Tag: CB Kendall Fuller

Who are PFF’s highest-ranked NFL & Commanders free agents?

A look at the top free agents and who are Washington’s top free agents?

Who are the best NFL free agents who will be available in this 2024 signing period?

Pro Football Focus (PFF) ranked what they believe are the top 200. Where did the best Commanders’ free agents place in the PFF rankings?

By the way, NFL salaries will increase a little more than expected.

Why?

Because with the NFL team salary cap leaping higher than expected to $255.4 million, that means each team will have $13 million more than initially projected. It doesn’t mean teams will use all of their money. Yet, it assuredly means there will be some players who are going to hit free agency, who are going to be paid more to re-sign with their current team.

Here is the PFF list of the 200 Free Agents

Below Commanders Wire will provide the PFF top 5 and then where the top Commanders free agents placed in the PFF rankings.

When they last met: Commanders and Seahawks

Kendall Fuller was the hero the last time these two teams played.

“When they last met” is an ongoing series during the NFL season, recalling the preceding game between Washington and the next opponent on the Commanders’ schedule.

Washington 17, Seattle 15 – Week 12, November 29, 2021

Kendall Fuller intercepted Russell Wilson’s two-point pass attempt with 15 seconds remaining, sealing Washington’s 17-15 win over Seattle at FedEx Field.

With 2:25 remaining, Washington led 17-9 and faced a 4th & goal from the 4. Kicker Joey Slye had pulled a hamstring earlier in the game, so Ron Rivera chose to go for the touchdown rather than a chip shot field goal to go up two scores.

Taylor Heinicke’s pass to Logan Thomas was caught and called a touchdown. However, replay revealed Thomas did not have control of the ball as he went to the ground and the Seahawks took over at their own 4 with 2:19 remaining.

Suddenly, the Washington defense was not in control. Russell Wilson completed seven passes and the Seahawks found themselves with a 1st & 10 at the Washington 32.

Wilson then connected with receiver Freddie Swain for a 32-yard touchdown with 15 seconds remaining, narrowing the Washington lead to 17-15. This set the stage for Fuller’s game-saving interception in the end zone for Washington.

Seattle’s onside kick was then recovered by Washington receiver Adam Humphries as Washington (5-6) escaped with a narrow victory on Monday Night Football.

Taylor Heinicke completed 27 of 35 for 223 yards, including one touchdown and one interception. Antonio Gibson rushed for 111 yards on 29 carries. He also led with 7 receptions for 35 yards.

Commanders postgame quotes after win over Falcons

Commanders players, coaches and former players weigh in on Sunday’s win.

The Commanders broke their three-game losing streak today in Atlanta with a 24-16 victory over the Falcons.

Here are some post-game quotes:

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Charles Leno and his family. It’s super tough to hear when something like that happened to one of our teammates, one of our brothers. We are all behind him, supporting he and his family…we definitely miss Leno today and hope to get him back out there soon. But at the end of the day, there are a lot of things a lot bigger than the game of football. We know God will be with his family and strengthen him through this time, and we will do the same.” Sam Howell

“I want to thank all of the Washington Commanders fans for coming out because they helped will us to victory! We had more fans in Mercedes Benz Stadium than the Falcons!”  Earvin “Magic” Johnson

“It’s probably an opportunity for him (Emmanuel Forbes) to get a little reset. I kind of want to see how things happen, see how things go. Hopefully, it’s something that he’ll learn from, he’ll take as a positive and grow from it.” Ron Rivera on Forbes not playing today

“Congratulations to my Commanders on today’s 24-16 win vs. the Falcons! Defense came up big twice in today’s win with two interceptions in the last 5 minutes, one by St. Juste and one by Davis. Coach Rivera really had the team ready to play!”  Earvin “Magic” Johnson

“He was in his leverage position where he needed to be… those are the things he’s capable of.” Ron Rivera on the Jamin Davis INT

“We protected the football, and we took the football away.” Ron Rivera

“I think there were some real good things Sam (Howell) did early on. Again, he has to continue to work to get the ball out on time. He can’t set himself up to take those sacks sometimes.”

“A lot of guys have to understand; you get up on a team, it’s a human tendency to think, ‘We got them now’. You got to keep pushing all of the way until the end. If you don’t push until the end, this game can get a little tighter. It shouldn’t have been that tight.” Brian Mitchell

“That’s not good enough (Washington 18 plays, Atlanta 45) in the second half. The only reason you come out with a victory in this situation is Desmond Ridder gave you the ball three times. So, offensively you say, ‘there are some things we have to be better at.'” Logan Paulsen

“Can we be more aggressive? Can we sustain drives? Can we chew some clock, protect this lead some more? Everyone thinks protecting a lead is a defensive statistic. I am a guy that says, ‘offense all day’. You can either hold the ball, score points, extend the lead and we can make sure their offense doesn’t get the ball back.” Logan Paulsen

“Every good defense has to have depth; you are going to have injuries during the season. Casey (Toohill), James Smith-Williams, all of those guys, they work hard all throughout the week. It’s good to see that show on the field for them.” Kendall Fuller

“There are some things we still need to work on and improve, some of the details. We weren’t as good as we needed to be. We did our job, but we need to pay more attention to details because we almost got ourselves into trouble.” Ron Rivera

Commanders get a team win in Atlanta 24-16

It may have been ugly at times, but it was a much-needed team win.

My friend told me late in the fourth quarter, “Thank goodness for the short fields.”

He is exactly correct, as the Washington Commanders defense and special teams led the way in the Commanders’ 24-16 victory Sunday in Atlanta.

It was a team win as the Commanders offense received plenty of help Sunday in providing short fields and big plays to spur the team to a much-needed win, breaking their three-game losing streak.

The three Washington touchdowns were scored on drives of three plays for 11 yards, seven plays gaining 52 yards, and two plays accumulating 27 yards. Can you imagine winning an NFL game when your three touchdown drives only average out to a mere 30 yards a drive?

Trailing 7-3 early in the second quarter, the Commanders Jamison Crowder received a Falcons punt at his own 28-yard line and provided Washington their first exciting punt return of 2023, returning the punt 61 yards to the Atlanta 11.

Sam Howell connected with Antonio Gibson three plays later from the 1, and Washington led 10-7.

The Commanders did drive 52 yards for a touchdown, culminated when Howell found Curtis Samuel from the 7 for a 17-7 lead.

Leading 17-10 in the third quarter, Kendall Fuller intercepted Desmond Ridder at the 50-yard line, returning the pass 23 yards to the Falcons 27.

Brian Robinson then ran for three yards before going 24 yards for a touchdown and a 24-10 Commanders lead.

That was it from the offense. In their next four possessions, they only ran 15 plays gaining a mere 32 yards (just over 2 yards a play).

The Commanders defense again came to the rescue. Leading 24-16, the Commanders blitzed on 3rd & Goal from the 7, forcing a premature Ridder pass, which was intercepted by Benjamin St-Juste in the end zone.

With only 31 seconds remaining, the Lions had driven 59 yards and were at the Commanders’ 34. Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio then rushed only four, dropping seven into coverage. Linebacker Jamin Davis jumped the slant route intended for Bijan Robinson and made a terrific interception saving the game for the Commanders.

Defense, special teams, offense…a team win.

When they last met: Commanders and Falcons

The defense saved the game for Washington the last time these two teams played.

“When they last met” is an ongoing series during the NFL season, recalling the preceding game between Washington and the next opponent on the Commanders’ schedule.

Washington 19, Atlanta 13 – Week 12, Nov. 27, 2021

Second & goal at the 4-yard line, Atlanta’s Marcus Mariota’s pass was deflected by Daron Payne and intercepted by Kendall Fuller in the end zone, saving Washington for a 19-13 victory over Atlanta.

Leading 19-13, the Commanders offense punted the ball to Atlanta, and the Falcons took over at their own 16-yard line with 5:03 remaining.

A Cordarrelle Patterson five-yard run gave the Falcons a first down at their own 30. Then Mariota found Olamide Zaccheaus for 45 yards and a second first down, this one at the Washington 25.

Tyler Allgeier ran five yards for a first down at the Washington 14. On 3rd & 1 from the 5, Montez Sweat was offside.

But on the next play, a 1st & goal from the Washington 2, Sweat broke through, tackling Mariota for a two-yard loss, setting up the game-winning play by Payne and Fuller.

It was the 2022 season in microcosm. The Washington offense struggling, the Washington defense keeping the Commanders in the game, and in this case, actually saving the game.

Trailing 3-0, Taylor Heinicke found Brian Robinson Jr for a 14-yard touchdown pass on the Commanders’ first possession, which was a 74-yard drive for a 7-3 lead.

Tied 10-10 in the third quarter, Heinicke passed to tight end John Bates for a 14-yard score and a 16-10 lead before Joey Slye missed the extra point.

Leading 16-13, Slye was successful on his 45-yard field goal attempt for a Washington 19-13 lead with 9:05 remaining.

Robinson rushed for 105 yards in his 18 carries, while Terry McLaurin led Washington receivers with 48 receiving yards on his four receptions.

Leading the Falcons were Allgeier and Patterson, who both rushed 11 times for 54 and 52 yards, respectively.

Kendall Fuller says Commanders came and competed with Ravens

Kendall Fuller sees the talent in Washington’s secondary but understands nothing matters until you prove it in the season. He’s also seen growth in QB Sam Howell.

Washington cornerback Kendall Fuller spoke with the media Wednesday following the Commanders’ practice against the Ravens.

Fuller said the last two days of practice were fun.

“We had fun. We came out here, competed, put some good film out there to learn from. Made some mistakes out there that we can learn from. So overall, I felt like it was a good week.”

Fuller spoke of how there are ups and downs for defensive backs.

“So just for the guys to come out and compete, guys make plays, you make plays and you just keep on lining up with that confidence and to see young guys consistently step up and just make plays.”

Fuller spoke of how the practice is good to challenge the players.

“You just play what you see. And even that, that’s a little bit different from a game because, from a game, you got film that you can go out there and watch and stuff like that. But just from a technique standpoint, there’s no film, no knowledge of what they do. You just line up, play your technique and trust that your technique is gonna allow you to make plays.”

Regarding Commanders quarterback Sam Howell said last week in practice Howell showed he has made progress.

“I remember the other day he made an out route on me, which that pisses me off, but like, just to see him be able to put those throws in spots that DBs can’t get it. I think the good NFL quarterbacks, that’s what separates a lot of times college from the NFL.”

Fuller liked getting in work against a talented quarterback Lamar Jackson and wide receiver Odell Beckham. “

I’m sure they’re gonna have a good year, both are good players (Jackson and  Beckham Jr). So, it was fun to get out there and go out and compete against them.”

The former VA Tech corner liked what he saw from safety Kam Curl.

“I’ve always been a big fan of Kam, man. He’s just an overall good football player. He can make plays all around the field. So, for me, it was nothing that I haven’t expected from him.”

Might this be the most talented defensive backs Fuller has enjoyed as teammates.

“It is early right now…So, you know, preseason is good to prepare, but you know, nothing matters until you get there every Sunday and make plays.”

 

Commanders Terry McLaurin: ‘It was more physical’

McLaurin talked the physical nature of the practicing with the Ravens will only make him and the Commanders better.

Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin spoke with the media following Tuesday’s scrimmage work with the Ravens.

McLaurin praised teammate cornerback Kendall Fuller for preparing him for Tuesday’s work against the Ravens. McLaurin mentioned in particular how working against Fuller; he has noticed Fuller is really patient, which forces Terry to be more efficient in his routes.

Tuesday, facing Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey, McLaurin noted it was more physical, forcing Terry to “use technique and be more physical because you know he is going to be more physical at the top of the route, be physical at the line and try to punch the ball out. When going against him I want to match his physicality but also be clean with my feet.”

McLaurin was emphatic that going against these two veteran corners (Fuller and Humphrey) is only going to help him and other Commanders receivers.

“It’s an iron sharpens iron thing,“ expressed McLaurin, meaning Tuesday’s work was probably good for both receivers and corners in pushing each other.

How did McLaurin respond when asked about the few scuffles that broke out during the practice with the Ravens?

“Yes, they want to make plays; we want to make plays. At the end of the day, we are going to protect our teammates. That is what happens at camp sometimes. Things get a little physical. It didn’t get too bad. Guys are just competing. At the end of the day, we want to look out for each other’s career and make sure we are not doing anything that is too over the line.”

How did McLaurin think the Commanders offense functioned against Ravens’ opposition?

“I think one thing that was really impressive was offensively; our tempo was really good. It kinda showed why we practice at the high intensity we do. I feel like we got to a place where we were really efficient. But it is still the little details that are coming up for us, the procedural things. EB says those are mental errors. The mental errors we have to cut back on, myself included.”

It is good to hear McLaurin lauding his teammate (Fuller), his coordinator (Bieniemy) and being certain to include himself in those that need to do better. Once again, Terry is displaying his leadership.