The Daily Slop – 22 June 2026
Editor’s note: Each day, Hogs Haven compiles 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, with a sprinkling of other stuff. Enjoy!
Commanders links
Articles
WUSA9
Bobby Engram and Terry McLaurin embrace David Blough’s scheme
This week, receivers coach and former NFL receiver Bobby Engram told WUSA9, “It’s a pro-style system that I’m used to, just different terminology. It’s been exciting to see the guys and how they’ve responded to Dave and just him rolling out the vision, the playbook,
the plan.”
Engram said the new scheme has been met with a lot of energy and that everyone is working tirelessly, being highly intentional about making sure everyone is on the same page ahead of next week’s mandatory minicamp and onward into training camp.
“Yeah, I love it, man. Those guys are all ball. It’s a selfless group of guys, players, and coaches,” Engram shared. “The main goal is how can we get this room to be really good, one of the best in the league. …We all have a different perspective. We’ve all had very similar yet different experiences, and I think that bodes well for everybody in that room.”
A to Z Sports
Dan Quinn actually set fire to the useless parts from 2025 in order to ensure last season’s performance isn’t repeated
“I wanted to take the lessons from ’25, learn them, and then burn, you know, all the others,” Quinn recently told CBS Sports’ Evan Washburn. “In fact, before the new coaches came in here for ’26 to everybody else outside, we wrote some things down on a piece of paper, [used] a couple big, like, paint stirs, wrote down some stuff, [and] lit a big fire in one of those big cans. [We] said, ‘All right, what’re the things we’re leaving behind?’
“There’s got to be the lessons that we’re taking from this past season, because it wasn’t all injury-related. We weren’t as connected, we weren’t as tough, we weren’t as clutch, and so some of that’s practice, some of that’s connection, some of that’s, you know, the scheme, the coaching, all of it. You can put everything into one big pot.”
“I pulled out some tape from a random 2024 OTA practice, and one from a ’25 OTA practice, and I showed some of the players this offseason to say this was a team [that was] desperate, and this one wasn’t as desperate,” said Quinn.
“Sometimes, you might just be one degree off, and then in July you’re this far, August [a] little further, further, and by October, what the hell, you know? And it was such a hard lesson to go through and to learn.”
Quinn made sure to exclude any new coaches and players who weren’t around last year and for good measure. They had zero to do with anything that went on, therefore, it wasn’t their burden to bear, so to speak.
“We’re not bringing this old s*** from ’25 into this season with these new coaches that are being a part of this. So the day before they arrived, I did that exercise with the coaches that, you know, were with us the season prior, and I also showed that video that I spoke to you about.
“I didn’t show this year’s players, they had nothing to do with that. But I wanted the other players to see, let’s make sure that practice here, the competitive nature, that’s our standard. That’s the most important thing, and so I was going to get that across come hell or high water going into this offseason.”
ESPN
2026 NFL offseason: Biggest surprise players on each team
Washington Commanders – RB Rachaad White
Washington signed White this offseason to fortify its depth and provide a pass-catching threat out of the backfield. It’s not as if he was an unknown — indeed, three years ago, he had 1,539 yards from scrimmage for Tampa Bay. But White looked spry and showed his speed while catching passes out of the backfield this spring. A lot remains to be seen — how will he look running the ball? — but his pass catching will help.
Riggo’s Rag
5 winners (and 3 losers) from Washington Commanders 2026 minicamp
Loser No. 1
Nick Bellore – Commanders LB
The Commanders’ linebacking corps is strong, fast, and aggressive after an eventful offseason on the recruitment front. Frankie Luvu, Jordan Magee, free-agent signing Leo Chenal, and No. 7 pick Sonny Styles are roster locks. Kain Medrano has improved his chances of making the team with a strong minicamp, so there might not be much room for the rest.
Quinn singled out both Medrano and Magee for special praise. They are younger and more athletic than Nick Bellore. They can also provide special-teams production and come with higher upside.
That may not stop the Commanders from taking Bellore through to Week 1, given his proven special-teams play and locker room leadership. But the margins are a lot finer for the two-time Pro Bowler now.
Winner No. 5
K’Lavon Chaisson – Commanders OLB
All the hype has centered on big money signing Odafe Oweh and first-round linebacker Sonny Styles. Still, another new defensive acquisition is gaining significant early momentum.
Despite having a longer deal on the table from the New Orleans Saints, edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson thought the Commanders represented the best place to earn a much bigger payday in 2027. His breakout with the New England Patriots last time around was encouraging. Turning it into sustained production is the next, and more difficult, challenge.
The initial signs couldn’t be more promising. NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo visited the Commanders on their final day of mandatory minicamp, and Chaisson’s name came up often among those who’ve laid down a strong marker.
Riggo’s Rag
Deebo Samuel is staring at a career crossroads after Commanders departure
Samuel was expected to draw interest in free agency. Bringing him back to Washington wasn’t completely ruled out, but general manager Adam Peters hasn’t done so yet. Nobody else has taken the plunge either, leaving his hopes of another lucrative payday in tatters.
It’s not what Samuel was anticipating.
He was looking forward to his first real taste of free agency, eager to embrace the experience before choosing his next destination. The former South Carolina playmaker still managed 802 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns last season. More importantly, he kept himself in good shape and was durable.
And yet, no offer worth taking has arrived.
Maybe he’s looking for a contender, or maybe his representatives misread the market. Either way, things are more precarious now than they were at the start of free agency.
Commanders.com
‘My best friend’: Doug and DJ Williams reflect on bond built by love and football
[Doug Williams] gave Quinn his blessing. He had no concerns about it affecting their friendship, because regardless of how things turned out, he felt that DJ deserved a chance to be in the running.
Hours later, Williams was at his computer after attending Ted White’s introductory press conference as Howard’s head football coach when Quinn paid him a second visit. He came with an announcement instead of a request this time: DJ was going to be their quarterbacks coach.
“I got up, and I hugged Dan,” Williams said. “It was kind of an emotional situation for me.”
DJ Williams was certainly qualified for the position. He’s had a quick rise since joining the NFL coaching ranks in 2019 as an offensive assistant for the New Orleans Saints. He’s been on the job in Washington for about six months and already gotten rave reviews from the Commanders’ quarterbacks. But that’s only part of the reason Doug is thrilled to have him working across the hall. He’s just happy to see more of his son, and being coworkers is the newest knot to what was already a tight bond between them.
“My dad’s my best friend,” DJ said. “He raised me from a young pup. He’s a single father, and so it’s awesome to be here with him and see him every day.”
Photos
Podcasts & videos
Our conversation with @JacksonSports cohosted by @Gcarmi21
NFC East links
Big Blue View
Can Dallas be the NFL’s version of the Knicks in 2026?
Why can this year be different for Dallas?
The Cowboys have not been to a Conference Championship Game since winning the Super Bowl in 1995. Perennially, they seem to underachieve expectations. Can the 2026 season be different?
”This offseason has been different … There has been no point of drama. There’s been no attention seeking. And so, that’s why there is some optimism here,” Ochoa said. “I think the Cowboys are in a position to probably win the NFC East. I’m going to pick them to win the division. I think the Giants are on the rise, maybe not there yet. The Commanders kind of on the fall. The Eagles have earned the benefit of the doubt, but they can combust at any moment as we well know.”
Discussion topics
ESPN
Will NFL officiating improve under the referees’ new CBA?
For the first time in its history, the NFL plans to form a practice squad this season of up to 12 game officials. Its members will be assigned to specific crews, travel to stadiums and be available to work games if a starting official is either injured or performing poorly.
As part of its new collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Referees Association, the league said it plans to elevate some practice squad members to work regular-season games for developmental purposes — regardless of circumstance.
The agreement calls for those swing officials to be paid for eight games of work. If they work more, their pay will increase accordingly.
Utilizing a practice squad this way would represent a sharp change from previous business and serve as perhaps the most visible change from CBA negotiations that the NFL pledged — publicly and privately — would be dedicated to improving its officiating performance. It has been met with excitement from some league insiders, who have long advocated for what one called an injection of “NFL DNA” into the way officials are managed.
Others are skeptical it will ever be implemented in the way it has been conceived, citing similar failures in the last CBA, signed in 2019. They also noted the risk of inserting untested officials into midseason games and taking already limited reps away from tenured officials.
But after two years of negotiations, and increasingly public threats of a lockout and the use of replacement officials, the sides agreed to terms on the practice squad and several other adjustments.
To further boost efforts to improve, the sides also codified 14 training dates into an expanded offseason. Lower-performing officials could be made available to the United Football League in future years, and this spring, all crews have been working OTAs and minicamps for the first time.
Tenured officials will still be paid for a 17-game season, even if they are rotated off a game for a bench official to take reps.
Officiating insiders say their skepticism surrounding the expanded offseason and increased training opportunities is heightened by the league’s recent history of inaction. The 2019 CBA included a provision that NFLRA and the NFL must work together to create a training and evaluation program that should be implemented for the 2020 season, but Green says that program never materialized in the seven-year life of that deal.
“We could have started the program several years ago,” Green told ESPN. “We sent them drafts, and we began discussions, but the problem became that they just didn’t have the people that could work on that while they were working on their usual grading. I give Ramon [George] credit that he is fully intending to move forward on that. [Former VP of officiating training and development] Walt Anderson did not show the same interest.”
