Former Washington running back/special-teams ace Brian Mitchell has never been afraid to share his opinion. Since his 14-year NFL career ended, Mitchell has worked in the local Washington media and is currently the co-host of “BMitch & Finlay” on 106.7 The Fan in D.C.
Mitchell raised some eyebrows earlier this month when watching Commanders’ training camp. Mitchell was critical of a player or small group of players without naming names. He didn’t name names, but many believed Mitchell was referring to wide receiver Jahan Dotson.
The 2022 first-round pick led Washington with seven touchdowns in 2022 but regressed in 2023, with just 49 receptions and 518 receiving yards.
However, Dotson would need to prove himself with a new general manager and coaching staff. That could be good or bad.
In Dotson’s case, it was clear after the first preseason game that things weren’t going well with the regime, which Mitchell astutely pointed out.
On Thursday, the Commanders traded Dotson to the Philadelphia Eagles. Trading a former first-round pick isn’t exactly a shocker, but trading one within the division raised some eyebrows.
Mitchell joined “Ike, Spike, and Fritz” on Philadelphia’s WIP FM to discuss the trade. Mitchell, as always, was honest in his assessment of Dotson.
“Well, he’s a young man who showed in his rookie season that he can actually play some football,” Mitchell said via Andrew Porter of Audacy.
“But last year he didn’t have a good year, and then this year he lost some of his confidence. He said it to several reporters that, you know, ‘I got to get my confidence back.’ You know me Ike, I’m a person who I believe in hard nose football players. I believe in competitive people. You can’t be mentally weak. And in this camp, I didn’t see him competing like I should see him competing. I saw him moping a little bit. I made a comment last week or so and I said, ‘You’ve got people out there acting like they supposed to be given a job and their body language is off.’ He was one of the people I was talking about.”
There you have it. Mitchell was referring to Dotson. Dotson’s extended playing time in the first preseason game and Mitchell’s comments based on what he was seeing at camp led many to wonder what Dotson’s future in Washington would look like.
Mitchell had more to say about Dotson.
“If you’re not going to compete I don’t think you’re going to fit in Dan Quinn’s system. Now he’s in Philadelphia. I know one thing, he better get his mental toughness ready because if he’s not mentally tough up there if he’s not playing well, they going to let him know about it.”
Mitchell knows all about playing in Washington and Philadelphia. He played 10 seasons in Washington, followed by three in Philadelphia and one in New York. Mitchell understands challenging media markets and fan bases.
Perhaps a chance in scenery will do Dotson well. He goes to Philadelphia without the weight of being the team’s first-round pick and slots in as the No. 3 receiver, which probably suits him best.
Regardless of what one thinks of the trade, it’s clear that general manager Adam Peters and Quinn are putting their stamp on the team. If you buy in, you could be around for a while. If not, well, Peters has shown he’s not afraid to move in another direction.