Daily Slop – 3 July 24: One-on-one with rookie tight end Ben Sinnott

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

The Athletic (paywall)

Commanders defensive depth chart projection ahead of training camp

Cornerback (6)

Benjamin St-Juste, Emmanuel Forbes Jr., Mike Sainristil, Michael Davis, Noah Igbinoghene, Chigozie Anusiem

Others — Christian Holmes, James Pierre, Tariq Castro-Fields, Nick Whiteside II, Kyu Blu Kelly, A.J. Woods

There are justifiable questions about the top of the depth chart until we see if Forbes recovers from a trying rookie season or how the coverage plan meshes with the pass rush. Sainristil’s addition should enhance the slot cornerback options, and we might collectively be sleeping on a St-Juste breakout season. From there, at least five corners are in play for the next two to three spots.

Giving Anusiem a hefty $350,000 signing bonus expressed the level of interest in the undrafted free agent with impressive size and tackling chops. Igbinoghene gets the inside lane over other veterans for one slot. The 2020 first-round pick by the Dolphins started only five of 32 games during his time in Miami. He was also among the ex-Cowboys who followed Dan Quinn and Whitt to Washington.

Pierre, another free-agent signee, is here for special teams. Castro-Fields, drafted by Adam Peters in San Francisco but released before playing a regular-season game, and Holmes should benefit from the new coaches. Keeping seven isn’t crazy, even if six safeties stick.

Safety (6)

Jeremy Chinn, Quan Martin, Darrick Forrest, Percy Butler, Jeremy Reaves, Dominique Hampton

Others — Tyler Owens, Ben Nikkel, D’Angelo Mandell

Another group with clear improvement thanks to the presence of the hulking Chinn and Martin’s continued growth.

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Riggo’s Rag

Austin Ekeler outlines primary objectives after Commanders switch

The running back has some targets in mind.

Ekeler won’t be tasked with lead-back duties, and that’s fine with him. The former undrafted free agent was looking for somewhere that had an established young running back to carry a heavy burden. This allows the veteran to focus more on maximizing his strengths in the passing game and red-zone situations – two areas in which he excels.

Brian Robinson Jr. will do the heavy lifting. The Alabama product looks poised for a breakout campaign next to rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels in the backfield. Ekeler will play an important role in his development, which is exactly the sort of leadership Washington wanted to acquire to help their young studs during an important transition for the organization.

Austin Ekeler outlines key targets after Commanders switch

This is something Ekeler elaborated on his potential role next season during an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show. The dual-threat weapon is thrilled to be working within a productive tandem again based on comments via Fan Nation. He’s also aiming to lead by example and guide those following in his footsteps on the path to potential greatness in the nation’s capital.

“I know I’m going to be one of those backs that’s going to catch it and run the ball. And then when I’ve had the most success, it’s been usually when we have some type of tandem where we have someone else that can relieve me. They wanted to have some new leadership coming in, so they’re bringing in some of these older guys. I’ve been a captain on the Chargers for the last few years as well. And it seemed like a match made in heaven for going back to some of my roots, but also building a new culture out in Washington.”

– Austin Ekeler via Fan Nation

Some question whether Ekeler has enough tread left on the tires to make a difference. Kliff Kingsbury will already have a plan in place for how best to use the veteran and keep him fresh. The one-time Western Colorado State standout also wants his influence to go way beyond the gridiron based on these latest statements.

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Commanders Wire

Commanders Ben Sinnott ‘super excited’ to play for Kingsbury, Quinn

Sinnott actually started ice skating and playing hockey as young as three. Sinnott said the hockey “definitely brought that toughness, attitude, physicality.”

The rookie said in the early workouts he has noticed the coaches and players already “revolving around Dan Quinn. He’s such a natural leader, bringing the guys together and bringing the energy. He challenges us to compete in everything.”

How about his new OC, Kliff Kingsbury? “I’m pumped; I mean, look at all the guys he has developed, getting tight end touches. I’m super-excited to fine-tune my craft and see what he has planned for me.”

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Podcasts & videos

Ben Sinnott Will Make Jayden’s Life Easier | Raising Hail with the Rookies | Washington Commanders

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Locked on Commanders: Washington Commanders Running Back Brian Robinson Jr. Leading His Room Into Training Camp

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NFC East links

Sports Illustrated

Washington Commanders Rival Giants Defense ‘Going To Look a Lot Different’ in 2024

With new defensive coordinator Shane Bowen in New York the Washington Commanders aren’t going to see the same old Giants defense.

There are plenty of reasons to point fingers at the Commanders themselves for why their quarterback was sacked so much, but there’s also the talent on the New York defense that was led by defensive cooridnator Wink Martindale. A problem new Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels won’t have to deal with.

And it turns out, under new coordinator Shane Bowen, the Giants defense will have some familiar faces, but have a different look according to Patricia Traina of the Locked On Giants podcast.

“Martindale, when he was here, lived and died by the blitz, it was, ‘I’m going to die on this hill, and if we succeed, great. If we don’t, well, I’m just going to bring it again.’ Shane Bowen, the new defensive coordinator, is taking a slightly different approach. “

– Patricia Traina, Locked On Giants

“I think it’s going to look a lot different, actually,” Traina said on the Locked On Commanders podcast. “Martindale, when he was here, lived and died by the blitz, it was, ‘I’m going to die on this hill, and if we succeed, great. If we don’t, well, I’m just going to bring it again.’ Shane Bowen, the new defensive coordinator, is taking a slightly different approach. He’s defining aggressive or being aggressive differently and that you can be aggressive with your play call. You don’t have to necessarily blitz the heck out of a quarterback every single time. You don’t have to get fancy.

“Shane Bowen (will have) a little different approach with the scheme. He wants to get pressure with the front seven, which is how you want it to be, and I think a big reason for that, not only is that how Shane Bowen is kind of operated all along, but the Giants have a very young secondary, and that’s probably where the biggest question mark is right now for me.”

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Sports Illustrated

Cowboys ‘More Disciplined’ Without Commanders Head Coach Dan Quinn?

The Dallas Cowboys are going to look different this year without Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn.

Malik Hooker is speaking positively about some of the changes his own defense is going through without Quinn, under new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.

“DQ was more player-oriented and if something couldn’t get done or we kept messing up on something he would just try to I guess level down to make it easier for everybody to be able to still go out there and do what they (were) going to do.”

– Malik Hooker, Dallas Cowboys DB

“(Coach Zimmer) and DQ are different. (Zimmer’s) more like he’s going give you a couple of chances to mess up but if you keep messing up you can’t get it right, ‘I’m going to get somebody else in there to’, whereas DQ was more player-oriented and if something couldn’t get done or we kept messing up on something he would just try to I guess level down to make it easier for everybody to be able to still go out there and do what they (were) going to do. But it just wouldn’t be what he was asking for in that moment,” Cowboys safety Malik Hooker said on All Facts No Brakes with Keyshawn Johnson, “So I think that’s the difference for him and I feel like even these past couple weeks of having this new system and going out there OTAs and doing everything we’ve been doing, you can tell the difference of I would say discipline that we’re going to be this year. If you watched a lot of our games, a lot of the big games we lost. I mean yeah, there were plays made but a lot of the time we (were) shooting ourselves in the foot jumping offsides, and giving (the other team) another fresh set of first downs.”

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NFL league links

Articles

Pro Football Talk

For the first time ever, businesses will be able to stream Sunday Ticket

Sunday Ticket will finally be available to bars, restaurants, and other businesses not only via satellite dish but also by streaming.

The news comes from a Tuesday press release announcing the acquisition of UPShow by EverPass Media.

“As part of the integration of UPshow into EverPass, businesses will now have the option to stream NFL Sunday Ticket for the first time ever starting with the upcoming 2024 NFL season,” the release explains. “EverPass and UPshow are currently partners for Peacock Sports Pass, a sports package offering commercial businesses access to select events from Peacock’s live sports content library, including Big Ten football and basketball, Premier League and the NFL’s first-ever regular-season game in Brazil.”

The question becomes pricing. Specifically, will the league mandate minimum pricing, as it has in the past? Which has, based on the recent verdict, created a $14.088 billion liability that the league will now attack aggressively — first with the trial judge and then on appeal.

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Pro Football Talk

Report: 49ers, Brandon Aiyuk no closer to a deal

Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that the 49ers and Aiyuk are no closer to a long-term deal.

“For Aiyuk and the 49ers, they had conversations recently,” Garafolo said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “They are no closer to a deal, from my understanding, but they are also no closer to a trade request. That’s never been something that he has explored in this case.”

There’s a game of semantics going on between the 49ers and Aiyuk. Even if he hasn’t asked to be traded, we believe his agent was given permission to seek a trade before the draft. The goal, we also believe, was to let Aiyuk realize that no one else was willing to give him the $30 million per year he reportedly has been seeking.

Ultimately, no one was willing to give Aiyuk what he wants in a contract and what the 49ers want in a trade. Otherwise, a trade would have happened.

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Pro Football Talk

Jets make in known they aren’t bothered by Aaron Rodgers’s unexcused absence for trip to Egypt

The item opens with something we already knew. Rodgers was in Egypt for a pre-planned trip.

Then comes the excuse making for Rodgers skipping mandatory minicamp on June 11-12: He attended most of the voluntary workouts from the 2024 offseason program. (He missed one week from Phase 2.)

“Rodgers originally pieced this trip together during his recovery from his Achilles injury,” Hughes writes. “It gave him something to look forward to during one of the lowest points of his career. He’s long admired Egyptian culture and scheduled the visit for what was believed to be after the offseason programs.”

Hang on a second. The guy has played in the NFL since 2005. He knows the offseason calendar. He knows that mandatory minicamps happen in the first two weeks of June.

In fairness to Rodgers, he hasn’t said that himself. It’s what the Jets are feeding to a friendly messenger in order to clean up the mess made by telling the world the absence was unexcused. And that’s the thing that potentially became Saharan sand in the delicate genius’s skivvies. Instead of deeming the absence excused (which the Jets absolutely could have done), they created an unnecessary problem by telling the world that he was AWOL.

Now they’re scrambling to solve it before Rodgers reports for training camp.

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