Category: 2022 Training Camp

Washington’s OC with high praise for Wentz: ‘Carson has been outstanding’

Scott Turner has high praise for quarterback Carson Wentz.

There are a lot of narratives surrounding Washington Commanders quarterback Carson Wentz. Team captains Terry McLaurin and Jonathan Allen have already questioned those narratives. Now, Washington offensive coordinator Scott Turner is the latest to heap praise on Wentz.

After Tuesday’s practice, Turner spoke with the media, and the first question he received was about his quarterback.

“Carson has been outstanding,” Turner said of Wentz. “He’s an outstanding communicator. We’ve had great back and forth. It’s important to him; obviously, football’s important to him. Just going back, starting even in the offseason, he dove right in to learn our offense and learn what we do. Got to know his teammates.”

There was a lot of criticism aimed at Wentz over the first two weeks of training camp, with many questioning his accuracy during practice. According to Commanders team president Jason Wright, one reporter took it too far with his line of questioning. However, Wentz has handled every situation with class, something Wright alluded to in a tweet defending his quarterback.

Wentz made his Washington debut Saturday against the Carolina Panthers, completing 10 of 13 passes for 74 yards. Wentz didn’t have any highlight-reel plays — good or bad. And for Washington coaches, that was precisely what they wanted to see.

Turner believes the best is yet to come for Wentz and Washington’s offense.

“Every day, you can see that comfort level of his increasing,” Turner said. “I’ve been really pleased with that. And the work he’s done with his teammates, getting to know them, just getting a feel for how they play the guys he’s throwing the ball to. I just feel like he’s getting comfortable, and in turn, we’re getting better.”

The Commanders are back in action Saturday when they travel to Kansas City to face Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Washington will be looking for continued growth from Wentz in his second start.

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Commanders J.D. McKissic feels great to be back playing

J.D. McKissic is happy to be back healthy and understands his role for the Commanders.

J.D. McKissic is back and feels great about being with the Commanders.

After injuring his neck against Seattle on MNF on November 29, McKissic was out the remaining six games of the season. Washington proceeded to go 2-4 in those final six games.

“I was very excited to get back out there again and to actually make a play too, said McKissic to the media Tuesday. “It felt great.”

Being healthy and back again is not enough for the seven-year veteran. He is pushing himself. “Just be better. Make guys miss, get freaky with the ball basically, and just be better than what I was the last two years.”

Commenting on his reception Saturday against the Panthers, “…The O-line blocked it up great, and Carson [Wentz] made a great pass. It was easy. But just to stand up and feel good about it, I’m blessed. God took care of me through the whole thing (neck injury) and finally get a chance to get on the field again. It was a lot of excitement.”

Entering his third season in Washington, McKissic is supportive of Antonio Gibson. “Antonio is a motivated young man. It happens; sometimes they get the ball out. It was a crazy play. The defender made a great play. But he’s focused; he came back in the game, he came back in and ran extremely hard.”

He likes what he sees in rookie RB Brian Robinson, “He went to Alabama, he’s prepared well. He can run the football; that’s what he does. He got out and showed that. We’re excited about it. He did a fantastic job.”

A former receiver at Arkansas State, McKissic has had to make adjustments to running back. He was with Atlanta, Seattle and Detroit prior to Washington. “I was a receiver. But I was moved to a running back, so it was very hard, and I got the chance to keep getting better at it now that I’m here.”

On his fourth NFL team, McKissic likes what he sees in Carson Wentz. “He’s a great QB. We just talked about it. I’m trying to remind guys that he was an MVP candidate that year when they went to the Super Bowl. So, we’re excited about him. He looks great, and he’s doing great.”

In working against the defense every day, “Jamin (Davis) looks good. He’s flying around; he’s block shedding. When those guys go up against me, they, you know, they take it upon themselves to do the best they can. I got to kind of remind myself to not let them win sometimes. Cause once they win, I got to hear it.”

Of course, players want the ball more often, but McKissic now age 29, is accepting his role. “I’m a team player…  And I’m gonna be there when my number is called, that’s how my job has been my whole life. When my number is called, I’m ready to make the play. And that’s how we all got to do. You got to be happy for the next man and go eat, you know? It’s third down. If, my number is called, hey, let’s go.”

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WATCH: Commanders’ CB Danny Johnson’s one-handed interception in practice

Washington cornerback Danny Johnson with an impressive interception during Tuesday’s practice.

The Washington Commanders were back in pads for another competitive practice on Tuesday. It was a good day for some receivers, such as Jahan Dotson and Terry McLaurin, but overall, it was another impressive effort by Washington’s defense.

And one of the most impressive plays in camp occurred on Tuesday when cornerback Danny Johnson went up high for a one-handed interception on a pass intended for wide receiver Dax Milne during red-zone drills.

Check it out:

Washington’s top three cornerbacks spots are locked up with Kendall Fuller, Benjamin St-Juste and William Jackson III. Johnson appears to have the fourth spot locked up.

Entering his fifth season in the NFL — all with Washington — Johnson is coming off his best season as a pro in 2021.

The Commanders face the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2 of the preseason on Saturday.

Commanders Updates from Tuesday’s practice and roster Moves

Lots of news and notes from Commanders’ training camp on Tuesday.

Tuesday’s Washington Commanders news provided some raised eyebrows.

Washington head coach Ron Rivera was not pleased with some aspects of Tuesday’s practice. Per John Keim, Rivera had players take a knee on a side field, talking to them for five to six minutes. Following practice, when Keim asked Rivera about it, he would only say he was not happy with some things.

It would not be surprising to find running backs Jaret Patterson, Jonathan Williams or Brian Robinson Jr taking some reps in punt coverage as the protection back. But Antonio Gibson? That certainly grabbed everyone’s attention. Will Saturday’s fumble impact Gibson’s status?

Washington made some roster moves getting down to the NFL 85-man limit for August 16. Troy Apke a fourth-round pick in 2018 (Penn State) was limited to only special teams duty in 2021, making him expendable. Also, tight end Sammis Reyes was placed on the Reserve/Injured list.

Wes Schweitzer (guard/center) injured a hip Tuesday. Schweitzer is a strong beast and coaches would certainly like to keep him healthy along the offensive line, especially with his experience and versatility to play all three inside positions.

Rookie guard Chris Paul (Tulsa) performed well at times Saturday. Rivera even described him as “stout” following Saturday’s game. With Schweitzer going down, it was Paul who took his place Tuesday and reportedly performed admirably.

Jamin Davis pleased running backs coach Randy Jordan with his coverage against J.D. McKissic. Davis disappointed in his rookie season (2021), but Jordan liked what he saw Tuesday from Davis, verbalized it to Davis, and slapped hands as well with Davis on the play.

Citing Keim again, he stated for this defense to step up in 2022, Davis is one player who will “need to get it.” Keim reported Davis did make three consecutive plays Tuesday that were encouraging, pointing to his improvement thus far in camp.

Scott Turner called plays from the sideline Saturday, providing more effective communication with his quarterbacks, and apparently will continue the new approach this season. Offensive assistant Jim Hostler who was with Rivera and Turner in Carolina and came to Washington in 2020 moves to the booth this season.

Cornerback Danny Johnson made a stellar interception in the red zone while covering wide receiver Dax Milne. Taylor Heinicke passed toward Milne but Johnson reaching up with one arm, picked off the pass, and took off down the field.

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Commanders Wes Schweitzer works on the field and the rocks

Wes Schweitzer is one of Washington’s most valuable players. He explains his unique offseason training.

Wes Schweitzer rocks!

The Washington Commanders guard/center really does rock in the weight room. Some may recall a tweet displaying Schweitzer setting a personal best.

But Schweitzer in talking with the media following Monday’s practice, expressed he really loves the rocks, rock climbing that is.

“I was lucky enough to meet a certain trainer and he kind of trains outside the box,” Schweitzer said. “Austin Einhorn, he’s in Santa Cruz, California. Basically, my first couple years I felt super weak. I was one of the strongest people in the weight room, but I had a lot of injuries, hyperextended elbows. And he’s like, ‘Hey, like, why don’t you try some climbing holes, like try some different stuff.'”

Sure enough, the different types of strength training helped Schweitzer immediately. “Literally in five minutes, I felt pain-free, you know, after I’ve been in pain, lots of pain for months. And so it kind of opened my eyes. Okay, maybe there’s something to this.  I went to a gym, I gained 15 pounds of muscle, just starting to climb and it changed my game. So now I could play three spots and feel strong and confident. So, it’s made a huge impact on my career.”

With starting center Chase Roullier recovering from his surgery from his fractured fibula against Denver in the 2021 season, Schweitzer is getting work at center. He is also getting work at guard, as the Commanders must replace both 2021 starting guards Brandon Scherff and Ereck Flowers. “It’s gone well. In my career I have had 57 starts, 56 are at guard. So to be able to spend a lot of time at center, it’s good for me to get some time in a camp and practice so we can prepare in the season, to be ready to play that spot.”

Entering his sixth NFL season, Schweitzer is not saying it is easy playing multiple positions. “I think it’s very difficult. I mean, you can look at rosters along the league, like how many people can start at all three interior spots and do well. So the Carolina game last year, I’d never started a game at center I’m in the game playing. We played well, and we won the game, you know? So I take a lot of pride in that. I don’t know if there’s anyone that could do that at all three spots, so I took a lot of pride in that.”

Practicing against Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne helps Schweitzer as well. “He’s (Allen) relentless, and he’s a guy that you love to practice against because when I play against him, every day in practice, I got to bring my best. There’s not a day I can just show up and hope to do well, but that makes me better. And hopefully, I’m making him better, but we’re both trying to play at our best every single day.

When asked about rookie defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis, he replied, “He’s a big, strong guy. He’s a young guy. He tries hard every day; that’s what you want. You don’t want people who are high draft picks to show up and just expect they’re going to make it. I like his attitude. I like his work ethic.”

If Schweitzer has a good year, you can bet he will continue on the rocks.
“I’m constantly doing this all the time (grip strength, grip positions). “Rock climbing is that, but in really hard positions. So it has a huge transfer. It’s unbelievable what it’s done for me.”

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Phidarian Mathis learning in the NFL and the DMV

Phidarian Mathis has the right attitude about working hard and waiting his turn.

Phidarian Mathis is glad to be a Washington Commander.

The rookie from Alabama enjoyed his first training camp. “It was very exciting to be out there with the guys. It was a dream come true for me. It was amazing just being out there with my defensive linemen and just playing the game that I love.”

Admittedly, there was some surprise the first preseason game.
“The game is fast. That’s something that was very surprising to me. Just going into the game I knew it was going to be fast, but to get to actually see it. That was one of the things that I felt the difference from college ball.”

Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen are being good models for Mathis. “I’m just really learning how to be a pro. Just watching how those guys come to practice, how they work hard, how they take the game seriously, just watching their leadership, just falling in line, being right behind those guys, and just trying to learn from them every day.”

Mathis realizes it will take time to be a starter. “I’m not a selfish guy, I had to wait my time in Alabama. I was there five years, so I understand what it means to wait. But you can’t look at it like that. You got to look at it like, just come to practice, get better every day, and just be ready when your time comes.”

Phidarian and his family had to be informed on what the DMV means.
“Yeah, they are all caught up. I’m from the country, so nobody knows too much about the DMV. So I had to learn it myself, but everybody is on track now.”

The rookie enjoys watching the film of former ‘Bama defensive linemen now in the NFL. “We got so many guys in the NFL that I can lean on, especially defensive tackle-wise. I got Jon (Allen) and Payne (Daron) here. I got Quinnen Williams (Jets) and  (Christian) Barmore (Patriots). There are so many guys I can name. Just really watching their film and just seeing how they do things.”

There is one thing Mathis really enjoys about NFL training camp.
“Not going to school. You get to just play football. You can be around football all day. I think that’s kind of the (most fun) thing, just coming out here, playing football, knowing that you don’t have to stay up late to study for a test, or anything like that.”

 

Predicting Commanders’ first 5 cuts ahead of Tuesday’s deadline

The Commanders have to trim their roster to 85 players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. These 5 players could be their first cuts of the summer.

The first preseason game is in the books, and that means it’s decision time for all 32 NFL teams. Per the NFL rules, every team must cut five players by Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET to trim their roster from 90 players down to 85.

The Washington Commanders opened the preseason with a 23-21 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Several young Commanders made their NFL debuts in the loss, including rookie quarterback Sam Howell, who almost led Washington to a comeback win.

With multiple injuries in training camp, there will be tough decisions to make for head coach Ron Rivera and general manager Martin Mayhew.

Here are five players we predict the Commanders to release ahead of the first cut deadline.

Commanders kicker Joey Slye’s confidence is growing

Joey Slye is ready to be Washington’s long-term kicker.

Joey Slye kicked for three NFL teams in 2021, but he feels much more confident.

Slye appeared before the media after practice Thursday and provided some insights into NFL kicking.

Being cut twice last season (Houston, San Francisco) was tough on Slye, but he stuck with his procedure and finished strongly last season with Washington. “So going into this year, I have that same mentality, the same process that I put forth last year. I’m in that same mindset. And obviously it’s good to end on a good note last year, but this is a brand new year. This is a brand new start of my process again and helping to just make sure that everything goes as planned.”

The former Virginia Tech kicker feels much more certain than he did his rookie year. “Yeah, so kind of the best way to put it into an analogy is when you walk in as a rookie or as a freshman in college, and you got chemistry and general calculus and all this stuff, and you got to take all these classes. For me, I was still kind of in that mindset as a rookie, there’s a lot to learn about kicking. There’s a lot of learn about my craft and what I wanted to do when I was kicking.”

Kicking at this level is much more complicated than we realize. “To break down kicking, I could talk to you for this for like eight, nine hours about every single little situation that happens on a kick. And so, I know exactly what happens if I miss left, I know exactly what happens if miss right. I know exactly what happens when I put it down the middle.”

A sophomore in high school is when Slye was encouraged by senior kicker Austin Greedy to think about going the route of kicker. He had also played linebacker and still today loves it, but knows his body is certainly better suited for being an NFL kicker.

He mentioned the winds at FedEx Field can sometimes be “crazy cross winds”. But then he surprisingly declared he liked kicking in a stadium that the winds can make it difficult, and then he added that he and punter Tress Way have both discussed it and like the challenge. “This is where I have to kick all the time and I’m gonna be the most consistent in my own stadium.”

Speaking of Way, Slye offered, “Tress has like one of the coolest personalities to be around. People talk about it all the time. He’s gonna probably have a career outside of football. I think he should be a great game show host. Like if Steve Harvey wants to give up Family Feud and Tress wants to go on. I think that’d be awesome.”

Slye connected on all 12 of his field goal attempts for Washington in 2021, including a 56-yarder. No wonder he is feeling more confident going into the 2022 season.

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Commanders Tress Way is having fun, while remaining one of the NFL’s best punter

Tress Way is always having fun and setting a good example for his younger teammates.

Tress Way was having fun with the media Thursday after practice.

As he took the microphone, he immediately asked the media why long-time NFL reporter John Keim walked out as he (Way) approached the microphone. Way was off and running and as usual never short on words.

One of the media inquired if Way was going to continue his trivia game this season. “So when we see you guys come in during the week, I promise to have some great trivia questions for you guys to chew on while you wait for certain players to come in and out of treatment and things like that. But yes, it’s fully back on, and it is a really good time on the bus rides to and from the hotel. A lot of guys get a big kick out of it. ”

Way is looking forward to this season and his special teams unit in particular. “I think I was kind of outsmarting myself last year. I was pressing a little bit hard trying to do a little bit too much at times when at the end of the day, I think coach does such an awesome job every single day of teaching us to build trust with one another. And it just frees you up so much more when you trust your other guys that they’re gonna do what they’re gonna do, starting with Cheese, with the snap, the protection, the coverage.”

The former Oklahoma Sooner had an opportunity to discuss some of the finer points of special teams. “There are multiple types of winning punts, but when (Special Teams Coach) Nate Kaczor showed up, he really helped me hone in my ability to maybe not tip off the returner, which way I’m punting and then just try and be effective with those punts, hang time distances, trying to eliminate some touchbacks, which is what I’ve typically been good at in the past, but kind of didn’t do so hot in that one last year. So just trying to take more and more steps every time.”

With his relaxed, welcoming personality, Way has become, unofficially, the welcoming ambassador. “I just don’t think it would quite add up for me to get into a linebacker’s face and maybe tell them that he’s soft and they’d be like, ‘dude, you’re the punter.’ I got to give Coach Rivera some serious props on that because when we had some free agents coming in and the rookies coming in, along with [Special Teams Coordinator] Coach Kaczor, they just said, ‘Tress, man do your thing, make them feel welcome.’

Way will do “his thing” being himself, providing light-hearted fun to a franchise that has not had consecutive winning seasons since 2015 (9-7) and 2016 (8-7-1).

He will also do “his thing” on the field, being one of the better punters in the NFL.

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Ron Rivera talks the plan for all three quarterbacks in preseason opener

How much will Washington’s three quarterbacks play on Saturday?

The Washington Commanders finally play a game on Saturday. It’s the preseason opener when the Carolina Panthers come to FedEx Field.

Washington quarterback Carson Wentz makes his debut in the burgundy and gold, and fans are excited to see Wentz during a game. The narrative surrounding Wentz this summer is he can’t hit the broad side of a barn. Like anything, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. There have been accuracy issues this summer, but Wentz has also made his share of impressive throws.

Head coach Ron Rivera met with the media after Washington’s practice on Thursday and discussed what he wants to see from his offense in limited action against the Panthers.

“Well, you want to see some consistency out there,” Rivera said. “You want to see some consistency in the huddle, breaking the huddle, getting to the line of scrimmage and then being successful with the plays that are called. Operating things, doing things well. Hope we get all kinds of situational football going. We would love to see a couple of third downs, some red zone stuff obviously and then some short yardage and goal line.”

Those sound like reasonable expectations. After all, it is the first preseason game with a new quarterback. What Rivera and offensive coordinator Scott Turner need to see are the basics. If the offense operates the basics, then you can expect more in the second game.

So how much will Wentz play? What about Taylor Heinicke and rookie Sam Howell?

Rivera discussed the plan for his three quarterbacks.

“All three quarterbacks will play,” Rivera said. “Taylor [Heinicke] will come in after Carson [Wentz], and then Sam will finish up. With Taylor, we will probably get him into the third quarter a little bit, and we will let Sam finish up. What will be really good and what we worked on, the last thing we worked on today, I would love to see Sam get a two-minute at the end of the game; that would be really cool. It would be real good experience for him as well. He still has a lot to learn. Just consistency is what you’re hoping. You’re hoping he has some success, hoping he controls things and is consistent with his ball placement when he throws it.”

Regardless of how many fans are at FedEx Field on Saturday, they will be excited to see the rookie passer from North Carolina in his first NFL action. The preseason has given fans some exciting yet meaningless moments over the years, such as the late Colt Brennan’s performance in the 2008 preseason.

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