Washington DC Sports Today

Washington DC Sports News Continuously Updated

Daily Slop – 3 Aug 25 – Ertz, Deebo, Coleman, Bill, McLaurin, Conerly and more as Commanders finish 2nd camp day in pads

by


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

ESPN

2025 Washington Commanders training camp: Latest intel, updates

Saturday, Aug. 2

Washington tight end Zach Ertz was one of quarterback Jayden Daniels’ favorite targets last season — he caught 66 passes with seven touchdowns. Based on training camp, it appears that will be the case again in 2025.

They have consistently connected throughout practices, especially in the red zone — as happened again Saturday for another touchdown when he blocked out safety Will Harris. Ertz’s consistency as a route runner makes him a valuable target. During one drill Saturday he caught consecutive passes over the middle — first versus a zone and then against man coverage.

More:

  • Receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. jammed a finger in his right hand after a pass from Daniels hit off his hands. It was late in practice so Samuel didn’t return to the field and was seen rubbing his hand later while spending time with friends and family on the field.
  • Left guard Brandon Coleman also exited practice early, hobbling off the field and heading back into the facility. Andrew Wylie initially replaced him and Chris Paul also worked at the position with the starters. Coach Dan Quinn will provide injury updates on Monday with the team heading to New England the next day.
Washington Post (paywall)

RB Bill Croskey-Merritt has fans’ attention, seeks Commanders roster spot

After an awkward and abrupt end to his college football career, the rookie running back aims to find a role with Washington.

It’s not uncommon for a late-round draft pick to capture outsize attention from an NFL team’s fan base during the first weeks of training camp. And for Washington Commanders fans, rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt has basked in that affection.

Commanders Coach Dan Quinn said he is looking to see how running backs handle special teams work to find them spots on the team.

“It’ll be interesting to see in this year and the years ahead how many of those returners are running backs, how many are receivers, and it will definitely factor into the final roster,” Quinn said.

Apart from occasional reps higher up on the depth chart, Croskey-Merritt largely has been the fourth or fifth running back in the Commanders’ practice rotation.

Throughout training camp, Croskey-Merritt has gotten work blocking on kickoff and punt returns. After practice Saturday, he spent several minutes off by himself catching punts.

“I haven’t played any special teams before,” Croskey-Merritt said. “This is something that I’ve got to do, but it’s going to work out. I’m loving special teams right now. … If you want to be on that roster, you better be on special teams.”

Last Man Standig

Quinn: No distraction with Terry McLaurin’s hold-in

The Commanders head coach and Terry McLaurin spoke directly about the receiver’s trade request.

“We love Terry,” Quinn said. “I’m really glad he is here and hopefully he is out practicing soon,” Quinn said. “And we also understand there’s the business side of these things that (General Manager)Adam (Peters) and his side and Terry and his reps are working through.”

“I know that time will come,” Daniels said of McLaurin’s return to practice. “Till then, if that’s us getting in the film room and just talking … we always talk. We talk ball. We talk life. So nothing’s changed at all.”

Washington visits the New England Patriots for a joint practice on Wednesday and its preseason opener on Friday. The Commanders’ next practice is at home on Monday.

“It’s a really cool place to come work and play football,” Quinn said. “And we work hard at that, too, the environment. And so, (Terry is) definitely part of that … Even though he’s not participating, there’s still plenty to do.”

Other notes:

  • Deebo Samuel hurt his left hand driving for a catch late in practice. Possible finger dislocation (my speculation). He looked fine after practice, holding hands with his young daughter while walking to the building.
  • Left guard Brandon Coleman limped off the field during practice and did not return. No sense of the severity, and I won’t speculate here. Andrew Wylie replaced him at left guard.
  • QB Marcus Mariota participated in team drills on Saturday after sitting out recent practice beyond individual work. No injury. Instead, the goal is to help a veteran reach the regular season while providing extra reps for the potential QB3s, Sam Hartman and Josh Johnson.
Commanders.com

Training camp notebook | Conerly taking tips, tricks from both sides of the ball

“Not a lot of people can say they get to go against a defense with Hall of Famers and play alongside Hall of Famers,” Conerly said. “Being in this position and having this opportunity is a blessing, and they’ve taught me a lot, just on-the-field, off-the-field stuff, how to change up my hands, how to do a lot of different things. So, I just take it and run with it.”

With the amount of depth the Commanders have on their offensive line, there’s no need for them to rush Conerly’s development. They are taking a slow approach to the process so that when he is ready to play, the adjustment period won’t be as severe.

But considering how many people are helping Conerly, he may be ready sooner than expected.

“I’m pretty comfortable with the install,” Conerly said. “I feel like I know a great amount. I learn something new every day.”

— Rookie linebacker Kain Medrano showed some progress today as well. He ran through the offensive line on a blitz to take down Austin Ekeler for a loss. Medrano’s athleticism has been evident n several plays, and he has used it to put himself in position for pass breakups. The next step for him is to turn those into interceptions.

— Newcomer Lucas Niang seems to be coming along well in Washington’s system. He had a solid pull block that opened room for Felton, who gained a chunk of yardage on the play.

— Finally, it’s clear that Zach Ertz is still going to be a big presence in Washington’s offense. During a “move the ball period,” three of Daniels’ completions went to the tight end, the last of which was a touchdown.

Riggo’s Rag

Bobby Price is further down the Commanders’ cornerback pecking order than ever

Nothing has been decided as yet. Even so, it doesn’t look especially promising for Bobby Price at this juncture.

Competition for places in the cornerback room is fierce. The Commanders are running with Marshon Lattimore, Mike Sainristil, and second-round rookie Trey Amos as their starting trio. Veteran free-agent signing Jonathan Jones and the ascending Noah Igbinoghene have already cemented themselves as core rotational pieces. That makes it difficult for anyone else to force their way into the team’s plans.

Much will depend on how many corners the Commanders take. But if it’s six as anticipated, that leaves room for one more.

Price joined the Commanders in 2024 but didn’t factor much into their plans. The former undrafted free agent out of Norfolk State received a reserve/futures contract from the franchise this offseason, which was a positive development. But it didn’t come with any assurances about his roster status.

There is one, maybe two, open spots. Kevon Seymour is another strong candidate. There is also hype growing around undrafted free-agent Car’lin Vigers, who team writer Zach Selby recently highlighted as a major standout from the second week of practices.

Podcasts & videos

LIVE at Commanders Training Camp with Deebo Samuel, Dan Quinn, Bobby Wagner | NFL Training Camp Tour

Why You Shouldn’t Overreact to Commanders O-Line Struggles & Injury News | Jayden Daniels Analysis

Photos

Commanders.com

PHOTOS | Day 2 of pads

Check out the top photos of the Washington Commanders going through practice on July 31.





NFC East links

Blogging the Boys

Training camp injuries have turned the Cowboys’ OL into the walking wounded

The Cowboys offensive line has been absolutely decimated by injuries.

Tyler Smith is the latest Cowboys offensive lineman to come up lame at training camp. Thankfully this doesn’t seem to be anything serious, but will still need to be monitored closely along with the rest of the Cowboys walking wounded injured OL right now.

Smith is simply just the most recent of the Cowboys OL who have sustained some degree of injury since training camp got underway. He joins Terence Steele (ankle), Rob Jones (neck), and Tyler Guyton (knee) in missing some practice time thus far in training camp due to injuries and all will need to be closely monitored. That doesn’t even include some down roster linemen who missed time.

While thankfully none of these injuries have been of the season-ending type, it does raise somewhat of a concern about the cohesiveness of this group and the further development of Guyton. The quicker everyone can get healthy, the better.

Unfortunately, Guyton is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with the fractured bone in his knee and Rob Jones is expected to miss 2-3 months with a broken bone in his neck.

Inside the Star

All-Pro Guard Tyler Smith could be the next Cowboys’ hold-out

The Dallas Cowboys have made contract disputes with their best players a yearly tradition. In 2024, it was Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb; currently, it’s Micah Parsons; next year, it will be All-Pro guard Tyler Smith. This front office regime is stuck in a loop that hurts both their own salary situation and their relationship with the players.

When you wait, and wait, and wait to extend contracts, good young players’ prices skyrocket as the market increases and their accolades stack. This is what happened to every single Cowboy I named over the past two years.

In terms of Smith, Dallas’s first-round pick in 2022, he will enter the final year of his rookie contract next season. Smart teams would extend him before then; the Cowboys likely won’t. Let’s look at the Tyler Smith resume, and what the contract could be when the Cowboys negotiate with him at the last minute in 2026.

Tyler Smith: Blossiming Into Top-Tier, Highest-Paid Guard

When the Cowboys selected the Tulsa guard in 2022, many called it a reach. His tape showed elite traits and flashes of potential, but holes in his actual game. As they’ve done so many times before, Dallas took that framework and built it into an elite guard today.

Smith, 24, has now made back-to-back Pro Bowls, and in 2023 he was named an All-Pro. He has solidified himself as the heir to Zack Martin’s throne. Especially when you add in the youth surrounding him on the offensive line, Smith’s importance doubles, at least. Tyler Guyton, Tyler Booker, and Cooper Beebe will develop seeing Smith as the big dog.

Bleacher Report

Cowboys’ Jerry Jones Not Considering Micah Parsons Trade Amid Contract Hold-In

Jones told reporters on Saturday that Parsons’ trade request is just part of negotiating.

“That’s negotiation. I’ve heard that so many times, in my 30 years in the NFL, from not just players but agents… that is old stuff, 30 years of old stuff, some of those issues we’re hearing about trading, hurt backs, all that kind of stuff,” Jones said.

When asked about his meeting with Parsons in March, Jones answered, per DallasCowboys.com’s Tommy Yarrish: “What y’all don’t know is what I offered him, and it’s a hell of a lot more than you think I did. That’s what you don’t know.”

Big Blue View

‘Kudos & Wet Willies’: Who’s up, who’s down after another week of New York Giants training camp

Malik Nabers continues to impress; Deonte Banks, not so much

Wet Willies to …

Deonte Banks — Entering his third season, it seems that the former first-round pick still has not learned how to turn his head and find the football while he is in coverage. Early in the week, he committed defensive pass interference in the end zone on a long, floating pass from Russell Wilson he should have been able to find and at least knock down. On Saturday, Banks committed a holding penalty and got burned deep by Nabers in one-on-one drills.

Not that it is ‘WW’ worthy, but Banks’ comfort in front of a microphone has not improved, either. His Tuesday session with the media was painful, filled with short, one-sentence answers.

The Big Blue View jinx — We post a big feature on rookie running back Cam Skattebo, and suddenly the Giants’ “carnage creator” is missing practice time with an injury. Shame on us.

Pre-snap penalties — There have been far too many, and I was tired of watching the Giants commit them about two days into training camp.

Discussion topics

Pro Football Talk

ESPN, NFL Media deal raises real revenue questions for NFLPA

The massive deal between the NFL and ESPN regarding various NFL Media assets raises a wide range of questions. For NFL players, it raises one very important one.

What’s in it for us?

The league reportedly will get equity in the deal, receiving up to 10 percent of ESPN. How will that translate into payment for players?

Long-time agent Peter Schaffer flagged the issue, in a Saturday text message to PFT. “Agents and players see major revenue potential in the ESPN–NFL deal, but there’s real concern the league structured it to conceal money from the player pool,” as it relates to, for example, the “value of game packages.”

Among other things, ESPN will get access to the seven regular-season games that the NFL had retained and televised via NFL Network. With the league reportedly getting ESPN ownership in lieu of cash, what does that mean for the broader revenue split?

The players currently receive roughly half of the cash that flows through the overall cash register. With the league getting paper ownership and not paper money from the ESPN deal, what will the players receive via a potential bump to their collective pay?

“This could artificially depress the salary cap, directly cutting into player contracts and earnings,” Schaffer said. “The NFLPA needs to stay on top of this and demand full transparency.”

Because the deal has yet to be finalized, it’s premature for the union to do anything. When the deal is done, the union will have the right to fully explore the details of the arrangement and, if necessary, to challenge it.

aBit o’Twitter