Tag: Charles Leno skips OTA’s

Commanders got good news when Young, Sweat and Leno returned

The Commanders were happy to have Leno, Young and Sweat back Tuesday.

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Some really good news for the Commanders at this week’s mandatory workouts, Chase Young, Montez Sweat and Charles Leno are back.

Of course, Young was asked about the Commanders not picking up his 5th-year option. But Young handled it well with a succinct answer.

It was clearly a business decision that the Commanders made, and Young wants to work out and not discuss it any further.

All three were kept out of some reps as Commanders coaches and trainers did not know where they were physically.

It was reported on Twitter by Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post that “Ron Rivera said they will ramp up Chase Young, Montez Sweat and Charles Leno to get a feel for where they’re at physically before throwing them in there fully. The three trained elsewhere during voluntary OTAs.”

Sweat has developed into a good run defender, and with NFL pass rushers not growing on trees, it is important for Sweat to have a good year this 2023 season.

Both Young and Sweat are both represented by the same agency and thus it is not out of the question that they were both advised that it would not be wise to work out in team situations where injuries sometimes occur, placing the player in jeopardy if he has no contract beyond the next season.

It is good to also see Leno back in camp workouts. The 2022 offensive line play trended downward. One fan this week called Leno “a turnstile,” and another said that Leno was “horrible and plays the most important position of the offensive line.”

Washington drafted Braeden Daniels 118th overall (offensive tackle, Utah), but most analysts feel Daniels is too light and needs more experience and mass gained before he could unseat the veteran Leno for the job.

The Commanders having re-signed both starting defensive tackles (Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne), speculation is already rising the Commanders may wait and see what type of seasons the defensive ends produce and determine which, if either (Young, Sweat), they will re-sign.

The Commanders drafted defensive ends K.J. Henry (137) and Andre Jones (233) in the latest NFL draft. If these two put any pressure on out there, we can only hope it is the pressure that results in urgency for both Sweat and Young this summer.

Have we overreacted about the Commanders absent from OTA’s?

Is it a big deal that Young, Sweat and Leno are not at OTAs?

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By now, all our readers are well aware that Chase Young, Montez Sweat and Charles Leno are determined to not attend the Commanders’ OTAs.

Is the reaction a DMV reaction? Is it related to the Commanders not having a winning season since the 2015 and 2016 seasons?

Well, did you catch Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson at the Ravens’ OTAs?

Jackson was asked by Baltimore media regarding Ravens’ fans who had speculated Jackson would not attend the OTAs. Jackson responded that he ignored it and thought it was funny.

His head coach John Harbaugh added that he knew Jackson was going to come in and participate in their OTAs. Harbaugh then added, “He (Jackson) was into it, into the meetings. He was locked in the last two days, completely locked in.”

Harbaugh was also willing to say what many coaches won’t say because the NFLPA will report them if they say anything close to saying the players should be in attendance.

“I think it’s important. I’m a coach, you know. I want everybody here. You know, I want every player here all the time, doing everything they can. Now, is that necessarily the best thing? I don’t know. Everybody’s got their own circumstance.”

The NFL CBA says coaches are prohibited from saying anything that communicates that the OTAs are strictly voluntary. So, we will see soon enough if the NFL considers what Harbaugh said to be over the line.

Leno, Sweat and Young have chosen to not participate. Young was recently refused a 5th-year option for the former second-overall selection of the 2020 draft. Sweat not appearing? Might he be displaying his support for Young not attending? No idea. Leno? Well, he played in Matt Nagy’s offense when with the Bears. So the offense is not entirely new to him. Yet, his play did fall off last season in the closing games.

Then there is LB Jamin Davis. Davis is entering his third season, being drafted in the first round of the 2021 draft. Davis has had a lingering issue with a knee injury since the completion of the 2022 season. Davis needed a cleanup procedure on his knee. But there was Davis in attendance, learning in the meetings and even walking through some things on the field.