Commanders
Commanders DT Jer’Zhan Newton is entering the second year of his career after earning a starting role last season. Newton said he’s past the “rookie jitters” and ready for 2025.
“I’m ready for it all this season,” Newton said, via Zach Selby of the team’s site. “I got the rookie jitters out of me, so I’m ready to go.”
Newton said he’s still leaning on teammates like Daron Payne, Javon Kinlaw, and Sheldon Day for advice.
“I’m still doing it,” Newton said. “It’s Year Two for me, but I’m still a rookie in the locker room. So, I’m still cherry picking. [Daron] Payne, [Javon] Kinlaw, Sheldon Day, those guys are great vets for me.”
Commanders HC Dan Quinn has noticed an “uptick” in Newton’s strength.
“Probably the strength I would say…because he wasn’t probably able to do all the typical strength movements and that he had due to the foot injuries for, but I feel like his leg strength and that explosiveness, that’s probably what I see the most, the twitch,” Quinn said. “He’s always been a quick person, but now with all the power that goes with it. I do see an uptick in that.”
Eagles
Eagles HC Nick Sirianni disagrees that QB Jalen Hurts is a game manager and said that he does whatever he needs to do in order for the team to win.
“Anytime, I hear that, it’s cool, it’s like a nice debate thing that people like to have,” Sirianni said, via PFT. “And I get it, there’s a lot of hours that TV shows and radio stations have to fill to be able to fill that debate. I understand that, but we’re talking about the ultimate team game there is and he does whatever he needs to do to win each and every game. . . . It’s the most ultimate team game there is. And what I admire about him is his selflessness of doing anything we need to do to win.”
Giants
Giants OT Jermaine Eluemunor is entering his second year in New York after signing a two-year deal in 2024. Eluemunor thinks their potential success starts with their offensive and defensive lines.
“I think people are just sick and tired of not being good, and it all starts in the trenches. The O-line and D-line are where games are really won,” Eluemunor said, via GiantsWire. “We can talk about the receiver room or DBs, and quarterback is a really important position, but games are really decided in the trenches, and so it was intense, especially with the players that we have on O-line and D-line, but at the end of the day, everyone got better from it.”
Eluemunor is eager for better results after finishing 3-14 last season.
“I mean, going 3-14 is terrible,” Eluemunor said. “That feeling that you get after you win the game and truly seeing everything you put in the week and all the work you’ve been putting in, paying off, there’s no feeling like it and it’s addictive and that’s what you want, week in and week out and that’s what we want to get and that’s what the team wants to become. So, I think that you saw the attendance. I don’t think anyone missed OTAs. Everyone was out there.”
Eluemunor likes the effort he’s seeing throughout their roster this offseason.
“Even guys that weren’t practicing, they’re still in the huddle or they’re still around the team or they’re still buying in in meetings, trying to make sure that they’re gaining all the knowledge they need to so when they come back out there, they know what to do and there’s no fall off,” Eluemunor said. “So, I think that I’m not going to make any predictions, but I like this team a lot.”
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