Commanders OTAs: Injury updates, a franchise legend receives a well-deserved honor, building an offense, plus more
The Commanders held their first of several OTAs over the next few weeks and there are plenty of updates to discuss.
The Washington Commanders kicked off the first day of OTAs on Wednesday and there are some tangible takeaways even though it’s still extremely early in the offseason.
So, let’s not waste any time and dive right in.
5 takeaways from Day 1 of Commanders OTAs
1. Dan Quinn provides injury updates on a couple of key players
The Commanders want to get as far away from injuries after last year’s debacle, but some guys are still recovering at the start of OTAs.
Trey Amos, Dorance Armstrong, Deatrich Wise were not on the practice field, but in building, per Team 980‘s Ben Standig. Bill Croskey-Merritt was out there, but did not have a helmet. Therefore, he was a non-participant.
“There’s kind of an all-sorts of spots, really,” Quinn said before practice. “Some are still on their way back, and getting towards the, you know, the latter parts of their rehab to go into that. For example, you know, ‘DA’ or Dietrich Wise [are] in that space. So, there’s guys in different spots, and I think all of it’s kind of geared towards camp to see what that would look like.
“I think that’ll be fluid, here through the OTAs, but the number one thing is that they’re on the way back and making good strides in that way.”
The Commanders really need those guys to get healthy, especially Amos. It sounds like training camp is the target for most of the aforementioned guys, so we’ll have to see if any of them get on the practice field before then.
2. David Blough’s offense is a group project
Year 3 under Quinn features a new offense after two years of Kliff Kingsbury running the show.
Blough it building said offense from the ground-up, which is quite the project. He’s not just bringing over a playbook from prior stops or anything like that. Therefore, building each aspect is not only important, but he has to make sure there’s a rhythm to everything.
“Oftentimes you have too much volume as a coordinator early, because (you think), ‘Okay, this would be good, this will be good,’” Quinn told reporters. “And then you kind of start going down and say, ‘Alright, what needs the most attention? Are we seeing that? What needs to work?’
“So it’s a process to go through, but it’s also one that’s exciting.”
Blough’s ensuring he’s getting the help he needs by allowing Daniels and other players to give their input on what plays need to be included and why.
“It’s a collaborative thing [and] not even just with me,” Jayden Daniels said after practice. “The quarterback room, everybody in the offense, offensive staff, all the players, like, if you have ideas, Blough has an open door policy.”
It’s a smart approach from Blough. Sure, Kingsbury is gone, but nearly the rest of the offensive coaching staff remains. They know the players’ strengths and weaknesses, along with which concepts and schemes put them in the best position(s) to produce.
3. Legend Santana Moss gets an award named after him
This doesn’t have anything to do with what happened on the practice field, but it’s worth mentioning considering the subject. Moss is a franchise legend, ranking top-10 all-time in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns amongst past and present Commanders wideouts.
Moss wasn’t just great on the field, though, he was great off the field, as well. Therefore, the award formerly known as the Media Good Guy award was renamed to the Santana Moss Good Guy award:
It was a pretty cool moment. It’s always fun when legends receive some dap, no matter how minor it may be.
4. Daronte Jones’ defense will be anything but static
Jones has worked under Mike Zimmer and Brian Flores over the last several seasons and that’s provided him a wealth of defensive knowledge.
His roots are what make the thought of his future defense in Washington so intriguing. The expectation is he’ll deploy a multi-look, fluid unit that will constantly shift around the field, leaving offenses guessing on a snap-to-snap basis.
Said thought was elevated when listening to Mike Sainristil had to say after practice.
“He tells everybody in the room, whether you’re a lineman, a linebacker, or a DB, to just learn the defense as a whole,” he said. “Don’t learn it as a specific position, because sometimes you’re going to be asked to do multiple things. It doesn’t matter who you are.
“So, I think everyone’s been doing that exact thing, and just picking up the defense conceptually.”
Is it Week 1, yet? I’m itching to see what this looks like on game day.
5. The kicker battle gets off to a hot start
Of course the Commanders have competition at the placekicker position.
Per NBC Sports’ JP Finlay, it got off to a good start on Wednesday. UDFA rookie Drew Stevens hit all six of his attempts, showing off the big leg that led him to Washington in the first place.
Moody responded admirably, hitting 5-of-6 attempts that included a 53-yarder.
Every kick attempt will count in this competition. Right now, Stevens has the leg up (pun totally intended) and we’ll see if he stays up there.