The Daily Slop – 12 September 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
The Washington Sun
Jayden Daniels Is Preparing for His Next Act
While it’s unclear what the coming season will bring, one thing feels certain in Ashburn: This is Jayden Daniels 2.0.
Daniels spent the offseason strengthening his entire body, particularly his legs, core and hips. He told The Sun he added “eight to 10
pounds” of muscle. But they may be hard to spot: Ever since Daniels was a 135-pound freshman in high school, there has been skepticism around his weight.
He’s too skinny. His body won’t hold up. He needs some milk.
Daniels, currently listed at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, said it’s all a misconception.
“I think it’s more so my build,” he said. “I’m heavier than a lot of people actually give me credit for. I’m just a taller, slender guy.”
If his listed weights are accurate, Daniels has gained over 50 pounds since weighing 157 pounds his senior year of high school in 2018.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
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ESPN
Why Commanders are believing in a Jayden Daniels rebound
For Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, the season isn’t about reminding everyone what he can do. It’s not about re-establishing himself among his draft class. Nor is it about proving anyone wrong. Rather, it’s just about being on the field and doing what he knows he can do. “I’ve just got to go out and … be myself,” Daniels said.
And heading into the season opener at 4:25 p.m. Sunday at Philadelphia (on FOX), the Commanders believe, once again, that will be good enough. When Daniels could be himself in 2024, he led Washington to the NFC Championship Game before losing to the Eagles.
As a rookie, Daniels showed up to spring workouts around 5:45 a.m. During the season he’d arrive at 5:30 for a walk-through with just coaches a half hour later. At the time, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury would marvel at how Daniels recalled the game plan on Wednesday, having just received it a day earlier.
That routine hasn’t changed — though Daniels did add weekly film sessions with his receivers in the spring.
Daniels also had arguably his best training camp of his first three seasons. At one point in August, Blough said Daniels was as “accurate as he’s ever been.” It wasn’t just about completing passes, it was about leading receivers into yards after the catch and throwing passes away from danger — like an incoming defender.
Washington is betting this offense — which will put Daniels under center more and emphasize play-action — will result in Daniels’ evolving as a quarterback. They also say it will lead to more explosive plays.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Sports Illustrated
Commanders Dodged a $68 Million Bullet When Romeo Doubs Chose New England
When the Washington Commanders struck out on signing Romeo Doubs in free agency, it felt like a massive missed opportunity for a team desperate for wide receiver help. Instead, the front office pivoted to bringing former Maryland star Stefon Diggs back to the DMV. Following Doubs’ disastrous, drop-filled Week 1 debut after signing a four-year, $68 million deal with the New England Patriots, Washington’s brass is already looking incredibly smart for saving its money and landing a proven veteran to pair with Terry McLaurin.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
ESPN
NFL Week 1 picks, predictions, schedule, odds, fantasy tips
Stat to know: The Commanders are the only team in the NFC East to win at Philadelphia over the past four seasons (2-3 record, including the playoffs). — ESPN Research
Viewers rating (out of 10): 6.8. I love a divisional showdown in Week 1, and especially one between two shiny young offensive coordinators. David Blough and Mannion were both players on teams as recently as 2023. Who will get new systems operating quicker? There’s lots of uncertainty in this one — which is always a good reason to tune in. — Solak
Injuries: Commanders | Eagles
Fantasy nugget: Dallas Goedert finished last season as the TE7 in fantasy after scoring a career-high 11 touchdowns for the Eagles. Some touchdown regression is likely, but our projections still have him second on the team in targets. The Commanders gave up the second-most fantasy points per game to TEs last season, and Washington didn’t do much to improve its secondary this offseason. See Week 1 rankings. — Moody
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Last Man Standig (paywall)
Sam Cosmi is having fun — at work, with Legos and inside couch-cushion forts
“I think this is the most fun I’ve had going into the year,” the Commanders guard said.
The reason starts with the people around him. Cosmi said the makeup of Washington’s offensive line room — and the coaches leading it — has made the daily grind enjoyable despite the workload.
“I enjoy coming to work. I enjoy coming to this building,” Cosmi said. “It’s not like I haven’t in the past, but this is the most fun I’ve ever had.”
For more from Ben Standig, click here
From Bill-in-Bangkok: I don’t have a Washington Sun account, so I can’t access this article, but if you do, then:
Commanders.com
Commanders announce new ‘Spike the Spear’ gameday tradition
New this season, the Commanders are unveiling an exciting tradition at Northwest Stadium as part of The Show called “Spike the Spear.” Encompassing live entertainment, special effects, cinematic videos and more, The Show is an 18-minute pregame sequence implemented to help amplify the home-field advantage leading up to kickoff. The ceremonial Spike the Spear moment will take place at the end of The Show, signifying that the battle has begun and officially ushering in the game.
For decades, the spear was emblazoned on the helmets of men who relentlessly fought for the Burgundy & Gold, players who set a standard and united millions. Today, the spear persists. Its impact carries forward into the world of the Commander. These leaders of warriors step into the arena with a determination to honor what came before them and to forge their own legacy. The spear embodies their courage, ferocity and resilience in that pursuit.
Last season, Washington Legend Darrell Green participated in the first-ever Spike the Spear, setting the tone for the energy and experience around what this moment will become beginning this season.
Throughout the season, the Spike the Spear ritual will include Washington Legends, celebrities and local sports icons with meaningful ties to the Commanders organization and the greater DMV community.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Braves on the Warpath
The Athletic (paywall)
For the Commanders, fight song change renews complicated link to the past
Four years after removing the line “Braves on the warpath!” to better align with their new name, the Commanders quietly brought it back — so quietly that most fans that night appeared oblivious to the change.
“I watched fans struggle with (the previous version) a little in the stadium,” team president Mark Clouse told The Athletic shortly after the preseason opener. “And so in the offseason, I said, well, let’s go back and what if we use the old cadence and figure out how many words we can use and kind of let it live.”
Combined with other changes the franchise has made in recent years in an effort to honor its past, the alteration to the fight song renewed speculation that Washington may be intentionally inching closer to its former Redskins brand.
A Commanders spokesperson said the team has not changed its position on returning to its old name. The changes, though, have rankled some in the Native American community.
“Well, I lived through our past,” [managing partner Josh] Harris said in March. “… I was there for the ’70s, ’80s and early ’90s and so I lived through how amazing those teams were and what an impact it had on me. I know that thousands of our fans, or millions maybe, feel the same way. I think it’s important to go back to that as much as you can. But at the same time, we have a bright future ahead.”
[E]arlier this summer, the team sold a limited set of merchandise online and in its team store that featured some former players and included the team’s old name and logo — a move the team said was done in part to maintain its trademark registration.
The trademarks for Redskins, Washington Redskins and the logo that features the profile of a Native American are owned by Pro-Football, Inc., the holding company that owns the Commanders (the holding company was renamed Pro-Football, LLC, after Harris purchased the team). Its registration of the marks expires in 2028, but it can file for renewal as early as next year, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s records.
Doing so requires the team to submit an example of the mark in use on the goods or services for which it is registered, Gambino said.
The Redskins merchandise quickly sold out online, but some apparel is still available in the stadium team store.
Michael Lewis, an Emory University marketing professor and the founder of Fanalytics: “Part of me wants to always come back and say, this is the worst handled situation I’ve ever seen in sports marketing, and I’m talking about over 30 years. On the other side, I’ve got genuine sympathy for (Harris) because it’s sort of an impossible challenge.”
“You’ve got a name (in ‘Redskins’) that was probably not chosen for any malicious reason … but it evolved to be something that was a flashpoint — there was genuine anger and legitimate anger on the other side of this,” Lewis said. “ … In some ways, it’s a great story because it’s literally a microcosm of modern America.”
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Podcasts & videos
Where The Air Is Rare | Commanders Log: Season 5, Episode 5
NFC East links
dallascowboys.com
Malik Davis out with ‘pretty serious’ injury
Davis had to be carted off the practice field Friday with a hip injury that required surgery later that evening. He will be placed on season-ending injured reserve.
Friday’s outdoor practice at The Star was non-contact and was considered slightly a step-above a walk-through practice.
Davis, who figured to be the No. 2 running back behind starter Javonte Williams, had a solid training camp and preseason and won the job in a close competition that lasted nearly the entire month of August.
Last season, Davis backed up Williams and rushed for 252 yards and two touchdowns.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Upcoming opponent
Bleeding Green Nation
Vic Fangio talks about the Eagles’ plan at edge rusher while Jonathan Greenard ramps up
Fangio mentioned that Greenard’s return is day-by-day, and noted that the edge rusher hasn’t practiced much yet, so that’s something they want to be careful with. As for how Greenard did on Wednesday in his first practice back, the DC said he did, “Okay.”
“There’s a minimal amount of practice, real practice, that you have to go through, especially for a guy coming off an injury. It’s like the guy, [Aaron] Donald did with the Rams, he’s just coming off rustiness, no injury, and wasn’t ready this week. So, we’ll see.”
The DC later mentioned that it’ll be a little bit before Greenard is game ready for a full load, so until then, it’ll be a pretty good rotation of rushers. Still, Fangio said he has confidence in guys like OLB Arnold Ebiketie and OLB A.J. Epenesa dropping back into coverage. He noted that Ebiketie and Epenesa have made a lot of improvement during camp, and he feels good about it.
On Week 1 prep
He talked a bit about how he prepares for facing a new offensive coordinator who he doesn’t have history with — like in Week 1 against the Commanders OC David Blough.
“It’s a little different than normal. You really don’t know a whole lot about the offense either way, what it might [or] might not be, you make the assumption, right or wrong. They’ll still do some of the stuff that [Jayden] Daniels was good at and comfortable with, they’ll do some stuff the new guy wants to do. So, it’s a little bit of a crapshoot.”
Later on, Fangio admitted that they might need to rotate guys, especially up front, earlier in the season, but it’s less about having a set number of snaps and more about the flow of the game. He explained that if they’re out on the field for 8-10 plays and then the offense goes three-and-out, that stresses things more, and they’ll rotate more.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Pro Football Talk
Eagles send OC to booth, for first time under Nick Sirianni
Sirianni was then asked how it will affect him to not have the offensive coordinator by his side during games.
“I don’t think at all,” Sirianni said. “I mean, obviously, there’s communication still, right? We’re talking on the headset and everything like that. I would say it’s the amount of conversations that happen that have to be face-to-face, I think, are very minimal. I don’t think that’s — you’re being able to communicate and that’s something that we stress on our players of how important communication is. We have to lead that as coaches as well. I don’t think that affects us at all.”
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
NFL league links
Articles
Front Office Sports
QB Contracts and New Coaches: NFL Week 1 Storylines
2024 QB Class
Nothing is better for a team’s salary-cap situation than having a young, highly productive quarterback still playing on a comparatively inexpensive rookie contract. Drake Maye had the Patriots in the Super Bowl last season. Bo Nix helped the Broncos to reach the AFC championship game, but missed the loss to the Patriots because of a broken ankle. Caleb Williams got the Bears into the divisional round of the NFC playoffs. Jayden Daniels had the Commanders in the NFC championship game as a rookie in the 2024 season.
Those four are fulfilling the great expectations for the 2024 quarterback class that saw six QBs chosen in the first 12 picks of the NFL Draft. They need to keep building on that in Year 3—but there are a few hurdles in the way, as J.J. McCarthy begins the season as a third-stringer for the Vikings and the Falcons’ Michael Penix Jr. is still working his way back from his latest knee injury.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
The Athletic (paywall)
The Bears hear your ‘regression’ talk, and they have two words in response
[Head coach Ben] Johnson and the team have heard all the “regression” talk. History does say that leading the league in turnovers in consecutive years is difficult. And repeating six fourth-quarter comeback victories (seven if you count the playoffs) probably isn’t realistic. But what if the Bears don’t put themselves in that position in the first place?
“I think it’s lazy,” the Bears source said. “You see interceptions and say, ‘You can’t do that again.’ Fourth-quarter comebacks and say, ‘They can’t come back.’ And you’re ignoring all the space in between that can be improved.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Discussion topics
The Athletic (paywall)
The most underrated quarterback in the NFL is the one on your team
Across all 32 teams, followers rated their team’s quarterback higher than other readers did, often by a significant margin. For example, where most readers saw a Tier 2 quarterback — say, Drake Maye or Lamar Jackson — followers of their teams, the Patriots or Ravens, were much more likely to put them in Tier 1. The ratings were not wildly different; it was more of an upward shift in each player’s entire distribution of votes.
On average, the home-team bump was worth about a half-tier, roughly the difference between how experts rated Jackson (1.6, on average) and Jared Goff (2.1).
Readers and experts’ rankings compared
As a group, readers’ views of the 35 quarterbacks lined up closely with those of the GMs, coaches and executives on the expert panel. If you arrange the quarterbacks by overall rank, as measured by “average” tier, the two lists are very similar, with most quarterbacks moving up or down only a spot or two.
While their overall rankings were similar, readers’ ratings were consistently lower than those of the experts. On average, readers rated the 35 quarterbacks about 0.3 tiers lower than the panelists did.
But in some cases, the gaps between readers and experts give a clear signal about which quarterbacks readers felt were particularly overrated. Watson, Aaron Rodgers and Tua Tagovailoa topped that list.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
