Daily Slop – 31 May 25 – 4 Commanders named to list of the 100 most important NFL players of 2025

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

Commanders links

Articles

Commanders.com

Commanders’ coaching stability boosts team success

It is normal for NFL teams, especially ones that have had recent success, to see some of their coaches move on to other opportunities and perhaps even fill head coaching vacancies. That was not the case for the Commanders, who had their entire coaching staff return for the second season of the Peters-Quinn regime.

The reason: the quality of culture Washington has is hard to find, even in the NFL, and people want to help it continue to grow.

“DQ [Quinn] has created a tremendous culture,” said offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. “The organization has as well, just starting at the top with [Managing Partner] Josh [Harris] and then AP [Peter], the type of people they brought in.”

When asked last season about his interest in being a head coach again, Kingsbury said he would “at some point” but was also happy with his current situation.

“This has been an awesome place,” Kingsbury said, “and has really helped me rekindle my love for the sport.”

Of course, Kingsbury ended up staying with the Commanders after their loss in the NFC Championship, and the significance of that decision is not lost on Quinn, who showed his appreciation for the entire coaching staff choosing to stay in Washington.

‘He’s very smart’: Deebo Samuel impressed with Jayden Daniels

It’s going to take some time for that connection to develop and may not fully bloom until after the season begins in September, but Samuel is already impressed with the second-year signal-caller.

“I feel like the man’s been here forever,” Samuel said. “He’s comfortable; he knows what’s going on; he knows where the ball needs to go. I just think he’s very smart.”

The Commanders’ acquisition of Samuel from the San Francisco 49ers was one of the team’s first moves to help him accomplish that. Samuel was a versatile weapon for the 49ers since he was drafted in 2019, amassing nearly 6,000 scrimmage yards and 42 touchdowns. His best skill set is what he can do with the ball in his hands; although his depth of target is only 6.4 yards, he has 3,594 yards after contact, which represents 61% of his total production.

It seems like a perfect partnership for Daniels, who excels at ball placement and puts his weapons in the best position to succeed. He and Samuel are still developing their chemistry, although there were flashes of what it could be during Washington’s OTA practice on May 28. Samuel used his 215-pound frame to get in front of a defender and turned a slant route into a decent gain.

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CBS Sports

100 days until 2025 NFL kickoff: 100 most important players in upcoming season

[T]o celebrate 100 days until the NFL returns, here are the 100 most important players for the 2025 NFL season:

6. Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels is coming off one of the most dazzling debuts in NFL history, and the Commanders have gone all in on improving his supporting cast. Of all the aspects that stood out in 2024, perhaps his calm under pressure (four game-winning drives) was most impressive, and he can be a legitimate MVP candidate this year.

7. and 8. The Commanders traded for Laremy Tunsil and Deebo Samuel this offseason. Both are coming off down seasons — Tunsil committed an NFL-high 17 accepted penalties, and Samuel had his second-fewest yards from scrimmage — but they’re big talents, too. Tunsil’s addition (plus first-round tackle Josh Conerly Jr.) helps fix an inconsistent offensive line, and Samuel, if healthy, could thrive in Kliff Kingsbury’s screen-heavy offense. But we give second-team All-Pro wideout Terry McLaurin the slight nod over Samuel in terms of importance. Washington would love if both prove very important.

9. We can add Marshon Lattimore to that group as well. Acquired at the trade deadline, Lattimore had a nagging hamstring issue and wasn’t effective even when on the field. But hopes remain high that he, Mike Sainristil and rookie Trey Amos can form a solid cornerback trio.

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Podcasts & videos

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QB sneaks are up 319% and it’s terrible.

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Photos

PHOTOS | Washington’s 2025 OTA roster

Take a look at the Washington Commanders’ roster as it currently stands.

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NFC East links

NFL.com

Sando: My favorite offseason move by every NFL team

Dallas Cowboys

Re-signing defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa was important for new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, whose scheme leans on strong play from the three-technique position. Eberflus struggled to fill the role with Chicago, where the Bears reached an agreement with free agent Larry Ogunjobi in March 2022, only to fail him on his physical, nixing the deal. Having an established young player at the position removes some of that uncertainty.

New York Giants

Selecting Abdul Carter with the third pick in the draft and still having their choice of available quarterbacks when the Giants selected Jaxson Dart at No. 25 showed the team read the market correctly. Whether Dart will succeed is another question entirely, and history is not on the Giants’ side (in the salary-cap era, which dates to 1993, only three of 15 quarterbacks drafted in the first round after pick No. 19 signed long-term extensions with their original teams). Even so, the process seemed sound for the Giants, a welcome change from the previous two offseasons, which featured a Daniel Jones extension (2023) and Saquon Barkley’s departure (2024).

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles’ all-out effort to keep the tush push legal, complete with in-person lobbying from owner Jeffrey Lurie and former center Jason Kelce, helped Philly preserve its offensive identity, maintaining an important edge. Buying at least another year for the tush push felt like an upset victory for the Eagles after momentum built to ban the play.

Washington Commanders

Acquiring Laremy Tunsil from Houston could solve the Commanders’ left tackle position through quarterback Jayden Daniels’ rookie contract and beyond. Tunsil, who turns 31 in August, has earned Pro Bowl honors five times in the past six seasons. He’s younger than left tackles Duane Brown and Trent Williams were when Seattle and San Francisco acquired them, respectively. Brown and Williams were solid through their age-36 seasons. This could be a very good move if Tunsil holds up similarly.

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Eagles edge rusher Bryce Huff traded to San Francisco

From Over the Cap

The trade, which will be processed after June 1, will result in the Eagles taking on $4.94 million in dead money this year. They will defer $16.6 million to next season. While there is a lot of chatter about the Eagles creating over $15 million in space this year the reality is Huff’s original cap number was just $7.4 million so really the team is only $2.4 million better off than originally expected. They will be about $5 million worse off in 2026 than his original contract’s salary cap number. I believe the Eagles will get a $250,000 cap credit in 2026 for a guaranteed workout bonus that already counted on the cap for the Eagles.

Overall the signing of Huff from the Jets was a miss for the Eagles. Huff was a specialist player in New York that the Eagles thought could play a bigger role. He ended up playing in just 12 games and only had 2.5 sacks while appearing in about 40% of the snaps, the same use level as with New York. The final bill for the Eagles will be $26.05 million for those 12 games making this one of the bottom free agent deals of recent times.

The 49ers defensive coordinator, Robert Saleh, was Huff’s head coach in New York and was able to find a role for Huff where he could thrive as a wide pass rusher. He exploded in his walk year for 10 sacks which earned him the contract with the Eagles. The 49ers will be responsible for $7.95 million in salary this year, of which, I believe, $7.7 million will count on the cap and $250,000 will be a downward adjustment to the 2026 salary cap. His 2026 salary will be $17 million if that remains unchanged, essentially making this a contract year again for Huff.

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NFL league links

Articles

Over the Cap

2025 NFL Roster Turnover

It is always interesting to look at stability year to year in NFL rosters. It can give you a good indication of what front offices and coaching staff’s really thought of last year’s roster and in some cases what salary cap/budgetary constraints can do to a roster. There are two good times to look at these numbers. The first is now as we get into OTA’s and can get a feel for how many different faces will be trying out for the football team in training camp. The second is two days after the final roster cutdown when we actually see who made the team.

I wanted to give two looks at this. The first is overall roster turnover from last year. What we are looking at is every player who was under contract to the team as of the final regular season game of 2024 (not including the practice squad) and what their status is for 2026. The second will be players who played significant snaps for the team in the 2024. I used a 30% threshold as usually that is the sign of a contributor on offense or defense.

Overall Rate of Return

(The chart on the OTC article is sortable on all columns)

Top of the Roster Rate of Return

The Giants lead the NFL with 90% of their top players returning in 2025. That number is amazing considering how bad the team was last year. They have all of the players on offense returning (though Daniel Jones did not count at the end of the year so he was a switch) and rank 10^th in returning players on defense. The Giants are clearly banking on the QB being the main problem from last year and that better play will keep the team from spiraling.

(The chart on the OTC article is sortable on all columns)

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All aTwitter

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