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Daily Slop – 8 Feb 25 – articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders

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

Commanders links

Articles

The Athletic (paywall)

Commanders NFL Draft big board: 4 positions to consider in the first round

Per Over the Cap, Washington is third in effective salary-cap space ($68.86 million), which is defined as “the cap space a team will have after signing at least 51 players and its projected rookie class to its roster.” The Commanders also have only 43 players under contract. Only the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs have fewer (38).

Once Peters navigates the early stages of free agency with re-signings and new veterans, the draft takes over. Washington currently holds seven selections, including No. 29 overall, its second-rounder and Miami’s third, which slots in the middle of the round. The Commanders previously traded their third- and fourth-round picks to New Orleans for cornerback Marshon Lattimore and a fifth-rounder.

[W]e’ll focus this initial big board around arguably Washington’s top needs.

Defensive line

  • Nic Scourton, Texas A&M, Edge (20)
  • Mike Green, Marshall, Edge (23)
  • Jack Sawyer, Ohio State, Edge (37)
  • Landon Jackson, Arkansas, Edge (44)

Washington’s defense struggled to slow down opposing running attacks this season. A central issue was the lack of defensive ends capable of consistently holding the edge. The Commanders ranked 30th against the run, allowing 4.8 yards per carry. Yards before contact and outside rushes were the primary weaknesses.

The D-end room was among the position groups that most represented Peters and head coach Dan Quinn’s approach, which involved seeking competitors and locker room help rather than aiming for the upside. The primary investment was signing Dorance Armstrong, a rotation piece with Dallas, to a three-year contract. The ex-Cowboy offered consistency and occasional playmaking but rarely changed an offense’s approach.

Offensive line

  • Josh Conerly Jr., OT, Oregon (21)
  • rmand Membou, OT, Missouri (29)
  • Cameron Williams, OT, Texas (41)
  • Donovan Jackson, T/G, Ohio State (43)

The Commanders’ 2024 group performed far better than the 2023 version. Only two starters returned. There could be at least one change for 2025 beyond initially replacing Cosmi. Half the room could be different when considering reserves.

Commanders.com

Cosmi: ‘Gonna do everything in my power’ to recover from ACL tear

Cosmi would like to miss as little time as possible. That’s why he plans to attack his rehab throughout the offseason. He had surgery on Jan. 28 and plans to be around the team’s facility as he begins to recover.

“I’m gonna do everything in my power to get my body in peak physical shape and be able to be ready for next year,” Cosmi said.

Cosmi’s loss created a massive hole in the Commanders’ offensive line as they prepared to take on the Eagles and their talented defensive front without him. The team wasn’t focused on that problem; instead, they were more concerned about his health and making sure he knew they would be there to help him through his recovery.

Cosmi has never gone through an ACL injury himself, but his wife and other people in his life have experienced it and provided guidance for him. It will be the longest time in Cosmi’s career that he won’t be able to suit up. Although he missed 11 combined games in 2021 and 2022, he has been a constant for Washington’s offensive line over the last two seasons as one of the few players who appeared and started in the previous 34 contests.

Commanders.com

Commanders 2024 position review | Tight end

— Ertz proved that he can still be a central piece on a team in addition to providing veteran leadership for his teammates. His seven touchdowns last season were the second most of his career, while his 654 yards were his most since the 2021 season when he was traded from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Arizona Cardinals.

— Ertz was Jayden Daniels’ second favorite target in 2024, and it led to a level of production that the team has rarely experienced from the position in recent years. Ertz wrapped up the regular season with the fourth most receiving yards by a Washington tight end since 2015.

Questions to answer

— Who comes back at tight end? Both Ertz and Bates are set to hit free agency in March, leaving Sinnott as the only tight end on the roster guaranteed to come back in 2025. Ertz has already said he would like to return and doesn’t intend on retiring, but some steps need to be taken before the team can determine if it’s the right move to re-sign him. Bates has been a solid player for the Commanders since he was drafted in 2021. He only has 88 career targets but has been invaluable as a blocker over the last four seasons. Whether to keep either Ertz or Bates will be one of the many decisions Washington must make this offseason, as more than two dozen players from last season will be on the market.

— What’s next for Sinnott? The Commanders drafted Sinnott with one of their second-round picks last season, so clearly, they have high hopes for his future. He only had five targets as a rookie but made every catch and scored a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers in Week 7. Sinnott has the potential to be an all-around tight end at some point in his future, but when that happens will hinge on how big of a jump he can take in Year 2.

Sports Illustrated

Jayden Daniels and Commanders’ Miracle Play Earn Moment of the Year at NFL Honors

The “Hail Mary” miracle against the Chicago Bears in Week 8 of the 2024 season was the most iconic. And now that Commanders moment will be forever etched in NFL history, earning the 2024 Next Gen Stats Moment of the Year at the 14th Annual NFL Honors.

That play was pure chaos in the best way. A snap in the last seconds of the game. A scramble to stay alive. And then, a desperate heave toward the end zone as time ran out. The ball seemed to hang in the air forever, with every fan holding their breath. When it finally landed in Noah Brown’s hands—the stadium exploded.

Commanders Wire

How did the Commanders’ Dan Quinn not win Coach of the Year?

It’s a subjective award, and that means it rests on opinions and not facts.

Thursday, the NFL Honors awarded their NFL Coach of the Year award for the 2024 season. The award was given to the Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell. Campbell, Kansas City’s Andy Reid, Denver’s Sean Payton, and Washington’s Dan Quinn were also nominees for the award.

Payton is a mystery as to why he was made a finalist. The Broncos were 8-9 in 2023 and 10-7 in 2024.

Quinn took over a team that finished 4-13 in 2023. It was a terrible season. Quinn had become the head coach of a franchise that had not had a winning season since 2016! The Commanders had not won a playoff game since the 2005 season!

Quinn led the Commanders to a shocking 12-5 season. Did the voters realize Washington had not won 12 games in a season since Joe Gibbs coached Washington in 1991?

Dan Quinn should have been a slam dunk Coach of the Year!

Podcasts & videos

NFL League links

Pro Football Talk

With two years left on his deal, don’t expect Roger Goodell to retire any time soon

When Commissioner Roger Goodell signed a new contract eight years ago, former NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart declared that it would be Goodell’s final deal.

It wasn’t. And the one he signed after it likely won’t be, either. (Lockhart, meanwhile, didn’t last much longer after he said Goodell would be leaving.)

While perusing the latest edition of John Ourand’s indispensable Varsity newsletter for Puck, I saw that ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. told Ourand this week that Goodell will renew his current deal, which runs into 2027.

“What I’ve heard is that he isn’t going anywhere,” Van Natta Jr. told Ourand on his Puck podcast. “Maybe that’s not surprising when you consider how much money he’s making and how good everything is going. . . . He’s enjoying the job. The business is almost on autopilot. I would be surprised if Roger retires after the conclusion of his current contract.”

Given the money Goodell is making (the amount is no longer publicly known because the league office stopped during business as a non-profit trade association more than a decade ago), why walk away from a job he has perfected? The 32 people who determine his status and his compensation are happy with him. And there’s currently no viable alternative, either inside or outside the halls of 345 Park Avenue.

Front Office Sports

Kendrick Lamar’s High-Risk, High-Reward Super Bowl Halftime Show

Lamar’s big performance could be even more important for the NFL than it will be for him. But the star’s halftime appearance is not without complications.

All five Grammy Awards went to Lamar’s smash hit “Not Like Us,” a diss track aimed at fellow rapper Drake. In the lyrics, Lamar accuses Drake of pedophilia, sexual misconduct, exploiting rappers for credibility, and cultural appropriation. Lamar also takes shots at members of Drake’s label and team with allegations including sex trafficking. The song’s cover art shows a photo of Drake’s Toronto home with sex offender symbols marking it.

Given the legal implications, Lamar’s performance is a precarious situation for the NFL and Fox, because the usual watchdog of the FCC isn’t the only one who could be after them for certain lyrics. When the Grammys played a snippet of “Not Like Us” as Lamar walked to the stage to accept one of his awards, the show blasted the phrases “certified pedophile” and “it’s probably a minor,” the second of which could be heard sung loudly from the audience on the broadcast.

The question of whether the song will be played has been answered: Lamar is going to perform the diss track, TMZ reported Wednesday. The next decision is for Fox and the NFL, both of which could open themselves to legal action from Drake if they allow Lamar to include any lyrics implying his nemesis is a pedophile during what is historically the biggest broadcast of the year.

For a league as buttoned up as the NFL—which forbids its own players from displaying political imagery or personal messages on game days—publicly taking a stance on an ongoing lawsuit isn’t really its thing.

Lamar hinted during his pre-performance press conference Thursday that “storytelling” is what viewers can expect from his halftime show, the first headlined by a solo hip-hop artist. “I think I’ve always been very open about storytelling through all my catalog and my history of music,” Lamar said. “And I’ve always had a passion about bringing that on whatever stage I’m on.”

Front Office Sports

Super Bowl Ticket Prices Still Dropping As Lodging Costs Soar

Low-end, get-in prices for the Chiefs-Eagles matchup fell early Friday to about $2,600 per seat across multiple marketplaces. That figure is down by more than 20% from levels at the beginning of the week and is just over half what upper-deck tickets at the Caesar Superdome were selling for immediately after Kansas City and Philadelphia clinched their conference titles.

A similar situation is apparent with On Location, the official hospitality provider of the NFL that controls a large swath of the Super Bowl ticket resale market. Its packages that include various fan experiences in addition to game tickets now begin at $3,750 per person. That’s down 21% from Monday, and also by nearly half compared to late January.

The prevailing factors in the downward pressure are much the same as earlier in the week and are gathering strength: an unprecedented lodging crunch has created four-figure nightly prices in many instances for even spartan accommodations and five-figure ones for luxury rooms, in turn cutting into many fans’ ability to spend on game tickets.

That situation, along with the unprecedented demand last year in Las Vegas, further showcases the heightening role of the host location in Super Bowl demand.

NFC East links

Big Blue View

Survey results – Most fans would rather take the picks than keep Kafka or Brown

Offensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach Mike Kafka is one of the the finalists for the New Orleans Saints head coaching job, while Assistant General Manager Brandon Brown is in the running to be the Jacksonville Jaguars’ next GM.

We’ve consistently heard that both men are respected around the NFL, as evidenced by the League’s continued interest in them as head coaching and GM candidates, respectively. So this week we asked Giants fans whether they believed that losing Kafka, Brown, or both would be a serious blow to the Giants.

Most Giants’ fans responded that they believe the third-round compensatory picks would be more valuable to the future of the franchise than Kafka or Brown.


Fans are understandably frustrated and there’s a feeling permeating the fanbase that given the results over the last two years, the process must be bad. Therefore, the only way forward is to change the process and leadership at the top. Combine that with the fact that the third round picks represent hope for the future, and it’s easy to see where that 57 percent of the fanbase is coming from.

Discussion topics

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