Daily Slop – 4 Feb 25: Headlines are focused on what Commanders’ owner Josh Harris says isn’t happening

A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders

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Washington Post (paywall)

Commanders owner Josh Harris says team will stick with name

Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris says the team name has been embraced by players and coaches and another rebrand is not on tap.

The Washington Commanders plan to stick with their name and are not considering another rebrand, principal owner Josh Harris said at a news conference Monday.

“It’s now being embraced by our team, by our culture, by our coaching staff,” he said. “We’re going with that.”

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ESPN

Owner: Washington Commanders won’t change ‘meaningful’ name

The name had been widely panned by the fan base, many of whom wanted a return to the team’s former name — a notion Harris struck down multiple times including in August when he said, “For obvious reasons, the old name can’t come back.”

In April, the Washington Post ran a poll in which 58% of local Commanders fans did not like the name. However, since then, the Commanders drafted quarterback Jayden Daniels who helped lead the team to their best season in more than three decades.

At their season-ending news conference last week, coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters referred to the “Commanders’ standard” that was established this year. Players would refer to that as well.

“The name Commanders means something,” Harris said. “It’s about players who love football, are great at football, hit hard, mentally tough, great teammates. It’s really meaningful that that name is growing in meaning.”

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The Athletic (paywall)

Josh Harris discussed progress in stadium discussions

Harris maintained his 2030 timeline for a new stadium in D.C. or adjacent to the current Landover, Md., location. While his active involvement in the RFK site process on Capitol Hill suggests a preference for a stadium in the nation’s capital, Harris pushed back on any pre-determined outcome.

He praised the efforts of Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, including his role in not stifling Harris’ stated goal of getting “D.C. to the table” for negotiations. That now-realized scenario expanded the pool of potential jurisdictions. That assumes various factions within the District government jointly embrace a stadium footprint with potential retail/housing involved. Mayor Muriel Bowser is a staunch advocate for a new stadium.

“D.C. has to decide what it wants to do,” Harris said. “It has a lot of flexibility to do whatever it wants with the land. … Nothing has been decided. We’re going down both paths at once.”

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Exclusive Sit Down with Managing Partner Josh Harris | Command Center

We want to keep improving the experience and so we’re doing a lot of different things. What we want to do is create an environment where players want to be, where coaches want to be. So you’ll see a lot of improvements here in Virginia about just everything from the wet areas (the showers) to the weight room to the indoor football field. You’re going to see a lot of different things happening here, and then, for the fans and for the stadium, [there will be a] new locker room as an example — but for the fans in the stadium, we’re we’re going to be changing a lot of different things and continue to build on what we did last year. So, new premium areas; start to change the upper deck; continue to build infrastructure. So, we had earmarked about $75 million [for stadium upgrades], and that’s going to go well above a $100 million. We’re going to just keep doing everything we can to create amazing experiences both for our players, our fans, our coaches, and our community.

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The Athletic (paywall)

After Washington’s breakout season, where do Commanders stand before free agency?

[T]he Commanders have 31 free agents — 29 unrestricted — according to Over the Cap. Of those 29, only nine arrived before Peters. The line between newcomer and holdover — a distinction Peters and coach Dan Quinn avoided making — faded during the summer grind and over a magical season ending with a stunning NFC Championship Game appearance.

That means upcoming choices on who to keep and who to move on from are about their guys. Countless people have raved about the internal “brotherhood” generated throughout the 12-win campaign. Those bonds weren’t limited to the players. Quinn’s relentless enthusiasm and sincerity touched the person inside the uniform.

Lead front-office executives, like Peters, are tasked with keeping the big picture in mind and personal emotions at bay. Washington’s pro personnel scouts are long immersed in free-agency options and ready to help Peters compare and contrast them with the Commanders’ lengthy list. Less than 24 hours after the 55-23 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Jan. 26, the GM wasn’t ready to dive into the next roster reset.

Keeping the band together after finishing with more regular-season wins and a deeper playoff run than any Washington team since the 1991 season would be a logical emotional pull. Peters and Quinn will prioritize their internal wish list. However, taking a sober look at the season is also essential.

As the pivot toward the offseason takes off, here’s a look at my (probably way too early) rankings for the top nine internal free agents, followed by additional names and scenarios.

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Commanders.com

Commanders 2024 position review | Wide receiver

Questions to answer

— Who to bring back? The Commanders have some of the most projected available cap space in the league, and one of their first questions to address will be who to bring back for 2025. Twenty-eight players are set to become free agents, including five wide receivers. McLaurin and McCaffrey are the only wideouts guaranteed to come back next season.

— Who to add? While it isn’t ideal to have almost all of one position become free agents in March, it does present an opportunity for the Commanders to evaluate the group to see how they can improve after finishing 17th in passing offense. Players like Stefon Diggs, Tee Higgins and Amari Cooper are expected to be at the top of the wide receiver market, but this year’s class is full of players who could fit in well with the Commanders’ offense and would want to catch passes from Jayden Daniels.

Free agency

Click HERE to see all the players the Commanders could pursue in free agency with their available cap space.

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Hogs Haven

The Running Problem: Brian Robinson vs. Saquon Barkley

The easiest stat to use as a proxy for the offensive line to generate push is Yards Before Contact (which, like it sounds, is how many yards the runner averages before contact). Washington’s was actually among the best this year, but that is largely because of our leading rusher—Jayden Daniels—scrambling and getting pretty much all of his yards before contact. It was among the worst in the league when looking at running backs, and especially bad when the running back were running the ball in obvious running situations. There is debate about how much YBC is a running back stat vs. an offensive line stat, but for Barkley in particular it seems to have fluctuated significantly with offensive line play (the massive jump seen below when he went to the Eagles suggests that it is more offensive play—at least for him).

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Sports Illustrated

Will Lattimore be traded again?

Bleacher Report analyst Alex Ballentine suggests that Lattimore could be on the block for the Commanders this offseason.

“The Commanders aren’t likely to be trading away money key players. They have a ton of cap space and they vastly exceeded all expectations this season. That being said, there are a few intriguing trade candidates on the roster. They just traded for Marshon Lattimore, but the entirety of his $18 million cap hit would come off the books in the event of a trade,” Ballentine writes.

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Podcasts & videos

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NFC East links

Bleeding Green Nation

Jeffrey Lurie dropped some interesting tidbits on Super Bowl opening night

A rare chance to hear from the Eagles’ owner.

1 – No contract extension for Nick Sirianni … yet

Lurie wasn’t willing to confirm that an extension is imminent. Which, in fairness, lines up with a general organizational policy of not commenting on contracts.

It was also interesting to see Lurie acknowledge Sirianni’s outward emotion as both one of his “strengths” and “weaknesses.”

2 – Jeffrey Lurie is not buying the Boston Celtics

Via PHLY’s Zach Berman:

“No, I’m not really interested in acquiring another sports team. I think it’s connected because they’re my childhood team.

I would never say never, but I’m not looking to own another sports franchise. The Celtics, again, are exceptional. They’re so well run. They’re so talented. They’re my childhood team. However, I do not expect that to happen.”

3 – The Eagles are not losing a home game in 2026 after all

A recent report claimed the Eagles are “likely” to play the Los Angeles Rams in Australia during the 2026 NFL season.

If that report is true, the Eagles would be losing a home game since they’re set to host the Rams that year.

Lurie, however, said the Eagles will be the visiting team if they’re playing in Australia.

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NFL league links

Articles

Front Office Sports

Goodell: 18-Game NFL Season Not on Table Until CBA Talks Begin

Goodell says the NFL won’t pursue an 18-game season until CBA negotiations, delaying possible expansion until 2031.

The NFL does not expect to negotiate with the players’ union for an 18th regular-season game until it starts collective bargaining talks, commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters during his annual Super Bowl press conference Monday, suggesting an expansion of the schedule is more than just a few years away.

The current NFL collective bargaining agreement doesn’t expire until 2031, but that does not preclude the league and union from amending the agreement, something recent reports have said could happen. But Goodell, seated in front of the Super Bowl LIX helmets of the Chiefs and Eagles, placed talks for an 18th game in the context of fully formed labor talks.

Asked by moderator Curt Menefee whether Goodell had a deadline for adding an 18th regular-season game, the commissioner replied, “Those things, Curt, they come up in the context of the broader CBA issues. I don’t think you isolate one of those issues over any others. It will be part of the formal discussions when we get to it.”

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Front Office Sports

Super Bowl Ticket Prices Crash As Hotel Rooms See Historic Rate Hike

Is the Super Bowl outgrowing New Orleans? Unprecedented pricing and demand for hotel rooms, in turn driving the ticket market downward, suggest the answer could be yes.

Low-end, get-in pricing for the game across multiple marketplaces is now hovering around $3,300 per seat, down by nearly 30% from levels seen a week ago, after the Chiefs-Eagles matchup was set. That prior pricing was already a significant retreat from last year’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas, a first-time placement of the event and one that ultimately reached record-setting levels.

Even Super Bowl LIX ticket packages sold through On Location, the NFL’s official hospitality provider, that include additional entertainment and fan experiences have shown a marked retreat, with pricing now starting at $4,750 per person—also down 28% from a week ago.

A key driver in this year’s market, however, is historic pricing and demand seen for New Orleans lodging—particularly in the French Quarter and near the Caesars Superdome, but all over the local area.

For stays this coming weekend, two-star hotels in the region are nearing $1,000 per night, while four- and five-star ones are frequently exceeding $4,000 per night—and in most cases, each requires a three-night minimum.

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Front Office Sports

Chip Kelly’s $6M Salary Latest Sign of Exploding Coordinator Pay

The Raiders hired Kelly as their new offensive coordinator, giving him a salary “averaging $6 million per year,” sources told The MMQB’s Albert Breer. That’s nearly triple the $2.1 million base salary Kelly was set to receive as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator in 2025. Kelly will be the highest-paid coordinator in the NFL, per Breer.

It’s a power move by the Raiders, led by owner Mark Davis and minority owner Tom Brady, who last week hired head coach Pete Carroll and GM John Spytek. Carroll, the oldest head coach in the NFL, will turn 74 in September. His contract in Las Vegas is for three years. Kelly is 61, and he could even conceivably take over as head coach when Carroll retires.

Kelly’s offensive coordinator salary in Las Vegas is higher than the reported salary values for more than half of NFL head coaches. It also further showcases the investment franchises are willing to make in assistant coaches.

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All aTwitter

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