The Daily Slop – 2 August 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
Commanders training camp: Jayden Daniels turns 2025 injuries into gratitude
In a WUSA9 one-on-one, Jayden Daniels said his injury-filled 2025 season taught him gratitude as he builds chemistry at Commanders training camp
In some ways, it’s easy to lead a group of guys who genuinely want to be part of something bigger than themselves as individuals.
But convincing them you’re the one worth following is the hard part.
One of the main reasons, if not ‘the’ main reason, tight end Chig Okonkwo chose to come to Washington as a free agent was for the opportunity to play with Daniels. The tight end is not a wide receiver by label, but his potential to have a major impact on the team’s passing game is well established to the point where he may become the team’s second receiver in a lot of ways.
To that end, Daniels describes his new tight end as the type of player who “when the game’s on the line, (he’s) like, ‘Hey, 5, throw me the ball. You can trust me. I’ll go make a play.’”
“You just want that dog mentality, not just from me and Terry or (left tackle Laremy Tunsil), other guys, but just from the whole offense.”
As those of us outside the organization continue to search for evidence of a true No. 2 wide receiver, however, “I commend Treylon Burks for what he’s done and the stuff that he’s battled throughout his career to get to this point,” Daniels said.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Washington Post (paywall)
Five takeaways from Week 1 of Commanders training camp
Nickelback looks to be a rotational spot
The Commanders focused on red-zone drills during team periods in practice this week, so the defense typically lined up in a base formation, but they still frequently mixed in their nickel package. While Mike Sainristil took most of the nickelback snaps, it’s clear he won’t be the only player to spend significant time there.
Safeties Nick Cross and Quan Martin also rotated in as slot defenders. While using a bigger nickel can be detrimental in man coverage, it allows Washington to keep more run support and blitz ability on the field.
The plan for the snap breakdown at nickelback will become clearer once Amos returns from injury. He’s expected to be a starter on the outside while Sainristil, Amik Robertson, Ahkello Witherspoon and Rasul Douglas are competing for the other spot. Sainristil, Robertson and Douglas have all spent time working from the slot, and they could take on larger workloads there if they don’t win the job on the outside.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Last Man Standig (paywall)
Legends, injuries and big-man catches highlight Commanders camp practice: The Daily Install
Better day for the receivers as well. Van Jefferson and Jaylin Lane were active pass catchers in 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills. I remain bullish on the sure-handed Jefferson’s opportunity, but he’ll have to show high rotation worthiness to make the 53. Dyami Brown and Marcus Mariota connected down the field.
Kicker scoreboard: Jake Moody made all eight field-goal attempts from various distances. UDFA Drew Stevens finished 7 of 9, with misses from 45-48 yards. He also connected from 50-plus, as did Moody.
Dan Quinn opened practice by having the offense run a play from the opponent’s 30 before sending out the field-goal unit. The attempts were all from 40-plus yards. Moody went 3 for 3. Stevens finished 2 for 3. During the standard six-kick session, Moody remained perfect while Stevens went 5 for 6.
TE Lawrence Cager absolutely looks the part of an NFL tight end. With Bates sidelined, Cager used his extra reps to demonstrate his pass-catching ability. Whether he can beat out Yankoff for the TE4 spot remains one of the more interesting camp battles.
For more from Ben Standig, click here
Bullock’s Film Room (this story can be read in full free of charge)
Rounding up and breaking down some clips from the first few days of Commanders training camp
As you’ll likely know, I’m not a beat reporter and I live in Europe, so I’m not at these practices. If you’re looking for a report of everything going on at each practice, I suggest following the main beat reporters like Ben Standig, John Keim, Nicki Jhabvala and J.P Finlay, among others. All I can go off of is clips that get posted on social media. Unfortunately, the Commanders are annoying strict about what gets posted and shared online. So while teams like the Ravens are live streaming their training camp practices and seemingly every play from the Cardinals training camp gets posted online, Commanders fans get very little.
But after the first few practices, I’ve finally found enough clips to put together a post that is hopefully worth reading. So here is a few breakdowns of some plays from Commanders training camp that I was able to find online.
Another clip that stood out on the opening day came from Washington Informer reporter Skylar Nelson.
Rookie receiver Antonio Williams lines up in the slot and runs what appears to be a choice out, otherwise known as a C.O. It’s a route that is designed to look like a choice route with the release and build up to the break, but the route is always designed to break outside, instead of having the actual choice to break inside or outside. Choice routes and the routes that work off of them are likely to be a significant part of this offense, so this rep is worth looking at in detail.
I wrote after the draft how Williams could be in contention for the Amon-Ra St.Brown role in this offense. Being able to set up and execute choice routes and the group of routes in that tree is critical to playing that role effectively. Obviously it’d be great to see it against a defender rather than just on air, but you can see that the movement skills to run these types of routes are there.
To read more of this 700-word article, CLICK HERE
Commanders.com
Training camp notebook | Treylon Burks returns to practice for ‘Back Together Saturday’
Jeremy McNichols continues to show that he can make plays, despite being on the older side for a running back. He had a pair of nice runs to the outside during team drills, beating a few defenders to the sideline for a decent gain. McNichols has managed to stick around because he runs hard and knows how to pick up third downs in the passing game. It’s still unclear what the depth chart is going to look like at the position, but McNichols is continuously proving why he needs to be part of the rotation.
The receiver room is not perfect, but there have been moments where it’s easier to see why the Commanders like the options they have at the position. Burks has stood out at times with his size and ability to make contested catches; Daniels clearly trusts Dyami Brown and his abilities downfield; and Van Jefferson has managed to create separation with his route running ability. There’s always a chance for them to add another player, and the current bunch needs to prove themselves, but the depth is at least better than it was a year ago.
We had another interception today. This time, it was Qwuantrezz Knight who jumped in front of a pass from Athan Kaliakmanis. Knight is a player at the bottom of the roster looking to stand out. He’s a 2022 undrafted free agent who has bounced around multiple practice squads in the last four seasons. He’s not a roster lock, but plays like that could help him land a spot on Washington’s practice squad after roster cuts.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
ESPN
Latest news from Commanders camp
Saturday, August 1
Sinnott had a mixed day with two drops — one coming on a perfect pass from Jayden Daniels into a narrow window. But Sinnott also made multiple catches.
One area Daniels has excelled at: getting through his progression in time so if he dumps the ball to his checkdown, that player has room to run. It happened again today with running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt.
Linebacker Sonny Styles showed his length and speed. He broke up one pass in zone, using his long arms to close on the ball. Another time he flashed to the area where the ball was thrown. Had there been live hitting, he would have hit the target as the ball arrived.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Commanders.com
3 standouts from Week 1 of Commanders training camp
Treylon Burks
It’s clear, however, that Burks is right in the middle of the battle for the No. 2 spot in Washington’s receiver room. If he can continue to put together consistently strong practices, there’s reason to be excited about his potential in the new offense.
Rasul Douglas
He seems to be a good personality fit for the Commanders’ secondary, and he’s already gotten an interception in practice, taking a pass from Marcus Mariota all the way back for a score in two-minute drills. He also seems to be a good fit for Washington’s new scheme; he’s been a solid zone cover corner, and the Commanders will likely run a lot of that in Daronte Jones’ new defense.
Douglas is one of the most physically imposing players on the roster and one of the most experienced with 135 games played in nine seasons. The Commanders like their other options at cornerback, but Douglas’ combination of size, experience and knack for creating turnovers (he has 21 interceptions in his career) was something the Commanders didn’t have at the position.
It’s unclear yet where he fits on the depth chart, but it’s apparent that he will be a key contributor to their success.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Pro Football Focus
Tackle Rankings: The top 32 players ahead of the 2026 NFL season
9. Laremy Tunsil, Washington Commanders
Little went right for the Commanders in 2025, but Tunsil played to the best of his ability protecting the blind side last season. Over 14 appearances, Tunsil gave up just 15 pressures, including two sacks, while registering an excellent 88.9 PFF pass-blocking grade. He also recorded a career-high 75.3 PFF run-blocking grade. Tunsil has played at an incredibly strong level for the majority of his career, and that shouldn’t change in 2026.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Pro Football Focus
Wide Receiver Rankings: The top 32 players ahead of the 2026 NFL season
13. Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders
McLaurin’s 2025 season was disrupted by injuries, ending his streak of five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. Even so, he earned a career-high 87.0 PFF receiving grade despite playing just three games with star quarterback Jayden Daniels. Assuming both stay healthy, McLaurin and Daniels have shown they can form one of the NFL’s most dynamic quarterback-receiver duos.
17. Stefon Diggs, Free Agent
Coming off an ACL tear that ended his 2024 season, Diggs proved during his lone season in New England that he can still be a valuable contributor on a championship contender. He recorded his seventh career 1,000-yard season. During the regular season, he ranked seventh among qualified wide receivers in yards per route run (2.42) and PFF receiving grade (87.5). He would significantly improve most receiving corps around the league
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
NFL.com
Best NFL team fits for notable remaining free agents: Stefon Diggs to NFC East?
Stefon Diggs WR – Washington Commanders
Gregg Rosenthal 101 ranking: No. 55
Cleared of any NFL discipline and touting himself as the best WR2 in all the land, Diggs would seem to be a fit for every wide receiver-needy squad, of which there are an abundance. Diggs has done well with young QBs on the rise — Josh Allen and Drake Maye — and Jayden Daniels badly needs a reliable second option opposite Terry McLaurin. Diggs is a Maryland native who played in high school and college there, and Washington general manger Adam Peters loves signing veterans to one-year deals.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
From Hogs Haven:
Stefon has primarily become a slot/intermediate player at this point in his career and only played around 55% of the Patriots offensive snaps last season. He was still heavily targeted whenever he was on the field, ending up with a whopping 102 targets for a part-time player. David Blough already has several slot options there, including Antonio Williams, but beat writer David Harrison believes there is room for both to co-exist.
Full Command had an interesting clip that is posted below detailing an example of how Diggs could fit besides McLaurin and Williams. With the first few days of camp in the books, would you sign Diggs to an appropriate contract?
Hogs Haven
John Riggins joins Commanders preseason broadcast team
Legendary running back John Riggins was at Commanders training camp on Saturday for the summer’s first practice in front of fans. He wasn’t just there to shake hands and pose for pictures.
The team also announced that Riggins — who will have his number retired later this year — would join the team’s preseason’s broadcasts as a color analyst and be a contributor to their podcast offerings.
The preseason broadcast team will now feature Dan Hellie (play-by-play), Brian Mitchell (color analyst), Riggins (color analyst) and Bryan Colbert (sideline reporter).
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Photos
Commanders.com
PHOTOS | Commanders take the field for ‘Back Together Saturday’
Fans were in attendance at training camp for the first time this year as the Commanders continued their work on the field. Check out the top photos from the morning.
Podcasts & videos
WHAT I SAW | Washington Commanders TRAINING CAMP REVIEW! Jayden Daniels and Co. SHARP?
NFC East links
Blogging the Boys
Jerry Jones offered surprising update on curtains at Cowboys games
Jerry spoke to Mike Doocy on Saturday and said that the Cowboys were giving a thought to tinting the windows the way that FIFA did for the World Cup matches that the building hosted this summer (you know, the ones at “Dallas Stadium”). It is worth noting that the afternoon sun and the impact it has on the building is different in June than October, but the point is/was that FIFA did not take a chance that the play on the field would be compromised.
Obviously Jerry saying that the Cowboys were simply thinking about this is not the same thing as legitimate action being taken; however, anyone who has followed the team and this storyline for some time knows that Jerry has historically completely shut down any talk of this kind. That he is even remotely open to some sort of change feels worth talking about at the very least.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Big Blue View
The good and the bad of the first four days of training camp
Arvell Reese/Tremaine Edmunds — When the Giants drafted Reese No. 5 overall, they were excited about how the size and athleticism of the duo of inside linebackers could impact the passing game in the middle of the field. We have seen that manifest over the first four practices with interceptions, batted passes, and with Jaxson Dart carefully trying to float passes over them.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Bleeding Green Nation
Eagles training camp Day 3 injury report
Unfortunately, there were also several injuries during practice:
- Rookie OLB Keyshawn James-Newby was injured during team drills and ended up being carted to the medical tent.
- Rookie OL Micah Morris also left practice early and was evaluated in the medical tent.
- Rookie OG Jaeden Roberts was unable to put any weight on his left leg after suffering an injury during the last play of the developmental period, and had to be carted inside.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
NFL league links
Articles
The Athletic (paywall)
Owner Jimmy Haslam on Browns 2026 win total: ‘Take the over’
“I think the odds (on the season win total) are for us to win 5 1/2 games,” Haslam said. “I’d take the over.”
The Browns’ full training camp opened Wednesday, and most of the external focus is on the quarterback competition between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders. The Browns acquired 25-year-old defensive end Jared Verse and three future draft picks, including a 2027 first-rounder, from the Los Angeles Rams in the Garrett trade, and the long-term winner of the quarterback job might not arrive in Cleveland until next April via the 2027 NFL Draft.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
aBit o’Twitter
