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Daily Slop – 28 Jul 25 – Today is the first padded practice for the Commanders in 2025

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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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ESPN

2025 NFL training camp: Latest news, buzz for all 32 teams

Sunday, July 27

There’s a reason Washington’s offense excelled late in games last season. The Commanders work a lot on end-of-game situations — one reason they were 9-4 in one-score games. That was evident again Sunday — and it helped end the struggles of an offense that was getting stymied by the defense for two practices in a row.

In this drill, Washington’s offense started with the ball on the 40-yard line and 30 seconds left, trailing by 6. On the last play of the series, from around the 25-yard line, quarterback Jayden Daniels lofted a perfect pass to the last inches of the corner of the end zone. That’s where rookie receiver Jaylin Lane outjumped three defensive backs and tapped his feet in-bounds. It was the highlight of the day.

  • Slot corner Mike Sainristil has had a strong camp — after having a similar spring. He intercepted a pass over the middle during full-team drills — after having grabbed a tipped ball in practice Friday as well. Sainristil is not a big guy at 182 pounds but he plays bigger than his size, which has been evident when he’s faced receiver Deebo Samuel Sr.
Front Office Sports

Terry McLaurin Ends Commanders Holdout After Losing $800K

McLaurin, who turns 30 in September, is set to earn $19.65 million in total cash in the final season of a three-year, $68 million contract. However, he’s collected fines totaling $200,000 for missing the start of training camp, $105,000 for missing minicap, and forfeited a $500,000 workout bonus.

The Athletic (paywall)

Terry McLaurin reports to Commanders camp, waits on PUP list for contract extension

A league source said Sunday there’s been no substantial progress towards an extension, however.

After practice Sunday, McLaurin was spotted signing autographs for the fans in attendance. “My beef is not with y’all,” he said. “I love y’all.”

“Hold-ins” have become more popular of late among players looking for new deals. The obvious reason is to avoid the stacking of fines for missing mandatory camp, but there are at least some benefits to being around teammates, even if McLaurin can’t attend position or team meetings while he rehabs.

Entering the last year of his current deal, which will pay him $15.5 million in base salary, and which made him one of the top five-paid receivers in the league when he signed it in 2022, McLaurin is looking to sign a new deal commensurate with the top receivers in the game. While no details have emerged yet about his asking price, he is certainly aware of the explosion in wide receiver salaries in the last year and would like to move up from his current 17th place among receivers league-wide in average annual value, at $23.2 million. His now-teammate in D.C., Deebo Samuel, ranks 15th among receivers in AAV at $23.85 million.

Washington Post (paywall)

Commanders fans make their presence felt at team’s first open practice

Cars were lined up to get into Washington’s practice facility well before 7 a.m. Sunday as anticipation for the 2025 season continues to grow.

The line of cars outside the Washington Commanders’ practice facility stretched far down the road well before 7 a.m. Sunday. The sun had barely cracked the horizon as hundreds of fans streamed toward the team’s first training camp practice open to the public.

This seems to be the new reality for a franchise that not long ago could hardly draw anyone to an open camp day. Just three years ago, when the team opened practice, the hillsides beside the fields were essentially empty. But the crowds returned last summer with the hope that No. 2 draft pick Jayden Daniels could become the team’s next great quarterback. This summer, after a run to the NFC championship game, an open practice is something many people want to see.

By 9 a.m., there were well over 1,000 people lining the field and screaming at practice plays as if it were an actual game. When Daniels lofted a desperation pass to the back corner of the end zone that was caught by wide receiver Jaylin Lane over two defenders as he fell to the ground, the roar lasted several seconds, even though it was just a practice play made by athletes not even wearing pads.

Commanders.com

‘It feels different’: Back Together Sunday shows off energy, pride of fan base

“I left my house at 3:30 a.m.,” the Chesterfield, Virginia, native said. “I’m just a diehard fan. I wanted to get Jayden Daniels’ signature. I wanted to be first in line, just show them that I’m a real fan.”

It didn’t matter that practice was moved up one hour to start at 8 a.m. on a Sunday. It didn’t matter that the Feels Like temperatures in Ashburn were already pushing past the 90s once practice got underway. Washington fans, filled with pride and galvanized by the team’s recent momentum, showed up by the thousands on Back Together Sunday to soak in the first bit of football of the 2025 season.

It was a two-way street of fan appreciation on the day as head coach Dan Quinn kicked off Sunday’s session with a message to the crowd:

“Last summer, many of you were here on this day when we started training camp, and we didn’t know each other yet,” Quinn said. “We do now. We are honored to play for you folks. Home field advantage, it doesn’t start in September. It starts in July on hot days like today. Let’s have a blast today. We want to hear you. We want to feel you. We’re so pumped you’re here. Let’s kick some a** today and have some fun.”

Commanders.com

Training camp notebook | Brian Robinson loving Washington’s new O-line

The Commanders, who had a top five rushing offense but also gave up the fifth-most sacks in 2024, have six new faces on the offensive line, many of which will be depth pieces that can raise the group’s floor. Names like Foster Sarell and Nate Herbig might not end up being starters but are still seasoned veterans who can provide their services in a pinch.

Laremy Tunsil, who the team acquired from the Houston Texans, was arguably the team’s most important move of the offseason. As a five-time Pro Bowler, Tunsil is considered one of the best left tackles in the league because of how successful he is at protecting quarterbacks. He’s also a solid run-blocker, and Robinson certainly likes having the 10-year vet creating lanes for him.

“I’m always thankful for when they go get me some Pro Bowl left tackle,” Robinson said. “I’ll never be against that.”

After dealing with injuries in 2024, Robinson is healthy again and “can’t really complain about anything.” He looks ready for his fourth campaign as well, as he had an explosive play on Sunday and outran Mike Sainristil in the secondary.

Commanders Wire

Dan Quinn offers promising update on Luke McCaffrey

Before Sunday’s training camp practice, head coach Dan Quinn was asked about McCaffrey and Noah Brown, two players vying to be Washington’s No. 3 receiver this season.

“Luke was one that I saw in the spring first,” Quinn said. “Where I was seeing the year one, to the year two jump, where you knew that was going to take place. You really did. We’ve certainly been encouraged by him.”

This is a draft-and-develop regime. Not all rookies are going to be a smashing success in Year 1. Sure, Washington hit it big with Jayden Daniels, Mike Sainristil and Brandon Coleman last season. Still, people can sometimes forget that Johnny Newton, Ben Sinnott, Jordan Magee and McCaffrey played behind veterans and saw fewer opportunities. Not every player develops at the same pace.

When predicting Washington’s success or lack thereof based on its offseason moves, it’s easy to overlook the fact that the team is counting on some young players to develop, rather than spending big in free agency.

Podcasts & videos

Jayden Daniels LIVE from Commanders training camp Playing with Deebo, Terry & more! | SportsCenter

Deebo Samuel responds to criticism at the Commanders’ training camp

NFC East links

Blogging the Boys

Dallas Cowboys and TE Jake Ferguson agree on 4-year, $52M extension

Ferguson became eligible for a contract extension for the first time this year so seeing the team getting something done with him is a breath of fresh air. This is the same approach the team took with players Trevon Diggs and Terence Steele – one Jerry Jones openly doubted last week for what it’s worth – and is the proper way to go about roster construction in the NFL.

Ian Rapoport noted that Ferguson is receiving a $12M signing bonus and that there is $30M guaranteed. This is hardly breaking the bank from the team and a smart way of rewarding someone who has been very good for them lately. Some will counter that with noting that Ferguson was a bit poor for Dallas last season, but it is worth remembering that he suffered a knee issue in the first week of the season. One can argue he lost his footing and never quite found it as the season wore on.

Perhaps the Cowboys feel like they are getting a “discount” by locking Ferguson up when he is coming off of a down year relative to his standards. Another argument can be made that he is in line to return to form, something the Cowboys are clearly betting on, and that he will benefit from the George Pickens acquisition in the same way that CeeDee Lamb will.

Pro Football Talk

Stephen Jones on Micah Parsons: “He’s got to want to be paid”

Amid training-camp chants from fans to pay linebacker Micah Parsons, Cowboys executive Stephen Jones said this, via Clarence E. Hill, Jr. of All City DLLS, “We want to pay Micah too. He’s got to want to be paid.”

Obviously, he wants to be paid. Jones is saying that, at some point, he needs to accept our offer.

The comment underscores…that, before Week 1, they’ll offer him something significantly less than they would have offered if he had held out. He’ll then have to decide whether to take it now, or to try to get more later.

If he doesn’t, the Cowboys will happily pay him $24 million this year and kick the can to next year, when they’d likely apply the exclusive franchise tag and once again drag their feet until they have painted themselves squarely into a corner, forcing themselves to pay more than they would have paid if they’d done it sooner.

The hidden, and perhaps unintended, genius in the approach is this. Before they break the pay, they will have gotten two seasons out of him at a total of $27 million. Which is, given Parsons’s skills and abilities, one hell of a bargain for the Cowboys.

Big Blue View

Apparent torn Achilles for Bryce Ford-Wheaton

Bryce Ford-Wheaton, a key special teams player and backup wide receiver for the New York Giants, was reportedly carted off the field during Sunday’s training camp practice.

From Dan Duggan of The Athletic:

Looks like Bryce Ford-Wheaton just suffered a major injury. Tried to walk off and couldn’t. Slammed his helmet, teammates and coaches gathered around him.

[Dan] Duggan is reporting that the injury is an Achilles tear, which would end Ford-Wheaton’s season.

Ford-Wheaton joined the Giants as an undrafted free agent out of West Virginia in 2023. He impressed that summer, but suffered a torn ACL during training camp and spent the season on IR.

In 2024, he played in 14 games almost exclusively on special teams. He played 286 special teams snaps, 78% of the special teams snaps he was active for, and just two on offense.

Should Ford-Wheaton be lost for the season candidates for his special teams role include veteran wide receiver Zach Pascal, a special teams mainstay in recent years.

Bleeding Green Nation

Eagles Rookie Review: Cooper DeJean

Questions I Still Have

  • Will he move to safety (in specific situations) or outside corner? Or is nickel where he’ll stay long-term? There has been some talk about him moving to safety in base defense, which will be interesting to see if he can handle. The Eagles barely ever play in base, so it won’t happen very often, but it still adds something else for him to figure out going into the season.
  • Can he turn pass breakups into interceptions more consistently? We all remember the pick-six in the Super Bowl, but can he do it in the regular season? I think he’s a playmaker who could have a play like that one a couple of times a season.

The Future

There’s still a question of whether his future lies outside, at safety, or if the nickel spot is where he builds a career. I see no reason at all to move DeJean. I think it would be madness to put him at safety or outside cornerback right now. He should build a career as a nickel defender who occasionally moves to the outside or safety in base defense when it is rarely used. That seems like the obvious decision to me. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

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