Daily Slop – 9 Jun 25 – Top-10 Commanders of ‘25; biggest roster loss; biggest roster question as we head to minicamp on Tuesday

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

Bleacher Report

Biggest Question Facing Every NFL Team After 2025 OTAs

Dallas Cowboys: What’s the plan at left tackle?

It’s no secret that Tyler Guyton struggled as a rookie since he got benched toward the end of the season.

While the 2024 first-round pick could bounce back during year two, the Cowboys didn’t do much to shore up Dak Prescott’s blindside in case Guyton doesn’t improve enough. That could threaten the team’s playoff hopes.

New York Giants: When will Jaxson Dart be ready?

Everyone knows neither Russell Wilson nor Jameis Winston is the Giants’ long-term solution at quarterback. That’s why the front office traded back into the first round to draft Jaxson Dart.

Philadelphia Eagles: How much will the defense regress?

The Super Bowl champions lost several significant defensive contributors from last season’s team.

While general manager Howie Roseman has done a decent job of restocking the cupboard, it does lead to questions about how the unit will perform this fall, especially when it comes to the defensive backfield.

“[Safety] is a concern for the Eagles,” CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr noted. “[Reed] Blankenship has one of the two starting spots, but who will start opposite him?”

Washington Commanders: Is Trey Amos ready to start?

Cornerback was an issue for the Commanders a year ago, hence the midseason trade for Marshon Lattimore.

The defense could still use a starting outside corner to play opposite Lattimore and allow Mike Sainristil to move back inside.

While free-agent addition Jonathan Jones could fill that role, the 31-year-old is coming off a down season and likely at the tail end of his career since he will be 32 in September.

So, the ideal situation in Washington is for the rookie to hit the ground running, and it sounds like that could come to fruition.

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Riggo’s Rag

Chris Moore made an impact at Commanders OTAs against all odds

Team writer Zach Selby was suitably impressed by Moore over the second week of Washington’s organized team activities. The insider highlighted a sensational grab over rookie corner Trey Amos as an undoubted highlight. Much more is needed, but this was a good place to start.

“Near the end of practice, the Commanders moved on to some light 11-on-11 work. [Chris] Moore, lined up against rookie Trey Amos, sped past the second-round pick as [Jayden] Daniels reared back to launch the ball in his direction. Moore had to slightly adjust his route to make the catch, but he still made the reception. Moore, a fourth-round pick in 2016, has bounced around the league. His past shows that he can be productive, like when he had 548 yards and two touchdowns in 2022 with the Texans, but he still faces a difficult task to make the roster. Still, plays like that do help his cause.”

It’s a true embarrassment of riches for Washington. Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel Sr. are the top two options. Noah Brown provides the deep threat. Luke McCaffrey and Jaylin Lane are the fledgling stars looking for big roles. Michael Gallup is a wildcard after coming out of retirement, and Ja’Corey Brooks is the intriguing undrafted hopeful.

Moore is way down the depth chart currently. Still, if the former fourth-round pick out of Cincinnati keeps making big plays, he could move his way up the ranks against all odds.

Luke McCaffrey banking on hard work to increase Commanders’ status

McCaffrey has the benefit of scheme familiarity and experience. He’s also not going to accept being a sidekick, working exceptionally hard throughout the offseason in pursuit of hitting the ground running.

“I don’t think there’s any secret to success, especially in this league and especially in such a competitive, results-driven game. I think hard work and dedication. There’s not going to be anything that’s a miracle that somebody finds. It’s going to be put your nose to the grindstone, put your head down, and enjoy the process. That’s the only way to success, and that’s the only way I’ve been able to see guys succeed. It’s cool to have a group of guys here that do that, and it’s cool to have a training partner (Christian McCaffrey) who does that.”

Luke McCaffrey via 7News DC

Working out alongside his All-Pro brother isn’t a bad resource to call upon by any stretch of the imagination. McCaffrey has the right mentality and never takes anything for granted. That should serve him well as the former Rice standout looks to become more influential as an NFL sophomore.

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CBS Sports

Each NFL team’s biggest offseason loss: 49ers won’t look same without Deebo Samuel; Chiefs to miss Joe Thuney?

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys: RB Rico Dowdle

New York Giants: S Jason Pinnock

Philadelphia Eagles: IDL Milton Williams

Washington Commanders: IDL Jonathan Allen

Allen missed nine games due to injury last season, and his absence was felt as Washington’s run defense struggled pretty badly. Then again, the Commies gave up 430 combined rushing yards to the Lions and Eagles in their final two playoff games, and Allen was on the field for those performances. Still, losing a consistent presence in the middle of the defensive line could be a blow.

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Podcasts & videos

Jayden Daniels LEADS the 2025 Washington Commanders Top 10 — Fan vs. Expert Rankings

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NFC East links

Bleacher Report

Cooper DeJean Could Move from CB to Safety in Eagles Base Defense, DC Vic Fangio Says

Cooper DeJean proved to be a star at nickelback during his rookie season for the Philadelphia Eagles, and he’ll reprise that role in 2025. But it sounds as though the team is going to get creative in how they utilize him in base packages as well.

“We’d like to keep him at nickel, and then in our base package we’ll find a spot for him, either at corner or safety,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio told reporters regarding DeJean. “A lot of it will end up depending on how the other guys develop and where we most need him. It will be determined by what’s best for him and what’s best for the team—and what’s best for the team will win out in that decision. But he’s capable of playing corner and he’s capable of playing safety.”

The Eagles primarily run out of the nickel—around 80 percent of the time—so DeJean’s role in the base defense isn’t the most pressing need for the team to figure out. But it does illuminate a few areas on the defense that are in need of sorting.

In either nickel or base, for instance, there’s the matter of who will win the outside cornerback job opposite of Quinyon Mitchell. It’s possible that DeJean could fit in that role if he doesn’t move to safety in the base defense

At safety, Reed Blankenship will handle the free safety role, but there will be a competition next to him, likely waged between veteran Sydney Brown and rookie Andrew Mukuba. And now Fangio has thrown DeJean’s name in the mix as well for base units.

“I think he would play very well at safety,” the defensive coordinator noted. “I think it suits his skill set, things that he does well. I just think he would do very well in there.”

That ability to be a factor against the run is why it’s feasible to imagine him playing an occasional role at safety. But his primary role will remain as Philly’s nickelback.

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Big Blue View

Are the Giants really all-in on Russell Wilson as their 2025 quarterback?

The last few years of Wilson’s career have been somewhat of a car wreck.

It took 10 years with the Seattle Seahawks before Wilson quarterbacked a team that had a losing record. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, though, used that losing record to send Wilson packing.

Perhaps Carroll was tired of fighting about how much control of the offense Wilson should have. Maybe he was just tired of Wilson. There were rumblings of a strained relationship between the two, and even a report Wilson denied that the quarterback wanted the coach fired.

The Seahawks shipped Wilson to the Denver Broncos before the 2022 season and his two years there were disastrous.

Wilson was given an office rather than joining his teammates in the locker room, which rubbed many in the organization the wrong way. The Broncos went 5-12, Wilson gave up his office, and coach Nathaniel Hackett was fired. In 2023, Sean Payton became the new head coach.

It could not have been any clearer that Wilson was not the quarterback Payton wanted, and after the 2023 season, the Broncos moved on and Wilson signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Wilson and the Steelers won six of the quarterback’s first seven starts, but by the end, Pittsburgh lost the last five games Wilson started. There were also reports that Wilson’s efforts to lead the team were falling on “deaf ears.”

Pittsburgh made no real effort to keep Wilson after the season, preferring to wait … and wait … and wait some more for Aaron Rodgers.

The Giants, needing a competent bridge quarterback after two years of horrid play at the position to both help head coach Brian Daboll save his job in 2025 and pave the way for a highly-drafted quarterback of the future, flirted with Matthew Stafford and Rodgers. They got neither, and signed Wilson a one-year, $10.5 million contract, all but $500,000 guaranteed.

So, now what?

The question in the headline asks “Are the Giants really all-in on Russell Wilson?”

The short answer is — probably not. Not with first-round pick Jaxson Dart on the roster as the anointed quarterback of the future. Not with Wilson signed just for this year. Not with Brian Daboll needing to do whatever he deems necessary to keep his job beyond 2025, including turning to Dart at some point if he believes that to be the best play. Not with backup quarterback Jameis Winston signed for two seasons.

The real answer is that the Giants will be all-in on Wilson … until it’s time to get out.

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NFL.com

Texans’ C.J. Gardner-Johnson feels ‘highly disrespected’ by Eagles trading him

“I feel highly disrespected, but it’s a business,” Gardner-Johnson told Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 this week. “Never was an All-Pro or Pro Bowl! Never! Led the league in interceptions. What more do you want?

“People say, ‘He’s a hazard, he’s this, he’s that.’ I never been no hazard, bro. They got no real issues on me. That black ball ain’t going to work on me, because I got me a ring. I got me one. I got three more championships in me. I’m probably going to win the next three. I’m going to get me another Super Bowl this year. Just watch.”

“I mean, you guys played a lot of good ball here [in Houston], but I don’t think they understand what it means to win when it matters,” he said. “I’m not talking discredit to the team. I’m just saying I’ve been in a lot situations where, from Detroit to New Orleans to Philly, I’ve got to win when it matters and I’ve been in games where I had to step up.

“For me, championships means more to me than just winning a football game right now because I’m getting older. I’m playing with a lot of younger guys who understand like, yeah, the money’s here, but it’s more on when you can win and get a championship, you know?”

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NFL league links

Articles

ESPN

Raiders have big plans for versatile vet Jeremy Chinn

Las Vegas’ secondary took a hit when safety Tre’von Moehrig signed a three-year, $51 million contract with Carolina following a career year.

However, with Chinn in the mix, the Raiders hope he can fill the void left by Moehrig while also serving as a leader on defense.

“Just in terms of his leadership, he’s very sure of himself because he puts in the work,” Graham said. “And he’s been a sponge in terms of learning how we want to do things, and then all the physical attributes, but all 32 teams know about that. The speed, the size, physicality, ability to tackle and nose for the ball. It’s all been positive there.”

Chinn — a second-round pick — signed a two-year deal worth over $16 million after four seasons in Carolina and one in Washington. During his lone season with the Commanders, Chinn started in 17 games and posted a career-best 117 tackles.

The former Southern Illinois safety was a safety/linebacker hybrid for Washington. He played strong safety but would move to a linebacker role in the Commanders’ three-safety set. Playing closer to the line of scrimmage, Chinn was an effective run defender.

How Chinn holds up in coverage will be crucial. In addition to Moehrig being a quality pass rusher and run defender, he was also solid in the back end of the field. As a nearest defender, Moehrig was targeted 39 times, allowing 24 catches for 249 yards, four touchdowns and a passer rating of 92.8. He even had two interceptions and 10 pass breakups.

Chinn, on the other hand, was targeted 43 times, giving up 28 receptions for 354 yards, five touchdowns and a passer rating of 119.7.

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Discussion topics

Sportico

Colleges Prep for Athlete Title IX Lawsuits of the Revenue-Share Era

With the revenue-sharing era now officially underway, Title IX defense attorneys say colleges are preparing for a potential wave of gender-equity lawsuits from athletes, especially challenges over how that revenue is distributed. These preparations, months in the making, include budgeting for costly and prolonged litigation—and potential settlements with classes of athletes—as well as commissioning audits to identify other areas of Title IX vulnerability.

Just how intense—or costly—this next chapter will be remains uncertain, given the unprecedented legal landscape. However, lawyers say several institutions are preparing litigation reserves on par with the maximum revenue-sharing pools stipulated by the House v. NCAA settlement.

Todd Shumaker, a sports law and higher education partner at Church Church Hittle and Antrim, told Sportico that some of the FBS schools he advises are allocating anywhere from a few million dollars to $20 million in anticipation. Shumaker says those discussions began around six months ago.

“They are trying to balance antitrust concerns with Title IX concerns, knowing that even if they are working toward equity, that it is not going to get there right away,” said Shumaker, who previously served on the NCAA’s enforcement staff. “Like a lot of stuff in college sports, it is not if you are going to get sued but when you are going to get sued.”

Unlike the House, Carter, and Hubbard cases—consolidated into the settlement and aimed at the NCAA and athletic conferences—a Title IX lawsuit must name the school itself as the defendant, since it is the direct recipient of federal funds. The House settlement resolves the antitrust claims raised in the three cases’ complaints but explicitly can’t resolve claims that were not part of the litigation, a point Wilken underscored in her order granting approval. That is true of potential claims within the meaning of Title IX, leaving schools without legal protection in that area and opening them up to an entirely new avenue of liability.

From a damage control perspective, the least risky approach for a college would be to distribute revenue-sharing funds to athletes in proportion to the demographic composition of the school’s student body. In other words, the money would be shared (more or less) evenly among male and female athletes enrolled in a college where there are a roughly equal number of men and women students. This method would not only diminish the threat of Title IX claims, but it would be procedurally simple, administratively convenient and predictable.

But for a number of institutions, there will be competing pressures—especially if rival schools use revenue-sharing to entice recruits with lucrative offers. Some athletic departments will favor directing the bulk of the funds to the most profitable sports, typically football and men’s basketball. That approach would belie the spirit, if not the letter, of Title IX.

These are not abstract considerations; plaintiffs in the revenue-sharing era will be able to litigate direct payments, but they are not limited to challenging only that aspect of a new system.

The fact that gender-equity claims could be brought against schools that unequally distribute revenue among men and women who play sports does not necessarily mean those cases would succeed. The relationship between Title IX and colleges engaging in revenue-sharing and direct NIL payments is unchartered legal territory. There is no case precedent directly on point, and the first case will be one of first impression.

[M]any lawyers believe it’s strategically advantageous for schools to litigate these cases rather than settle them quickly.

While some universities have become well-accustomed to the increasing wave of college sports litigation in recent years, many others—especially those outside the power conferences—have largely been able to watch the developments from the sidelines. Now they face the possibility of being named defendants, an unwelcome prospect.

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All aTwitter

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