Daily Slop – 29 Feb 24: Mark Bullock evaluates free agent WR options for Commanders

A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East and the NFL in general

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Commanders.com

Combine notebook | Defensive line, linebackers take center stage

The NFL scouting combine has officially begun, and the entire league has converged on Indianapolis as players from the next generation of talent try to make a case that a team should use one of their valuable draft picks on them.

Technically, players have been in town for a couple of days now. The defensive linemen and linebackers were the first to arrive on Sunday, while the defensive backs, tight ends, running backs quarterbacks and wide receivers flew into town on Monday and Tuesday. The on-field workouts will start tomorrow, but before that can happen, prospects need to interview with front office members and coaches and answer questions from media members.

Penn State’s Chop Robinson is one of the more intriguing prospects in the draft and should be someone to keep an eye on this week. The stats he had in college (35 tackles and six sacks) aren’t eye-popping, but his traits and test results are expected to entice scouts. He’s a quick, athletic edge defender and knows how to take advantage of offensive linemen. While that makes up most of his reputation, he also said this morning that he has other qualities he thinks teams will appreciate.

Missouri’s Darius Robinson is another player expecting to see his stock rise this week in Indianapolis. A strong performance during practice for the Senior Bowl has many believing he will at least an early Day 2 pick, but a good showing in drill work could move him even higher. Robinson is quick and powerful, using his mix of strength and athleticism to play with ferocious intensity. And according to Robinson, he can do it all.

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Bullock’s Film Room (subscription)

Free Agent Fits: Wide Receiver

Taking a look at a couple of wide receivers that the Washington Commanders could potentially target in free agency

Josh Reynolds, 29

Reynolds isn’t the household name that will sell tickets and get fans excited, but that’s not what Washington need. They have Terry McLaurin as the fan favorite receiver, so what they need is depth and experience at the position with skill sets to round out the group. The knock on Washington’s wide receiver room for a while now has been lack of size. McLaurin is 6-foot, Dotson is 5-foot-11. Even if Samuel is brought back, he’s also 5-11. Reynolds is 6-foot-3 and would immediately add some variable size to the room.

But it’s not just size that Reynolds offers. Reynolds is a physical receiver that is not afraid of contact. He will stick his nose in to go make a catch knowing he’ll take a big hit to do so. That kind of willingness to sacrifice your body to make a play for the team endears him to not only his quarterback, but also the rest of the team.

Here you can see a few examples of Reynolds physicality. On the first play of this clip, Reynolds runs right up the seam as part of a four verticals concept. The Seahawks rotate to a Cover-3 scheme, meaning Reynolds’ route up the seam is the primary option for the quarterback. That’s indeed where the ball goes, but the deep safety does his best to make up ground and get across to try and break up the pass. He’s not able to get there in time to prevent the ball from getting to Reynolds, but he does arrive just a fraction after the ball and lands a big hit on the receiver. Reynolds does a great job keeping his focus on securing the pass and just takes the hit on the chin. He’s rewarded for his toughness with a touchdown as a result.

On the second play of the clip, Reynolds aligns outside to the right of the formation and runs what’s known as a “now slant”. He breaks inside almost immediately off the snap and looks for the ball from his quarterback, who pulls up from faking a hand off to make the throw as quickly as possible. With the play happening so close to the red zone, the corner and safety aren’t that far away, but Reynolds does well to use his size to shield the ball from the corner and then brace for impact from the safety. Again he takes another big hit from the safety, but again he doesn’t shy away from it and does his best to fight for every possible yard available.

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Washington Post (paywall)

The NFLPA graded team working conditions. The Commanders? Last, again.

The NFL Players Association released the second set of its annual team report cards Wednesday after canvassing 1,706 players on active rosters and practice squads across the league — 77 percent of the NFLPA’s membership. The survey included 11 categories: treatment of families, food/cafeteria, nutritionist/dietitian, locker room, training room, training staff, weight room, strength coaches, team travel, head coach and ownership.

Among those categories, Washington’s locker room and training room ranked last. Only 26 percent of Commanders players who voted said they felt they had enough room for their lockers, and some cited multiple sewage leaks. Washington ranked 31st in treatment of families, training staff, team travel and head coach.

The low grades for the Commanders’ facilities aren’t surprising; former owner Daniel Snyder invested minimally, resulting in a dilapidated stadium in Landover and an outdated training facility in Ashburn. Snyder sold the team to a group led by Josh Harris in July.

The ownership change seemed to leave an impression on the players; Harris ranked 18th among owners, earning a B grade for his willingness to invest in the team’s facilities. The first NFLPA survey, taken during the 2022 season and published last February, did not include a category for ownership.

After the sale, Harris and his ownership group had less than a week to make incremental improvement before training camp. The team already had begun to install bleachers to accommodate an influx of fans and a separate area for players’ families.

Commanders players gave the highest marks to the strength and conditioning staff, which received an A grade and ranked fifth in the NFL. The strength staff tied for first in the 2023 report card.

Some returning players noted the improvements from 2022, with new family events and a more private postgame area. But they also noted the Commanders were still among a minority of teams that didn’t offer family rooms during games or at training facilities.

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Washington Post (paywall)

House passes bipartisan bill to let D.C. redevelop RFK Stadium site

After a rare bipartisan push to help D.C., a bill that would allow the city to redevelop the eyesore that is the defunct RFK Stadium cleared the House Wednesday with overwhelming support.

The bill, the D.C. RFK Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act, passed by a vote of 348-55. Should it pass the Senate, the legislation would allow D.C. to turn the federally owned riverfront plot into an attractive mixed use development that could include commercial and residential uses — and, possibly, a new stadium for the Washington Commanders, which D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) is pursuing.

The legislation would transfer administrative control of the 174-acre riverfront parcel from the federal government to D.C., for a term of 99 years with no rent costs, enabling a range of development possibilities from a football stadium to restaurants, shops and housing. The city would pay any costs associated with remediation or environmental assessments of the land, along with demolition of the vacant stadium and future development and maintenance of the site. Norton and Comer described the arrangement as a “win-win” for D.C. and the National Park Service, which would no longer bear the costs of maintaining the land. The bill would also set aside 30 percent of the land for park and open space and require maintaining access to the Anacostia River.

The bill passed Wednesday despite near-unified opposition from the Maryland delegation, as Moore vies to keep the Commanders at their current home [in Landover].

Still, even with the bill’s House passage, a new football stadium at RFK — or any development there — remains a long way off.

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ESPN

FedEx bails on Commanders naming-rights deal

According to Forbes, Washington generated $545 million in revenue last season.

The franchise has been looking for a new stadium site. The team’s agreement with Prince George’s County to play at its current home expires in September 2027 though it can be extended. Multiple sources have said it’s possible the Commanders won’t open a new stadium until 2030. They are considering venues in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

Washington’s quest to find a new naming rights partner could take several more months at least, one source said. But it’s possible the franchise can generate much more than what it would have received from FedEx if a new partner also secures rights to the next stadium. Allegiant Airlines reportedly pays the Las Vegas Raiders $20 million per year for naming rights on their stadium, which opened in 2020.

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Washington Post (paywall)

FedEx ends naming-rights deal for Commanders’ stadium two years early

The move deprives the Commanders of roughly $15 million of remaining revenue from the deal and leaves them without a naming-rights partner for their Landover stadium as they search for a new home in D.C., Maryland or Virginia.

FedEx’s separate partnership with the team remains intact, along with the company’s long-running sponsorship deal with the NFL.

Two people with knowledge of the decision said FedEx exercised an opt-out provision before the end of 2023 that stemmed from the sale of the team, which closed in July. It caught the Commanders by surprise because it came after renewed fan interest and an influx of new sponsorship deals.

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The Athletic (paywall)

Commanders stadium naming rights deal with FedEx ending 2 years early

“We thank FedEx Corporation for its longstanding naming rights sponsorship and their work with our team and community and look forward to their continued partnership within the Commanders family,” the team said in a statement to The Athletic.

The organization has “already started the process of identifying” its next stadium naming rights partner, it said.

On Tuesday, the Commanders announced plans for a $75 million investment to “upgrade” the stadium and “improve the fan and player experience while we work diligently to explore options for the team’s future home.”

Built under former owner Jack Kent Cooke, the team’s stadium opened in 1997 as “Jack Kent Cooke Stadium” until the agreement with FedEx was finalized under Snyder. FedEx chairman Fred Smith was one of Snyder’s minority partners from 2003 to 2021.

The next partner may be a long-term play, should an agreement include naming rights for a new stadium in the coming years.

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Podcasts & videos

Jason Wright tells G&D Commanders name isn’t changing soon, and they’ll likely be in Landover past 2027

“I always avoid talking timeline (on a new stadium) because it’s not helpful, but it’s gonna take a little longer than 2027,” Wright said. “But, we have a home in PG County where we own the land, and our lease is just a commitment to stay there through ‘27. It’s actually beneficial to us to make sure we’re finding the right next home, so we can be the right partner for one or more jurisdictions, and allowing that process to take its time while moving fast when necessary is what we want to do.”

Commanders fans, but that name is here to stay for now…but he won’t be upset if and when it changes, even though he was part of the braintrust that came up with this one.

“I’d feel the same as it would be with anybody else: if it’s the right thing to do, that’s what it is, and I don’t take anything personally. But, it’s not a priority right now,” Wright said. “We have a lot of work to do on a million other things, but these guys make the right decisions and don’t do stuff on a whim; with any decision, it doesn’t come out of the clear blue, so there’s no reason to posture or defend. Like with their GM process, rapid but thorough is a good description of any process and decision they make, but our focus is on business, and this is not a focus right now.”

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NFL league links

Articles

The Athletic (paywall)

As NFL draft nears, Caleb Williams and team intend on owning the process

Everything about Caleb’s pre-draft process has been deliberate, even slow. While his quarterback peers in the class, North Carolina’s Drake Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels, announced they were entering the draft about a month before the deadline, Williams waited until the final day to declare. It’s the way Caleb operates. He and his family don’t feel pressure to rush to a quick decision.

Take the scouting combine. Earlier this month, Caleb’s team wouldn’t confirm that the quarterback would attend the combine, a routine aspect of the pre-draft process. Last week, Caleb’s team discussed his media strategy at the combine: Would he do the standard news conference like the rest of the prospects? Would he sit for TV network interviews only? Ultimately they opted for the regular news conference. And on Monday, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Caleb would come to Indianapolis but wouldn’t throw for teams.

The decision to not hire an agent was equally calculated. Carl challenged several potential representatives to find loopholes in the collective bargaining agreement between the league and player’s union, but the answers he received were unsatisfying. None could show him a way out of the four-year rookie contract term and fifth-year option for first-round picks. And when you considered the three potential years of franchise tagging, Caleb could be tied to a below-market deal for eight years.

Why hire an agent when there’s nothing that can be done to subvert the system? Carl was wary, and some agents were equally wary of him, thinking most of his ideas were unrealistic and some foolish.

While at USC, Caleb signed endorsement deals with Dr. Pepper, Nissan, Wendy’s and others, so he already had a business team assembled, including a team of attorneys who will handle his NFL playing contract. But since Caleb doesn’t have an agent, teams don’t have a familiar contact to assess what Caleb (and Carl) want.

Between NIL money and endorsements, Caleb made millions in his final two seasons at USC, with multiple sources putting the number around $10 million. “It wasn’t like having a college quarterback on your roster,” said a source close to USC. “It was like having an NFL starting quarterback on your roster.”

“Today’s athlete coming out of college is in a completely different economic profile than even five years ago,” Howell said. “So how and in what manner they negotiate and how they think about the opportunities is going to be different. … what someone’s requesting, it’s a different request than what you would have heard years ago.”

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NFL.com

The First Read: 10 takeaways from 2024 NFL Scouting Combine’s media availabilities

6) J.J. McCarthy is the most intriguing quarterback prospect in this draft: Just like last year, there will be a handful of talented quarterbacks in this class. McCarthy, who led Michigan to a national championship, is going to be the one who generates the most questions among those with first-round potential. He didn’t carry an offense in college in the way Caleb Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye or LSU’s Jayden Daniels did. He also doesn’t have nearly as much experience as a starter as somebody like Washington’s Michael Penix. What he does bring is an interesting combination of youth (he just turned 21 in January), athleticism and winning intangibles that led to him being 27-1 as a starter in his college career.

McCarthy also has a chance to boost his stock this week, as he’s throwing at the combine, while Williams, Maye and Daniels are not. When asked about McCarthy, one scout said, “I found him to be up and down. What you love is the leadership, the chip on his shoulder and the toughness he plays with. A lot of times he’ll look like an NFL backup with average physical traits and then he’ll put together clutch drives with big-time throws in big games. You really have to study him hard to sign off on him as a top pick. But one thing you can never underestimate at that position is the ‘clutch’ gene. It’s hard to find.”

9) The Eagles had better repair their culture: Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni has made a lot of changes this offseason, including the addition of new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. His most important modification, however, will be improving the environment around his team after last year’s second-half implosion (when the Eagles lost six of their last seven games).

“Any time you go through a season, whether it’s successful in your eyes, and whether it’s not successful in your eyes, you look on ways and opportunities to get better. My job is to talk to every single player, and I’ve done that. Talked to every single coach. What went right? What went wrong? You take that into account. You take everything into account, and you try and get better at doing those things. Connection is our No. 1 core value, and there were things that we as a team, myself, didn’t do a good enough job of last year … I look forward to getting better. Like I said to you guys before, we’re not that far removed from having one of the best cultures that any of us had ever been around. There’s just some tweaks that we need to do.”

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