Commanders training camp is underway. The full squad is checked in. The staff is ready to heightened activity and the coaches believe they’ve set up a plan for success and development over the next several weeks, when preparation for the 2026 season begins in earnest.
The vibes are high around the Commanders training complex in Ashburn, VA, something that was clear at the start of Tuesday evening’s press conference with head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters.
“I’m excited for you guys
to feel the energy of the team, their readiness, their swagger,” Quinn said. “As we get started, I’m excited for you all to feel that.”
Peters backed that up with this: “I’m excited as I’ve ever been. There’s a ton of great energy from all aspects of the building, to see how this is going to unfold.”
There’s belief in a quick rebound from 2025’s mess, with new coordinators, quarterback Jayden Daniels’ rejuvenated health and a bunch of free agents and draft picks ready to join the fight.
Here are five things we learned from Tuesday’s remarks:
Commanders are happy at WR, but…
Peters added to his receiver group on several occasions, most notably with the third-round Antonio Williams draft pick and Dyami Brown’s return in free agency. There are several (including me) wondering if they need to add another veteran receiver to the mix.
The GM was asked about adding another talent to the mix, and had this to say:
“I’m happy with what we’ve done throughout the offseason. Our staff did a great job identifying guys who would help us, both offensively and defensively,” Peters said. “Specifically, wide receiver-wise, we’re really happy with who’s in that room and how the guys progressed in the offseason and stepped up and will take another step in this training camp.
“Like any other room in any other place, if we have ways to get better we’re always goign to look into that and really assess the decision and whether it’s the right move for our team or not. If it is, we’re not afraid to do that.”
So, yeah, the door’s still open. DMV native Stefon Diggs seems like a decent option. Brandon Aiyuk did a while ago, but his often off-putting social media antics have seemingly made him a far less attractive option should the 49ers receiver ever apply for reinstatement off the reserve/left-squad list and be released by San Francisco.
NBC4’s JP Finlay, in an expertly phrased question that got a laugh from Peters and Quinn, asked if social media can impact an evaluation.
“We do look at everything,” Peters said. “We want to make sure it’s the right player to be in our locker room and our bloodstream and our culture. We look at that stuff. It’s not always the first thing we look at. You look at the tape and you look at the teams the players have been on and how they were in the locker room with the players they were playing with to make those decisions. But, yeah, that’s not usually a huge part of it. Usually.
It’s worth watching this exchange in full:
There’s belief in the CB corps…full stop
The Commanders signed veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas earlier this month, but it wasn’t to fill a void. Peters didn’t see a deficiency in the group, only the possibility to add depth and experience to a premium position. He made that clear on Tuesday when asked about the Douglas addition.
“He started a lot of games recently, and he always performs,” Peters said. “So, when you have an opportunity to add to that room, it’s not a deficiency in the room at all. You just want to make each room as strong as it can be. So, getting him in, we’re really excited about that. And we just got a chance to meet him yesterday. He’s big, and he’s played a lot of good ball. We’re excited to have him.”
It’s clear the Commanders are confident in the cornerback room overall — Mike Sainristil and Amik Robertson were singled out as team leaders — with optimism that those players will fit well within Daronte Jones’ scheme.
“It’s actually a deep group, we feel, going into it,” Quinn said. “And so, I think kind of the secret sauce is, how do we fit in? Well, who’s going to play inside? Who’s going to play outside? How can we work through that? And I think that, in itself, is going to be some intrigue, and it’ll take a few weeks for us to get to that space.
Jayden Daniels’ ‘hunger’
Daniels is coming off a 2025 season where he missed 10 games and finished just four. That rough follow-up to a rookie-of-the-year campaign is in his rearview – he made that clear during the offseason program — and he’s ready to meld with David Blough’s new offense and return to regularly fine form.
That has been clear during the spring and into this summer’s camp.
“You felt his hunger from the beginning this offseason, with the way he went after it,” Quinn said. “Just his ability to understand this scheme that quickly, it’s not easy for anyone to do. He often makes the difficult things look easy, but … he absolutely has that.”
Commanders have big plans for Chig
It sure seems like the Commanders have big plans for new tight end Chig Okonkwo. The free-agent signing from Tennessee does a lot of things well, especially in the passing game. That’s prized in a scheme we expect David Blough to run.
That was clear hearing Peters talk about him on Tuesday evening, that Okonkwo’s presence will allow the Commanders to do some creative things.
“He’s an outstanding receiver. He’s outstanding in the pass game,” Peters said. “He’s great after the catch, you know, and he’s also a really good blocker . A good competitive blocker. He’s not the biggest tight end. He’s not [TE] John Bates, but we really love the way he competes as a blocker and how he executes there too.
“He’s got a really good skill set, but he does help us quite a bit in the pass game. So, he allows you to be a little bit more multiple. You know, you can go more two tight end sets; you can go one tight end set. It’s like you almost have four receivers on the field. He provides a lot of versatility in where he can line up and what he can do for us when he gets the ball in his hands. And then he’s pretty magical.”
Quinn confident in Nick Allegretti
Nick Allegretti seems set to play center for the Commanders this season despite most of his NFL experience coming at guard. There’s no trepidation handing Allegretti such a plumb assignment with tons of pre-snap responsibility. After hearing comments from Quinn, it was clear Washington was comfortable letting Tyler Biadasz walk.
“We’ve got a lot of faith and confidence in him,” Quinn said. “It’s another one of the positions that we do have competition that we’re going for. But, if Nick was playing on defense, he’d be a green dot. This is one of the smartest guys on our team now. Like, we talk about putting it under control, that’s part of playing center. And he has that targeting. ‘Who’s this? Where’s the protection going?’ We’ve got a lot of confidence in him. He is one hell of a competitor. And so, he’s one of those guys, man, you don’t bet against that.”
