Washington gets more joint practices
The Washington Commanders open the 2025 preseason with an away game vs the New England Patriots. New Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and Commanders head coach Dan Quinn both said they wanted to have joint practices and that plan is reportedly going to happen. Last season Washington had joint practices with the Jets and Ravens, and that trend continues in Quinn’s second season with the Commanders.
“I think for sure that the Washington Commanders will come here and then they’ll play us,” Vrabel said. “And then we are excited to go to Minnesota. It’s a good setup that they have. It allows for great work. The Vikings have an excellent football team, and we have worked with them before, so we’re excited to go back up there.”
#Patriots HC Mike Vrabel says that the #Commanders will visit New England for a joint practice and preseason game.
The Patriots will then travel to Minnesota for a joint practice with the #Vikings before playing a preseason game against them.
( : @Patriots) pic.twitter.com/L4Xy5x19hd
— New England Sports Fellow (@NESportsFellow) May 20, 2025
Preseason
Week 1 – @ New England Patriots (Friday, August 8th, 7:30 p.m., CBS/WUSA9)
Week 2 – vs Cincinnati Bengals (Monday, August 18th, 8 p.m., MNF on ESPN)
Week 3 – vs Baltimore Ravens (Saturday, August 23rd, 12 p.m., CBS/WUSA9)
Quinn said he’s talked to a few teams about a joint practice this summer including the Patriots.
— John Keim (@john_keim) April 1, 2025
According to a report by Mike Reiss of ESPN, Vrabel’s team is exploring the possibility of holding up to two sets of joint sessions this summer. The Patriots have spoken with the Washington Commanders and Minnesota Vikings about joining forces at some point in August.
The Patriots have had conversations about holding joint practices with Washington (would be home) and Minnesota (would be away). Nothing is official as there is a process that requires NFL approval because the practices are married up with preseason games/scheduling. The league generally grants teams at least one request.
If the Patriots’ joint practices get approved, they would begin with the Commanders coming to town; New England is expected to host its preseason opener before going on the road for its second and third exhibition contests.
This would mean a possible Commanders joint practice would take place somewhere between Monday, August 4 and Friday, August 8. The Vikings joint practices would then be held in one of the subsequent two weeks.
Little nugget from Mike Vrabel – “Washington I think would like to come up” – Patriots expect to have Washington up to Foxboro for a joint practice and a preseason game. Not locked in yet.
(h/t @MikeReiss)— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) March 31, 2025
The Washington Commanders will also have a day of joint practices with their annual preseason opponent, the Baltimore Ravens. Washington didn’t visit Baltimore before their preseason finale matchup last year, but they did in 2023. It will only be a one-day session when the Ravens visit the Commanders in Ashburn, VA before they close the season out on Saturday, August 23rd at noon. Washington also has a very short week, hosting the Cincinnati Bengals for Monday Night Football five days before the preseason finale.
Ravens HC John Harbaugh says they’ll have a day each of joint practice with the Colts and Commanders this summer. #RavensFlock
— Melissa Y. Kim (@melissaykim) May 28, 2025