The Washington Commanders will finally begin training camp on Wednesday. But before the 2026 Commanders take the field, general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn met with the media to preview camp.
Here are five takeaways from Peters and Quinn's media session.
They aren't worried about cornerback
Three positions stood out as concerns heading into training camp: cornerback, wide receiver and center. Peters and Quinn addressed each position, but Quinn is seemingly very confident in Washington's cornerback room.
"It's actually a deep group that 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. So much of seeing different looks, different plays, it'll take us a minute to go. Take some time."
The Commanders feel much better about their cornerback depth after signing veteran Rasul Douglas. Now, Washington appears set to go into the season with a top five of Mike Sainristil, Trey Amos, Amik Robertson, Ahkello Witherspoon and Douglas, barring any training camp surprises. Amos will begin camp on the PUP list, but shouldn't be out long.
From the sounds of it, we shouldn't expect any more signings here.
Sonny Styles on track to wear the green dot
The Commanders have downplayed who will wear the green dot on defense. They know it's important, but they haven't seemed worried about it. Whoever it is has big shoes to fill. Future Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner wore the green dot the past two seasons. Quinn spoke of Wagner's impact on Tuesday. The Commanders believe rookie first-round pick Sonny Styles is the future at the position. He has a rare combination of size, athleticism, football IQ, character and leadership. While Quinn did not say Styles will wear the green dot, he sounds confident.
"Sonny's more than capable of doing that," Quinn said. He then made sure to add Frankie Luvu is also under consideration.
"Frankie as well. It's been nice to see, you know, this version of Frankie with Sonny. And we were talking about Wags earlier, where it was so nice for Frankie to see Bobby, and now you see it in another way. And he's got great practice habits, but learning how that command is, that's part of playing the position."
Quinn made sure to note that whoever wears the green dot will be a linebacker, but no decision has been made yet. Luvu and Styles wore the green dot in some of Washington's offseason practices.
Expect big things from TE Chig Okonkwo
When Washington signed Chig Okonkwo to a three-year deal to replace Zach Ertz at tight end, you knew he was an important offseason acquisition. Ertz is a borderline future Hall of Famer, but he offered nothing after the catch at this point in his career. Okonkwo is dynamic after the catch. So while outsiders are worried about whether Jayden Daniels has enough offensive weapons outside of Terry McLaurin, they are forgetting Okonkwo. Peters couldn't contain his excitement about Okonkwo.
"He's an outstanding receiver," Peters said. "He's outstanding in the pass game. 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 really love the way he competes as a blocker and how he executes there too. So, 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 sets. It's like you almost have four receivers on the field."
Notice that last? The Commanders see Okonkwo as a big receiver. Okonkwo could be in store for a breakout season.
They appreciate Terry McLaurin
Remember this time one year ago? Terry McLaurin held out at the start of training camp as he was in the middle of contentious negotiations with the Commanders on a contract extension. There were concerns that such a longstanding and positive relationship had been damaged. McLaurin is the consummate professional and has been Washington's No. 1 receiver since 2019. After signing a three-year extension before last season, McLaurin was injured and missed several games for the first time in his NFL career.
Heading into 2026, he is motivated and has a lot to prove. Peters spoke of those negotiations with McLaurin last offseason and regretted how it played out. They never stopped believing in McLaurin as a player, person, and leader. This offseason, Washington has leaned on McLaurin to help develop some of the team's younger receivers. He hasn't disappointed.
"His leadership has been fantastic throughout the offseason, carrying the young guys along and teaching them and coaching them and being that type of guy in the room," Peters said.
The Commanders realize they are fortunate to still have McLaurin.
Peters believes new offense is better for Jayden Daniels
Remember back in January, before the 2025 season ended, there were reports of friction between Peters and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. Shortly after the season, the Commanders and Kingsbury mutually agreed to part ways. The reported friction between Peters and Kingsbury wasn't personal. It was philosophical. Whether it was true or not, the Commanders as a whole did not feel Kingsbury's offense was a good long-term fit for Daniels and his development.
That's why Washington promoted David Blough to be the new offensive coordinator. Blough plans to run a similar offense to the one Ben Johnson runs with the Bears. Blough played for Johnson in Detroit. That means a more traditional running game, more play action, more pre-snap movement, etc. Peters believes it's a more "quarterback-friendly" scheme for Daniels.
"Offensively, we're going to be more multiple," Peters said. "We have a lot of different personnel groupings and a lot of different ways to attack you. I think it really, it's more quarterback-friendly in a way, and I think that'll really help Jayden. Like I said earlier, he doesn't have to always make a play. We're going to try to scheme up things and have answers, so he doesn't always have to make a play."
Those words are telling. They're not personal, but you can tell that Washington was beyond ready to move on from Kingsbury's fast-break offense.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: 5 takeaways from Commanders' pre-training camp press conference
