big Blue View

Did the Giants close the talent gap? Ranking NFC East offenses position-by-position

Let’s see how the Giants fare in our unscientific ranking

The Eagles swept the offensive side of the football. If I did break down the offensive line by specific positions, Philadelphia wouldn’t have secured center with Jason Kelce no longer in the building. Lets’ do some math:

1. Eagles: 20 points
2. Cowboys: 12 points
3. Giants: 10 points
4. Commanders: 8 points

Philadelphia is eight points ahead of Dallas, who is two points ahead of the Giants, who are two points ahead of the Commanders.

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NFL league links

Articles

Deadspin

Report: Broncos LB Drew Sanders has torn Achilles

The Denver Broncos won’t have second-year linebacker Drew Sanders until late in the 2024 season, if then, due to a torn Achilles that he sustained last month, ESPN reported Monday.

News of the injury was first reported by 9News in Denver. Sanders’ recovery time is expected to be six to nine months, and the injury occurred in mid-April. Sanders has since undergone surgery.

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