Daily Slop – 28 Feb 24: Fans may be focused on the QB position, but Adam Peters is thinking about the entire roster

A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East and the NFL in general

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Front Office Sports

Commanders Tack on $35M to FedEx Field Renovation Budget

The Commanders are injecting an additional $35 million into their $40 million plan announced last fall to upgrade and improve 26-year-old FedEx Field, bringing the total renovation budget to roughly $75 million.

The upgrades include a new VIP fan tunnel, a new premium suite space (1932 Club) with new furniture and upgraded food and beverage options as well as new sound systems. There’s also a structural makeover planned ahead of this upcoming season, which includes installing new elevators, escalators and mechanical systems, along with other infrastructure and parking-related facelifts.

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ESPN

GM: Commanders haven’t decided yet whether to pick QB at No. 2

[Adam Peters] said he met recently with incumbent starter Sam Howell, taking a walk with him around the Commanders’ practice fields.

Commanders coach Dan Quinn, who faced Howell the past two years as Dallas’ defensive coordinator, later told reporters that he considered him “one hell of a competitor. We tried to hit him, to really put pressure on him. That was one thing I really admired about him coming up from North Carolina and through his two years here.”

Howell started 17 games for Washington this season, throwing 21 touchdowns and 21 interceptions as the Commanders finished 4-13. Howell threw for 3,946 yards — 12th most in the NFL.

The Commanders drafted him in the fifth round two years ago, but since then, Washington has changed its ownership, coaching staff and general manager.

Howell showed flashes during the season; through 10 games he threw for the most yards in the NFL — with 47 more pass attempts than any other quarterback — and was tied for fifth in touchdown passes with 17. He ranked 21st in QBR through Week 10. But in the final seven games, Howell managed just four touchdown passes and was intercepted 12 times. His QBR over that stretch ranked 29th in the NFL.

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Washington Post (paywall)

As Bears decide fate of No. 1 pick, Commanders scout the top QBs

Plus details on Washington’s plans for roster building, the growth of the salary cap and more

The fate of the No. 1 pick — and the Commanders’ chances of getting in the mix — will become clear in the next two weeks. Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles told reporters that if the Bears draft a quarterback, they won’t also keep Justin Fields. Poles said he would want to “do right by Justin,” which means trading him before the free agent negotiating period opens March 11, to maximize their return.

If the Bears prefer to keep Fields, they’ll stoke a bidding war for the top pick. Poles said he hasn’t had “big-time conversations” about the pick, but “everyone wants to take the temperature of what’s going on.”

Chicago’s decision will be important for Washington; the Commanders could move up for Southern California’s Caleb Williams, the presumptive No. 1 pick, or stay put and decide between LSU’s Jayden Daniels and North Carolina’s Drake Maye.

“You always want to be involved in [discussions for the top pick],” Peters said. “Whether you actually pull the trigger or not, that’s a different story.”

Washington is focused on interviews and medical information. Which is good because Williams, Maye and Daniels reportedly will not throw or work out for scouts until their pro days. The quarterbacks who do throw here will do so Saturday.

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The Athletic (paywall)

Commanders’ Adam Peters eyeing more than QBs at NFL combine: ‘We’re here for everything’

Washington’s needs include pass rushers, offensive linemen and cornerbacks. If the front office doesn’t find (or seek) immediate help with the team’s nine draft picks, including six in the top 102, holes can also be filled via free agency. Spending on free agents such as edge rushers Bryce Huff or Dorance Armstrong and guard Jonah Jackson can get expensive quickly, even for a team with roughly $67.7 million of effective salary-cap space, per Over the Cap. Taking a massive swing on a veteran quarterback (Kirk Cousins?) takes the spending to another level.

“You want to build (the roster) responsibly so it’s sustainable,” Peters said. “Spending on a bunch of high-level free agents, that’s probably better in the short term. But are you better in the long term? Maybe, maybe not.”

Following recent meetings with the staff, the coach sees an evaluator capable of not only identifying talent but also finding prospects who fit specific traits or desires. Peters’ “superpower is finding the players that the team needs,” Quinn said. “I’m so lit up to be able to work with him.”

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Commanders.com

Washington Commanders announce significant upgrades to stadium, bringing targeted investments to more than $75 million under new ownership

Fans will have the opportunity to enjoy new experiences throughout gameday, including a VIP field tunnel club where they can purchase access to cheer on the Commanders from feet away as the team takes the field, the 1932 Club – an entirely new premium suite space, upgraded furniture and carpeting in select premium areas, new terrace tables, and an upgraded USO lounge for our veterans and military members.

Throughout the stadium, the organization is improving food and beverage service, including new market concepts and drink lanes that will allow fans to get back to their seats more quickly. The team also is making a substantial investment to improve sound quality throughout the stadium. Additionally, thanks to a simpler, more efficient parking system and frictionless security entry points, fans will get to the tailgate and into the stadium at gametime much faster.

For more information or to purchase 1932 Club space, please click here. For more information about the field tunnel club or to purchase seats, please click here.

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Commanders.com

Five things to know about OL coach Bobby Johnson

When asked about why he decided to hire Johnson, Kingsbury cited Johnson’s entire resume as a reason why he makes for an ideal fit.

“He has been at a lot of great places,” Kingsbury said. “[He] Worked with some great of offenses there in Buffalo with Josh Allen and some of the creativity and the run game stuff they were doing and tempo and some different things that I really liked.”

Johnson worked with the Bills right as they were starting to turn into the team they are today. They had one of the best rushing attacks in 2019, accumulating 128.4 yards per game behind Devin Singletary and Frank Gore. They were a top 10 running team again in 2021, which helped them rank fifth in the league with 381.9 yards per game.

The Commanders intend to use a collaborative approach with formulating their offense, and Johnson is part of the discussions to create a scheme that best highlights the players on the roster. From what Kingsbury has heard, he has plenty of insight to offer.

“And so, from afar I liked how he handled himself, some of the stuff he did in the run game and then had got rave reviews from people I really trust in the profession and so did Dan. So, it worked out.”

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Podcasts & videos

Locked on Commanders: Washington Commanders Adam Peters and Dan Quinn Quarterback Conversation from NFL Scouting Combine

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Combine Day 1: Peters & Quinn talk; San Fran insider joins the show

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NFC East links

Bleeding Green Nation

The Eagles’ 2023 issues may be impossible to overcome in 2024

It would be a remarkable 180 if the Eagles turned things around next year.

After an article by Marcus Hayes in which two Eagles players told him the coaching staff played favorites last season, it’s hard to believe this was essentially the same team that almost beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl less than a year before.

If you were an offensive lineman — Jordan Mailata, Cam Jurgens, or Landon Dickerson — you got treated differently than if you were Jason Kelce or Lane Johnson. And heaven forbid you were a young defensive lineman, like Jordan Davis or Jalen Carter, who could do no right in the last two months, as opposed to Fletcher Cox or Brandon Graham, the former of whom disappeared in the latter part of the season and the latter of whom didn’t show up in the former part of the season.

At the time, this sounded like standard bellyaching from the proletariat — players unwilling to recognize the unspoken entitlement of $255 million quarterbacks and future Hall of Fame players. Now, though, as reports surface about deeper locker-room malignancy, these complaints, if not the root of the collapse, might at least have contributed to it.

So, let’s just recap what this team has reportedly gone through over the last 12 months.

• They lost a crushing Super Bowl to Kansas City.
• Both coordinators departed for other jobs, with Jonathan Gannon burning the team late in the process, denying them an opportunity to keep Vic Fangio around.
• Arguments on the sideline persisted even as the Eagles ran up a 10-1 record, reportedly the most miserable 10-1 team in NFL history.
• Sean Desai was stripped of his defensive coordinator duties for the inept Matt Patricia, creating havoc on the defensive side of the ball.
• Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown reportedly ignored coaches’ plays and improvised at the end of the Seattle game.
• Brown refused to speak with the media, then when he did, apologized to teammates for having to answer questions for him, but also telling teammates they need to “trust their coaches.”
• Craig Carton said, without proof or attribution, that something happened inside the locker room that was “irreparable,” (a report I don’t believe for a second but has predictably caused a ruckus nonetheless).
• Derrick Gunn reported the absence of Big Dom had the negative ramification of taking away Nick Sirianni’s voice of reason on the sidelines, resulting in Sirianni yelling at players and coaches on the sidelines in a way he hadn’t with Big Dom there.
• Gunn also reported Hurts was distracted over the summer as his contract negotiations intensified and more was required of his time in terms of obligations off the field. I’ve been saying this for months, by the way, albeit with no insider information whatsoever. Sometimes, things are just common sense.
• The team lost six of its last seven games and has since seen Sirianni forced to accept a new offensive and defensive coordinator, as well as multiple other positional coaches to his staff.

Those aren’t just headwinds, folks. Those are sandstorms.

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Big Blue View

Daniel Jones ‘on track’, but Giants’ GM Joe Schoen not ruling out drafting a QB

GM says quarterback has advanced to stationary throwing, should be ready for training camp

“I have faith in Daniel. I have faith in Daniel as our starting quarterback,” Schoen said.

Five years of mixed results have soured many in the fan base on the idea that Jones can ever justify having been the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Two years of working with him, though, and Schoen still at least says he believes he can build a Super Bowl-winning team around Jones.

“Yeah. That’s the ultimate goal for everybody is to win a Super Bowl. So we want to win a Super Bowl,” Schoen said. “It’s not one position. You’ve got to build a good team, you’ve got to have surrounding parts. There’s a lot of good quarterbacks that haven’t won Super Bowls, so you’ve got to have a good team.

“So it’s not just the quarterback position. You’ve got to continue to build the team around the quarterback, and it’s an important position. I think you have to build the pieces around him.”

Schoen said that Jones was “fighting an uphill battle” because of some of the things that happened to the Giants early in the 2023 season.

Schoen said that Jones “understands that we’re going to need to add a quarterback.”

There are three quarterbacks generally considered the top group in this draft class — Caleb Williams of USC, Drake Maye of North Carolina and Jayden Daniels of LSU. Schoen was asked about the possibility of moving up from No. 6 to No. 3, where some believe the New England Patriots might be amenable to moving down, without knowing which of those quarterbacks would be available to the Giants in that spot.

“I think at that position, and I said it last year, it’s a different stratosphere. You gotta get around these kids and you gotta get to know ‘em. And until you’re able to do that, it’s hard to make those type of moves,” Schoen said.

“So again, this is the start, there’s a lot of these prospects for the first time we’re gonna get around ‘em and we’re looking forward to it. But, free agency will set the table for some of the decisions we make in the draft.”

Schoen said moving up would be “hard to do until you’re on the clock.”

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NFL league links

Articles

Deadspin

What the hell is wrong with Sean Payton?

The Broncos coach continues to badmouth Russell Wilson as if the QB is already on another team. Newsflash: He is not

Russell Wilson is still on the Denver Broncos’ roster. There is nothing the Denver coach can say to make that $85 million in dead salary go away. The NFL salary cap for the 2024 season will be $255.4 million. That dead money would account for a third of their cap space, and the best that they can do to ease the hit is to spread it out over two seasons.

The Broncos are already nearly $11 million over the cap, so it would be best for the franchise if Payton would try to repair his fractured relationship with Wilson. Instead, on Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine, he spoke as if the Broncos had already moved on from their highly paid QB.

Payton told the media about a meme that he saw. It was a Broncos fan wearing a shirt with eight quarterback names that had a line through them — for the record they have started 13 different QBs since Peyton Manning retired. The fan was “drinking the quarterback Kool-Aid.”

“Our job is to make sure that this next one doesn’t have a line through it,” Payton said to the media.

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Barstool Sports

Raheem Morris’s First Act As Falcons Head Coach Was To Rightfully Bury Desmond Ridder

Yes! Drag him!

It’s such a breath of fresh air to have a head coach willing to admit that Desmond Ridder sucks. That should be the bare minimum as it’s self-evident, but it’s more than the last guy would do, so it’s a good starting point. I think the biggest indictment on Arthur Smith is that his successor has done more than he had just by admitting the quarterback with 12 TD and 12 INT last season was, in fact, trash.

Obviously Morris and Terry Fontenot now have to go find a quarterback who doesn’t suck — a decidedly more difficult task than trashing Ridder — but I oddly have more faith in that happening after hearing this comment. “This guy knows quarterback play,” I tell myself after an NFL head coach acknowledges the worst QB in the League wasn’t getting it done.

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