Daily Slop – 4 Aug 25: Newly signed veteran OT Lucas Niang leans on former teammates in Commanders training camp

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

Commanders.com

Lucas Niang ‘ready to get rollin’’ with Commanders

His arrival to Washington marked a reunion with fellow linemen Nick Allegretti and Andrew Wylie. All three were responsible for protecting quarterback Patrick Mahomes with the Kansas City Chiefs during the 2021 season. Allegretti and Wylie provide Niang with familiar faces and a sense of comfort most mid-training camp signings don’t have.

“It’s easier to ask questions, I know who to go for,” Niang said of his conversations with Allegretti and Wylie after his first day in Ashburn. “We’ve dealt with each other before, so we know how each other operates.”

Niang is essentially learning an entirely new football vocabulary in joining the Commanders, despite having run the same plays. Allegretti and Wylie’s experience playing in Kansas City has been key to Niang’s quicker-than-usual ability to pick up Washington’s verbiage when it comes to offensive play calling.

“The nice thing is, especially if he may have to play tackle or guard, he’s got both me and Wylie who know how he speaks,” Allegretti added. “We know all of his language from Kansas City, so it’s easy to say, this play is like that play or this play is like that. So just give him the comparison, because football plays are pretty damn similar.”

Niang took snaps during special teams drills during his first training camp practice with the Commanders on Thursday. He spent the majority of the time observing team drills and chatting with offensive line coach Bobby Johnson. The New Canaan, Connecticut, native continued to ramp up for his second full practice Sunday, taking offensive snaps at right tackle with both Sam Hartman and Josh Johnson at quarterback.

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NFL.com

NFC’s top three contenders to topple Eagles

Coming off an awe-inspiring victory in Super Bowl LIX, Philadelphia heads into the 2025 season with great expectations. But before the franchise’s fervent fan base starts planning a February trip to Santa Clara, California, for Super Bowl LX, the Eagles need to prove they remain atop the conference.

Despite their spectacular roster and steely focus, the reigning champions won’t have an easy time advancing out of the NFC, thanks to a group of emerging teams built for a title run. Armed with talented quarterbacks, formidable fronts and ball-hawking defenses, a group of conference foes are well-equipped to knock the Eagles off their NFC perch.

Here is my ranking of the top three NFC teams poised to challenge Philly for conference supremacy.

Rank 2 – Washington Commanders – 2024 record: 12-5

If Jayden Daniels can guide the Commanders to the NFC Championship Game without an elite roster in Year 1, he can lead a vastly improved squad to Super Bowl LX in Year 2. The 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year has more playmakers at his disposal, with Deebo Samuel coming over from San Francisco to give Washington a rugged, catch-and-run specialist. The Commanders also acquired Laremy Tunsil via trade to solidify Daniels’ blind side.

If the defense can improve — with veterans Von Miller, Deatrich Wise, Javon Kinlaw, Jonathan Jones and Will Harris joining a disruptive corps that features Bobby Wagner, Frankie Luvu and Marshon Lattimore — the Commanders could overtake their division rivals as the team to beat in the NFC.

Now, the one thing that gives me pause with this team: The contract dispute with Terry McLaurin has disrupted the offense’s rhythm throughout the offseason. And now the Pro Bowl has requested a trade, heightening the stalemate to a new level. I’m still operating under the assumption that the two sides ultimately work something out, because a parting of ways could deal a serious blow to the 2025 Commanders — and prove quite harmful to Daniels’ development. McLaurin is clearly the straw that stirs the drink in Washington’s aerial attack. The Commanders need to figure this out.

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Deadspin

NFL 2025 Division Outlook: Can the Eagles, Chiefs and Others Repeat as Champs?

When we last saw the Chiefs, the humbled heartland heroes were stumbling punch-drunk out of the French Quarter after a 40-22 Big Easy beatdown. Philadelphia led 40-6 with three minutes left, with rookie Cooper DeJean’s pick-six putting as many points on the board for the Eagles to that point as Patrick Mahomes and the AFC champs.

But there have been major changes to the Eagles’ top-ranked defense since February, and it is potentially their largest obstacle to staying on top.

Coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense lost edge rushers Brandon Graham (retired) and Josh Sweat (Arizona Cardinals), secondary standouts Darius Slay Jr. (Pittsburgh Steelers) and C.J. Gardner-Johnson (Houston Texans), and sneaky-good tackle Milton Williams (New England Patriots). Philadelphia drafted Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell in the first round and Texas safety Andrew Mukuba in the second and signed linebackers Azeez Ojulari and Joshua Uche, as well as cornerback Adoree’ Jackson.

How well those new pieces fit — and how quickly — will go a long way in determining whether the Eagles can hold off the ascending Washington Commanders, the desperate Dallas Cowboys and, at least technically speaking, the New York Giants.

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Deadspin

Detroit Lions Fumbled the Hall of Fame Game Like It Was January All Over Again

A troubling trend lingered between the Detroit Lions’ most meaningful game of last season and their first exhibition of 2025.

Turnovers, your honor.

Detroit committed five during Thursday’s lopsided Hall of Fame Game loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Canton, Ohio, matching its total from a season-ending, 45-31 defeat in an NFC divisional playoff game against the visiting Washington Commanders in January.

It’s a trope as tried as it is true: You’ve got to protect the football. And while it’s tempting to call this particular preseason game meaningless given the litany of Lions starters who didn’t play, the contriteness of Detroit’s Grant Stuard suggests otherwise.

Stuard is a Lions linebacker who sacked Chargers quarterback Trey Lance, a starter in name only on Thursday, in one of the team’s few defensive highlights.

Of course, it’s tough for any D to gain traction when the opposition is starting so many scoring drives in plus territory.

That happened early and often in Canton. Stuard, an occasional kick returner during training camp, did the honors on the opening kickoff before promptly fumbling on a tackle from Los Angeles’ Caleb Murphy. The Chargers took over on the Detroit 28-yard line and scored their first of four touchdowns five plays later.

While Stuard kept possession on a later kick return and finished with two for 62 yards, he can’t be sure this part-time, special teams ballhandling thing has a future — and he knows it.

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Heavy.com

Zach Ertz Gushes Over ‘Grinder’ Kliff Kingsbury After Standout 2024 Campaign

Credit has to be given to Kingsbury, as well, as he made Ertz a crucial part of the offense in order to help out his young quarterback. While Kingsbury has taken some heat in the past, particularly for how his stint with the Cardinals came to an end, Ertz doesn’t think that criticism is warranted, as he shouted out the Commanders’ offensive coordinator for his hard work after the team’s breakout 2024 season.

“I don’t think people realize how much of a grinder Kliff is,” Ertz said via Commanders reporter Ben Standig. “He gives this persona of the cool guy … In reality, he’s here at three in the morning every day. First one in the building. Always grinding film.”

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Riggo’s Rag

Mike Sainristil is on course to become Commanders franchise cornerstone entering Year 2

If that wasn’t enough, Sainristil is emerging as arguably the biggest factor at training camp so far. The Commanders have moved him back into the nickel after drafting Trey Amos in the second round. This is where his skills are best suited, and his dominant practice efforts have been an absolute revelation.

This was a sentiment echoed by Zach Selby from the team’s website. He rightfully named Sainristil among his camp standouts from Week 2. The insider also believes the Commanders have a future franchise cornerstone on their hands if the same trend continues.

“It’s not a surprise to the coaching staff that [Mike] Sainristil is producing on the field. They knew he was a talented player last season and expected him to keep developing because of his approach to the game. However, they have also seen him grow as a leader, which head coach Dan Quinn said is the next step for him. Sainristil still has a long way to go in his career, but it looks like the Commanders have found a foundational piece for their future.”

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Riggo’s Rag

Jacory Croskey-Merritt should lean on Austin Ekeler before first Commanders campaign

[Austin Ekeler] settled on what is now known as Western Colorado University, a DII school in his home state. This was the only program that said Ekeler could remain at running back.

Croskey-Merritt faced a similar experience, finishing high school with 2,354 all-purpose yards and being All-Metro his senior year, and receiving little interest from colleges. He ultimately also decided to stay in his home state, choosing Alabama State over Alcorn State.

Despite both being seen as skatbacks, their college journeys differed significantly.

Ekeler would go on to become the all-time leading rusher at Western Colorado, finishing with 5,857 rushing yards and 55 touchdowns on the ground. Croskey-Merritt spent four years at Alabama State, finishing with 1,253 rushing yards and 14 scores, before transferring to New Mexico, where he put himself on the NFL’s radar.

Ekeler wound up going undrafted after seeing 27 running backs hear their name called in the 2017 NFL Draft. Croskey-Merritt ended up being picked in the seventh round by the Commanders. No fewer than 24 running backs were selected before him.

Both running backs had similar 40-yard dash times and broad jumps, achieving elite ratings for their Relative Athletic Scores and composite explosion grades. Simply put, they have similar qualities to their game.

Ekeler has made a name for himself with his quarterback protection. Croskey-Merritt is also a willing pass protector, regularly putting his body on the line to keep his signal-caller’s pocket clean.

Both running backs play violently, fighting for extra yards. Despite not amassing a lot of receiving statistics in college, Croskey-Merritt has shown flashes in this key area that can be built upon.

Ekeler will be a good tutor to Croskey-Merritt in this aspect of his game. He’s surpassed 1,500 scrimmage yards three times in his career, using his versatility to carve out a unique niche in the league. And there’s no substitute for experience.

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Riggo’s Rag

Commanders place Tyree Jackson on injured reseve, all but ending his slim roster hopes

Zach Selby from the team’s website was among those suitably impressed by Jackson’s playmaking prowess. Unfortunately, this momentum came screeching to an abrupt halt when the Commanders confirmed he’d been placed on injured reserve.

The nature of Jackson’s issue wasn’t disclosed, but it represents a cataclysmic blow to any faint hopes he had of pushing his way onto the 53-man roster. Considering he’s firmly on the fringes, general manager Adam Peters’ next step could even be to waive him with an injury settlement.

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A to Z Sports

Washington Commanders Training Camp Observations for Saturday

WR Deebo Samuel left the field on the second-to-last play of practice after he hit his hand in traffic on a slant route in the red zone. He came off the field holding his hand, and the trainers took a good look at it. Reports after practice indicate that he just jammed his finger, and it was nothing worth stressing over.

The second one occurred when projected starting left guard Brandon Coleman limped off the field and never came back to practice. We didn’t see exactly what happened on the play, but he was replaced by Andrew Wylie. The team is off until Monday, and Quinn always speaks to the media before practice and gives health updates when available.

• Every DB made a play today. Trey Amos had a nice pass breakup on Deebo Samuel, Noah Igbinoghene had a jumping deflection, Jonathan Jones had a pass breakup, and Quan Martin had a crazy diving interception on an overthrown pass to Ben Sinnott. Mike Sainristil and Marshon Lattimore had pass breakups and stops today, too. The secondary is much improved.
• Deatrich Wise is my sleeper for the team. Today, he was being vocal on something he saw presnap, and he jumped the play and went down the offensive line to stop RB Brian Robinson Jr. from behind. It would’ve been a loss of a few yards.
• Matt Gay made all of his kicks again!!

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Podcasts & videos

Steve Palazzolo and Sam Monson are back in the studio to preview the ENTIRE 2025 Washington Commanders season!

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POWER HOUR! Ranking All 32 NFL Teams with Nick Wright

(They start talking about Washington at the 24:14 mark if you want to just skip to that)

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NFC East links

Bleeding Green Nation

Eagles sign another long snapper

The Philadelphia Eagles are signing long snapper Christian Johnstone, according to a report from Aaron Wilson.

This development is likely related to Charley Hughlett popping up on today’s training camp injury report. The 35-year-old veteran was listed as limited due to a neck injury.

Given that the Eagles play their first preseason game on Thursday night (7:30 PM versus the Cincinnati Bengals), the team is seemingly preparing for the possibility that Hughlett can’t play. If that’s the case, they’ll need someone to be able to handle long snapper duties.

Enter Johnstone, who did not get picked in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Appalachian State alumnus did get a rookie minicamp tryout with the Denver Broncos back in May. That’s his only NFL experience up until now.

The guess here is that Johnstone will be around until Hughlett is healthy again. If Hughlett’s injury was considered to be a serious issue, the Eagles probably would have signed a more experienced long snapper.

Bleeding Green Nation

NFC East Vibes Check

Micah Parsons and Terry McLaurin have requested trades. This is pretty standard stuff before agreeing to a contract extension, see: Garrett, Myles. Parsons will probably be franchise tagged in the offseason because the Cowboys cash flow problems are real and they’re spectacular. McLaurin will be traded to the Patriots for a 2nd round pick and the Commanders will talk about how they want guys who want to be here then win 9 games.

Health will be the only thing that stops the Eagles from ending the decades long no consecutive NFC East winners streak.

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NFL league links

Articles

Pro Football Talk

Tyreek Hill’s call for a change at short-yardage tailback had already happened

On Friday, Hill told reporters that De’Von Achane shouldn’t be the short-yardage tailback. On Sunday, coach Mike McDaniel made it clear that this has already happened.

Hill was specifically asked about the reputation of the Dolphins as being a “finesse” team. “The short yardage issues, the running game issues last year. How do you change that identity?” Hill was asked.

“Take De‘Von [Achane] out on third down — what?” Hill told reporters. “That’s my honest opinion. If it’s third-and-short, he’s not a power back. I keep telling him that in the locker room, but he swears he’s a power back. I love De’Von, but if I’m being honest like that’s why you got Jaylen Wright, that’s why you got Ollie Gordon II, for those kind of situations.”

On Sunday, McDaniel was asked about Hill’s suggestion. McDaniel made it clear that what Hill wants has already happened.

“I thought it was genius reporting by Tyreek seeing how we had a short-yardage period that very day that you guys were in attendance for, and his suggestion was I guess congruent with [running backs coach Eric] Studesville — that’s exactly how we repped the backs in that short-yardage period that very day. But we thought it was funny that he reported the news that wasn’t news on that practice day in that short-yardage period that you guys were all there, too, for.”

It’s an odd little conflict that comes at a time when there are simmering issues between Hill and the Dolphins. He capped the 2024 regular season by saying he wants out of Miami. He reversed course with a sudden and unscheduled Super Bowl-week apology tour.

Skepticism is justified. Scrutiny is merited. Especially with McDaniel saying what he said, only two days after Hill said what he said.

It’s not an ideal tone, at a time when the Dolphins generally seem to be trending in the wrong direction. And it makes us wonder whether Hill will still end up getting a one-way ticket out of Miami, if the team struggles early and if Hill decides to revert to his position that it’s time to move on to a team that is more likely to contend.

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ESPN

‘Fins Tyreek Hill making hustle plays, rebuilding rapport with teammates

Sunday, Aug. 3

Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw his first interception of training camp during goal-to-go drills, when safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (who’s having a stellar camp) undercut Tagovailoa’s pass to Tyreek Hill in the end zone. With nothing but green grass ahead of him, he appeared headed for a clear pick-six.

Except Hill refused to give up on the play, chasing Fitzpatrick down to around the opposite 25-yard line. For a player who routinely hits speeds above 20 mph, that chase-down was arguably the fastest he has run through 10 training camp practices.

Of course, with the Dolphins not tackling to the ground, it’s difficult to ascertain whether Hill would’ve successfully tackled Fitzpatrick after the nearly 80-yard sprint. But the effort could be filed away under “little things” Hill needs to do in order to rebuild his relationship with his teammates.

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NFLPA

NFL.com

NFL Players Association announces David White as interim executive director

Former SAG-AFTRA executive director David White was elected interim executive director of the NFL Players Association on Sunday night.

White replaces Lloyd Howell, who stepped down last month amid a series of revelations that created a distraction for the players’ union.

“We have full faith in David to take the union forward and operate in the best interests of our membership,” NFLPA President Jalen Reeves-Maybin said in a statement. “David has spent much of his career fighting for collectively bargained rights in the labor movement and is committed to putting players first in all the union does. We are confident that he will inspire solidarity and provide the necessary stability during this period of transition.”

White was chosen among multiple internal and external candidates. A voting player representative from all 32 teams participated in the Board’s vote, a person with knowledge of the details told The Associated Press. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the conversations were private, said the Board conducted interviews with each candidate over the last two weeks and the process was player-led and voted on by the Board.

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aBit o’Twitter

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