Football players say training camp doesn’t really start until you put the pads on. On Monday, the fifth practice of Washington Commanders camp, they did just that.

鈥淚t was great,” rookie defensive back Trey Amos said. “It was great to have the pads on, getting off of blocks, using our shoulders a little bit. Haven’t had that in a while. Everything’s been great.鈥�

The Commanders also practiced in front of fans again on Monday. This time, season ticket holders were in attendance. They were lined up at 6 a.m. anxiously waiting to get inside the facility and then filled the stands, as they did on Sunday.

Players have taken notice of the support.

鈥淵esterday, I was pulling up and I see how many fans was out there. I was like, bro, I thought I was about to get ready to play a game,” wide receiver Deebo Samuel said. “But the fans out here are crazy, it’s good to be out here in front of fans. I know it’s good for them to come and watch practice and see the things that we do day in and day out, and just come out here and give them what they’re looking for.鈥�

Star wide receiver Terry McLaurin once again came out of the facility after practice and signed autographs for fans for about 25 minutes. He also spoke on the field for about 15 minutes with his agent, Buddy Baker, who also attended Sunday’s practice.

McLaurin was absent from the facility during the first few days of camp as his team negotiates with the Commanders on a contract extension. The veteran receiver is under contract for this season.

As McLaurin raced up the hill to the facility, he provided no new updates to his contract situation, only to say that things are still “day-to-day.”

Tuesday’s practice will also begin at 8 a.m. due to the heat and will be an open practice for fans.

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One of the Washington Commanders’ biggest needs this offseason was finding a pass rusher. They found one in future Hall of Famer Von Miller.

He comes from the Buffalo Bills, where he had six sacks last year and has now tallied 129.5 for his career.

At 36 years old, he wanted to make sure he found the right fit after being released by Buffalo, where he played with one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks.

“You just can’t leave Josh Allen and go anywhere, man. You just can’t go from the AFC Championship and just go anywhere,” he said. “And whenever you get older too, losses, they pile up. It seems like they just hit way harder than what they used to when you were young. And this team is all about winning, I’m all about winning. Whatever it takes to win, I’m going to do. That’s on and off the football field. It’s nothing like winning.”

Head Coach Dan Quinn saw plenty while watching tape of Miller.

“What I saw on tape, the quickness to beat somebody to the punch, and that’s what pass rushing, the first part has to be about. About getting the offensive tackle back and feeling that stress,” Quinn said.

“He’s got different unique talents, he can bend, he’s long. 鈥� You have it or you don’t. You can see it. It’s not hard to evaluate somebody that’s got the ability to really jump off the spot,” Quinn added.

As far as Miller’s role on Washington’s defense, “They’re going to let me rush, that’s what I do. I can still roll out the bed at 36 years old with my house shoes on and still rush the passer.”

Miller joins a linebacking corps that also includes future Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu, who recorded a career-high eight sacks last year.

“This team is all about winning, I’m all about winning, and it was a good marriage,鈥� Miller said.

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After their best season in 33 years, expectations are high for the Washington Commanders as they enter training camp Wednesday.

Coming off an appearance in the NFC Championship game, the Commanders are set to begin year two of the Dan Quinn and Jayden Daniels era.

The front office has put together a roster that is built to win now.

Quinn established a culture last year that had the entire league talking and players wanting to come to Washington. Jayden Daniels had one of the best rookie seasons of all-time, winning Rookie of the Year and leading the Commanders on their deep playoff run. Now, they’ve got some help to surround the second year quarterback.

Building an offense around Daniels

General manager Adam Peters went out and got some help along the offensive line in five-time Pro Bowl tackle Laremy Tunsil, while also drafting Josh Conerly Jr. in the first round. He also traded for wide receiver Deebo Samuel.

One position up for grabs along the offensive line, at least to begin the year, is right guard, as Sam Cosmi works his way back from a torn ACL suffered during the NFC Divisional win over Detroit.

Shoring up the defense

Von Miller was brought in to provide pass rushing help. The 36-year-old had six sacks last year with the Bills and has 129.5 for his career. They needed some help after last year’s sack leader, Dante Fowler, left via free agency.

Other additions to the defensive line include Javon Kinlaw, Deatrich Wise and Eddie Goldman, while Jer’Zhan Newton enters his second season.

Stopping the run needed to be a big focus this offseason, after the unit finished 30th in the league last year in run defense, culminating in the NFC Championship game loss in Philadelphia, where the defense gave up 229 yards on the ground and seven touchdowns. In order to win the NFC East, they need to go through Philadelphia and stop Saquon Barkley.

The team is also counting on a healthy cornerback in Marshon Lattimore, who missed six games last year with a hamstring injury after being traded from New Orleans. He did play in the three postseason games, but acknowledged this offseason he wasn’t 100% healthy.

The Commanders also drafted rookie corner Trey Amos to help fill holes in the secondary.

Terry’s scary contract situation

While optimism is high, uncertainty around Terry McLaurin’s contract extension is putting a damper on things. The star wide receiver is entering the final year of his contract and is coming off a year in which he caught 82 passes for 1,096 yards and 13 touchdowns.

He has 1,000-plus yard seasons every year of his career, except his rookie year, when he had 919 yards. McLaurin has made it clear he wants to be in Washington, but wants to be paid like one of the top receivers in the league.

“I think everybody in this building values Terry very much, and we knew that coming in. And we knew that even more after spending a year with him. In terms of where we’re at, we’ve had conversations recently … and we’re going to do everything we can in order to get a deal done,” GM Peters said during his pre-training camp news conference.

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The D.C. Council unveiled legislation aimed at debating the deal outside from talks about the city’s 2026 budget.

“No one should infer from the introduction of this bill that funding in the Mayor’s proposed budget for the Washington Commanders Football Team is in jeopardy,” Council Chair Phil Mendelson said in the bill’s introduction. “Council members have said they support leaving the funding, as proposed by the Mayor, in the budget.”

Mendelson introduced the “Robert F. Kennedy Campus Redevelopment Act of 2025” on June 20, which separates the RFK bill from Mayor Muriel Bowser’s “Budget Support Act.”

The main goals of the bill are to allow the council to hold public hearings singularly focused on the proposal and complete an economic impact analysis report by July. NBC Washington reported earlier this month that there was discussion about removing the stadium from budget talks.

The team’s goal is to be playing football by 2030 at the old RFK site.

For this to be a reality, a team spokesperson stressed to 小萝莉影视 the importance of getting this done without delay, and the Commanders are hopeful that the council will continue to expedite the process.

In response to the new bill, the Commanders spokesperson said the team is committed to working with the council.

“This is about more than just a stadium: it’s an investment in families, local workers, and long-term economic opportunity that will transform this community, District, and the region. Any substantive delays … will slow new jobs at a time when the District needs them the most. We are hopeful the Council will continue to work in an expedited way to approve this deal and deliver a significant win for the people of D.C.,” the spokesperson wrote.

When asked about possibly opening up negotiations with other jurisdictions if there is no vote in July, a person familiar with the situation said that the team does not want to think about that at all, and are focused solely on D.C.

小萝莉影视 has reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.

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Last year, general manager Adam Peters made it clear he wants to build through the NFL draft. He selected nine players, two of which became every down players. Quarterback Jayden Daniels and cornerback Mike Sainristil, who started all 19 games. A majority of the other draft picks also contributed and will have to take that next step this year.

Daniels was selected with the second overall pick a year ago and led the Commanders to the NFC Championship Game while winning Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The Commanders have only five picks heading into the draft on Thursday night, and won’t have to use any of them on a quarterback for the first time in a very long time. They are also picking near the end of the first round, more unfamiliar territory.

They addressed some of its needs during free agency, but there are positions that still need to be focused on, which could mean trading back and acquiring more picks. Washington could also consider trading out of the first round if a team wants to acquire a player, specifically a quarterback, earlier.

Peters knows that anything is possible.

“You’re really open to everything,” he said Wednesday. “You’re open to moving up if the right move is up. If [DE] Abdul Carter falls to 27, I might want to try to move up two and get him, but if there’s a great player that we want to sit and pick, we’ll do that.

“But if there’s an opportunity to move back, then we’re certainly open to that too,” Peters said. “With five picks, that’s something you’d like to do is add picks, but you always have to have somebody who wants to come up too.”

The defensive side of the ball still has some glaring holes, including at edge rusher and cornerback. The Commanders lost defensive end Dante Fowler Jr., last year’s sack leader, via free agency. They also let go of defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, safety Jeremy Chinn and cornerback Benjamin St.-Juste.

The re-signing of linebacker Bobby Wagner was significant, as he proved to be a team leader on and off the field. Wagner and Frankie Luvu should be a dangerous combination as linebackers for Washington for the upcoming season.

Meanwhile, some of Washington’s biggest acquisitions this offseason have been on the offensive side of the ball. They traded for wide receiver Deebo Samuel and acquired offensive lineman Jeremy Tunsil from Houston. The Commanders also re-signed wide receiver Noah Brown.

“I think we put ourselves in a really good position to not force something,” Peters said.

With all its preseason signings and no significant needs that need to be addressed right away, there isn’t a position that Peters prefers not to draft in the first round.

“I think what we’ve done is we’ve given ourselves optionality to pick anywhere,” he said. “I don’t think we have a philosophy of going (to) ‘premium positions’ in any round. It’s really just trying to pick the best Commander for us that’s going to help us the most.鈥�

With a year under his belt, Peters knows what to expect once Thursday night comes around.

鈥淲e’ve done everything once so that’s good understanding all of that,” Peters said. “I don’t think there’s a whole lot different to be honest with you. I don’t ever want to be comfortable or relaxed. I always want to have a little bit of an edge and make sure that, you know, we’re crossing every T dotting and every I making sure we’re leaving no stone unturned.”

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Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels capped off his historic rookie season by taking home Rookie of the Year honors from New Orleans on Thursday night.

Daniels became the fifth player in Commanders franchise history to win the award and the fourth offensive player to do so. He鈥檚 also the second quarterback in franchise history to earn the honor.

Washington football is back in a big way, so big that media company Capitol Outdoor put up a massive billboard on New York Avenue in D.C. on Friday morning, saluting Daniels and the Commanders.

Commanders fans enjoyed a season 33 years in the making. Let鈥檚 hope it鈥檚 just the beginning.

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It’s been 33 years since the Washington football franchise took the practice field in late January. This time of year, is usually reserved for new coaching hires or front office hires.

Not this year. 小萝莉影视 Sports Director George Wallace caught up with the team on Wednesday as they prepared to head to the “City of Brotherly Love” before Washington takes on聽the Philadelphia Eagles and the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.

Head Coach Dan Quinn and the players have made a point to keep the week “business as usual” and treat each week just like any other game.

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Dan Quinn wasn’t sure he’d get another shot as a head coach after his time in Atlanta, but if he did, he wanted to make sure he was ready.

He did a lot of self-evaluating and studying to make sure if the call did come, then he was ready to answer it.

“A lot of it was in the planning,” Quinn said. “There were a lot of notes, a lot of notebooks that get filled with things that you liked and things you’d like to give a go.”

He had planned for all different scenarios.

“Going into the offseason program, going into training camp, what can you emphasize? How can you do it better?” Quinn said.

Quinn’s tenure in Atlanta finished with a 43鈥�42 (.506) regular season record, 3鈥�2 (.600) playoff record and a 46鈥�44 (.511) career record. He took the Falcons to Super Bowl LI in his second season and infamously blew a 28-3 lead in the third quarter, the largest such letdown in Super Bowl history.

Following three successful seasons coordinating the Dallas Cowboys defense, Quinn got the January call from general manager Adam Peters to come to Washington and join a franchise that had new ownership, a new GM, and was about to select a franchise quarterback. Rarely does all align for such a completely clean slate 鈥� a chance to put your stamp on an organization that had a totally blank canvas.

Despite their short time together, Peters and Quinn have a working relationship that seems to have been years in the making rather than a few short months. The two聽share the same vision for building a team and the type of player they are looking for.

“We wanted to get to know the person, the man, before the ballplayer,” Quinn said. “When we started, that was important. Seeing the connection take place has been exactly what we hoped.”

What they came up with is a team mixed with veterans and younger players. He has leaned on the veterans that were here in the past 鈥� Terry McLaurin, Tress Way, Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, to name a few 鈥� while bringing in established veteran Pro Bowl performers Bobby Wagner, Austin Ekeler and Zach Ertz.

“When you’re putting a whole group together, that’s the dynamic,” Quinn said. “It’s a great model to be a mentor for some of the guys coming into the league. For Jayden (Daniels), Mike Sainristil, Brandon Coleman 鈥� who better to look up to than a (Daron) Payne or a (Terry) McLaurin or (Zach) Ertz or a (Bobby) Wagner? They don’t have to do anything different other than be themselves and these really high professional standards, and if we do that as a group everything gets to rise.”

Quinn also knows that, while wanting to win now, this is a process and they are building a culture in Washington. It’s a balance, and he knows that developing players is just as important as making that big, splash free agent signing.

“You can develop great players,” he said. “The group that’s here, if we collectively develop, people are going to be impressed and surprised by this group. My favorite part of this team is the team 鈥� their connection and ability to work with another. They’re unselfish, they’ve got really high
standards for one another.”

The main themes of Quinn’s first training camp have been communication and competition. He said that a team has to learn to communicate and develop an identity before it worries about wins and losses.

Quinn added that developing an identity is a process that’s getting close, but there are still benchmarks聽that need to be met before the Commanders get there.

“You do have to be in the fights, you do have to be in some adversity and really test yourself down in your soul,” Quinn said. “It’s on days when it’s 100 degrees and you have to fight for it. (The team knows) what’s at stake and how hard we have to go. Building a team like this cannot be bought, it
must be built. That’s the toughness it takes and we’re committed to doing that.”

Quinn grew up in New Jersey, played football at Salisbury and also coached for the Commanders’ most hated NFC East rival 鈥� so he knows how passionate this fanbase is and how desperate they are for a winner.

“That’s why I wanted to be here,” he said. “I know how important this team is to this community and I don’t take that lightly. We want a team that absolutely brings it that they are going to be proud as hell of.”

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On Tuesday, general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn met with members of the media to preview camp, and both are excited to get started.

It鈥檚 go time. Dan Quinn and Adam Peters ready for camp. Excited to get started. .

鈥� George Wallace (@GWallace小萝莉影视)

“There are so many things that I’m looking forward to,” Quinn said. “But to sum it up, this camp will be challenging, it will be demanding, and it’s also going to be fun as hell. This is where we start writing the chapter of what this 2024 Commanders team will be about.”

Hard focus on quarterback Jayden Daniels

Each year, there are plenty of storylines entering camp, and this year is no exception. The biggest storyline will be the development of quarterback Jayden Daniels.

How will the No. 2 overall pick and Heisman Trophy winner progress throughout the summer? And how will Quinn and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury get him ready?

“When he’s ready, we will know,” Quinn said. “When he’s ready, he’ll also know.”

“But as far as the reps go, obviously with him and Marcus [Mariota] and moving around, there’ll be certain days that will feature more of another. Certainly not a secret. It’s a journey and a process. When we know, we’ll say it,” he added.

Position battles to watch

There are two positions that should be the most scrutinized throughout camp as the competition heats up: Left tackle and cornerback.

It’s no secret that the left tackle position is a very important one, protecting the blind side of the quarterback. The team bolstered the interior of the offensive line this off season with the signing of Tyler Biadasz to play center and left guard Nick Allegretti.

But the question is: who will start at left tackle? Veteran Cornelius Lucas is still here, and could be the choice; but there are now other options including third-round pick Brandon Collins and veteran Trent Scott.

In the secondary, second-year corner Emmanuel Forbes Jr. is a player that will have a lot to prove. He was drafted last year in the first-round but struggled. He had only one interception and was benched at times throughout the year. He is excited for a fresh start with a new coaching staff and eager to prove that he belongs.

Joint practices

The Commanders will practice with the Jets and Dolphins ahead of their preseason games this summer. Since the elimination of the fourth preseason game, teams have been scheduling joint practices more and more. It’s a good opportunity to get the starters prepared in a controlled environment.

Quinn is looking forward to the competition part of it, to see how his team fares against others that run different systems.

As far as what Peters looks for on the evaluation side, “You get to see our guys against a different offense or defensive scheme,” he said. “How do they adapt to that? How do they play against that? And you get to see them against different players too.”

Expect those two days of work to be key practice sessions this summer.

What does a successful season look like?

This new regime understands that this is a process and fans shouldn’t expect to see this team make a huge jump to double-digit wins 鈥� although anything is possible. Being that this is step one in the process, Quinn isn’t necessarily focused on wins and losses just yet.

“I think No. 1, we want to start off and make sure our identity, and who we are and how we play, has to come along strong,” Quinn said. “If you get that first and get that right, that’s when a lot of the success will follow. But you can’t put the record before you have the identity and who you are. So, I’m hopeful that when you and our fans and families see us play, they see that identity coming to life.”

“The speed, the physicality, the winning football in the most critical moments 鈥� those are all the things that are going to make up our identity, and we’ve got to use this time to start establishing that in the very best of ways,” he added.

It’s a brand new day in Ashburn, Virginia, and the fun begins on Wednesday morning.

For more in-depth discussion on the Commanders and the 2024 Olympics in Paris, listen to the DC Sports Huddle.

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Maryland’s own and new Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris is excited for the new season 鈥� but knows eyes are on him.

“You’ve shifted the pressure on us, now we’ve got to deliver,” Harris told 小萝莉影视 Friday in an exclusive interview.

The Commanders face off against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, kicking off a new era of football for the NFL franchise with a new ownership group, a new starting quarterback, and a new offensive coordinator.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am about Sunday,” Harris told 小萝莉影视. “I obviously won’t be sleeping too much between now and then. [It’s] a big day for the franchise, big day for us. And we’ve got to make sure a lot of things go right for the fans.”

Washington’s and expected to be filled with Commanders fans, . The excitement of having an actual home-field advantage heading into the new NFL season is something that’s got members of the front office abuzz.

“No one could have anticipated the outpouring of support from Washington and from the DMV. The fans have been amazing. The city has been amazing,” Harris said. “We really appreciate the support.”

Since his ownership group took control of the Commanders after NFL owners approved the sale of the franchise in July, the Chevy Chase native said he has been focused on engaging with current players to find out how to support them better to make Washington “a destination” for others to come and play.

Meanwhile, several former Washington players, such as John Riggins and Robert Griffin III, are expected to appear during Sunday’s season opener. Harris said alumni are always welcome, calling those who played for Washington during his childhood “my heroes.”

“This is a big franchise,” Harris said. “This franchise has won since the beginning and allowing for our our team [and] our fans to understand that they’re part of a great history, and that these individuals created it. I think that’s really meaningful for everyone.”

Meanwhile, some fans have asked if the new owners will return the team to its former name.

The franchise dropped its previous moniker in 2020, which Native American advocates and experts called a “dictionary-defined racial slur.” However, some in Washington’s fan base still hold the previous name in high regard due to the team’s prior success.

Before Friday’s fan rally in D.C.’s Franklin Park, Harris said it was important to come out and say that . He understands why some fans love it but he doesn’t want distractions right now.

“I grew up in the glory years, and I remember the team from that era and worshipped it but the old name 鈥� some of our fans felt disrespected by it and sports is supposed to unify people,” Harris told “I didn’t want the distraction. So we came out and hopefully we ended that conversation and got the focus back on football, where it should be.”

Mitchell Rales, the top partner in Josh Harris’ ownership group, echoed similar sentiments at an event for the Economic Club in D.C. on Wednesday, stating “that ship has sailed.”

“We’re not going to re-litigate the past. We’re about the future,” Rales said. “We’re about building the future and not having a divisive culture that we’re engaged in. We’re going to look at everything come the end of the year and think about a lot of different things and do a lot of testing and see what people think. And we’ll learn. The beauty is we have the time to look at all of this stuff intelligently and make fan-based decisions.”

With the fan base energized and awaken like “a sleeping giant,” Harris told 小萝莉影视 it’s his primary focus to make sure that he and the rest of the franchise matches their supporters’ level of excitement.

鈥淲e need the 12th man. We need the sort of fans to act like they did when I was growing up, and I’m feeling good about it,鈥� Harris said. 鈥淚t feels like that support is there.鈥�

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“There’s been a buzz all offseason for this team,” wide receiver Terry McLaurin said.

Head coach Ron Rivera enters his fourth season at the helm of this franchise, and even without new ownership, it would be a pivotal one for him.

Rivera has posted a 22-27-1 record in three years, but this could be the best roster assembled during his time in Washington. That being said, there’s something he has yet to do during his tenure 鈥� getting off to a fast start.

The Burgundy and Gold have started 2-6, 2-6, and 1-4 in Rivera’s three years. Players and coaches have repeatedly said getting early results is one of the main focuses heading into the new season.

With Josh Harris and the new ownership group evaluating everything this year, a slow start is something that Rivera cannot afford to have.

“I have a lot to prove,” Rivera said earlier this summer.

Knowing how important this season is, Rivera made some changes this offseason. He has turned to Eric Bieniemy and Sam Howell to lead this year’s offense. Howell enters with only one career start, and that was in Week 18 last year. Whereas Bieniemy comes from Kansas City, where he won a Super Bowl last season with head coach Andy Reid. This is the first time he has had a chance to put his stamp on an offense and call plays.

Bieniemy quickly restructured everything on the offensive side of the ball, including how Washington practices. His presence has been felt from day one of his hiring, and practices have been visibly more physical and intense this summer.

In addition to Sam Howell, the biggest question mark on this team will be the offensive line. Last year, the offensive line allowed 48 sacks. The team signed Andrew Wylie and Nick Gates this offseason, along with drafting two lineman. If that unit can improve, then this offense has big potential with weapons like wide receivers Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and Curtis Samuel, tight end Logan Thomas and running back Brian Robinson Jr. running Bieniemy’s new offense.

On the defensive side of the ball, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio has his unit in a good position entering his fourth season. Daron Payne signed a long-term contract this offseason after posting big numbers a year ago. Payne, along with Jonathan Allen, Montez Sweat and Chase Young should be the team’s strongest position group. Sweat and Young are in contract years themselves. Washington also added to its veteran secondary by drafting Emmanuel Forbes, who has shown flashes in the preseason.

In the kicking game, Tress Way has proved to be one of the best punters in the league, while Joey Slye beat out Michael Badgley in the kicking competition.

The anticipation for the upcoming season is at a 20-year high, and it’s been building since the ownership sale was finalized. FedEx Field is sold out for Sunday’s opener, the first time that has happened in years. The Commanders will also host a season kickoff party at Friday from 5 to 8 p.m.

For the region and some Commanders players, the thought of an actual home-field advantage heading into the new NFL season is something to be fired up about.

“It’s really exciting to know we have a true sellout,” McLaurin said. “It’s exciting for us players to see that support.”

Allen, who grew up in the area, said he can feel the excitement as well.

“I’m excited to see what it’s like,” Allen said. “There’s an electric buzz going around the area.”

It all starts this Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

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“I think it’s pretty exciting,” Rivera said. “You can already feel the impact. A lot of it has to do with the reaction from the fan base. I think our guys have also felt it. The guys are getting into this. It’s a unique feeling. It’s exciting. I’m fired up about the opportunity as we go forward.”

For the first time since he’s been Washington’s head coach, Rivera finally has a chance to just focus on the field and not answer questions about the dysfunction off of it.

“The last few years, I honestly felt more like a manager 鈥� trying to manage things and stuff like that and try to keep everybody on task and on focus in terms of the game,” he said.

Rivera added that this past spring, things started to feel normal, knowing that the ownership change was coming. He and the other coaches had tried to keep things business as usual and have everything in place for when the inevitable happened. When that happened, they were able to move forward.

It was always going to be tough for Josh Harris to make changes regarding the on-the-field product with ownership approval coming so close to the start of training camp. Rivera and the coaching staff will have an evaluation period, but Harris wants to ensure the team is well-positioned to win football games.

“We’ve had an opportunity to meet 鈥� myself with Mr. Harris,” Rivera said. “And more so than anything else, we really discussed philosophy: mine and what his and the ownership group was going to be about, supporting us and being there for us, trying to give us the tools that we need to go out and play good football and winning football.

“That was the thing that I really appreciated was having that conversation and just hearing their commitment to trying to do the best they can to bring back to this area a sense of pride in this organization.”

It’s also not lost on Rivera that he’s now in a new position with a new boss and has to prove himself.

“I’ve got a lot to prove because I really do think we’ve put ourselves in a really good position. I think we’re a good, young football team with some key veterans at key positions, and now is the opportunity to go. And, yeah, I do feel that I do want to prove some stuff,” he said.

After winning the NFC East in 2020 with a 7-9 record, Washington has missed the playoffs the last two years, and Rivera knows it’s not just about impressing his new boss.

“We’ve been too close,” he said. “For everything that we’ve done and for what we’ve had and how we’ve competed, we’ve been too close the last couple of years. It’s time now to sustain it and just proving that these are the guys, these are the coaches, that I’m the right guy to help this organization continue to go forward.”

Harris plans to attend camp on Wednesday and spend time with Rivera after practice. There will be many conversations to follow as the season progresses.

The optimism and the energy are there. But it’s time to focus on football.

Wednesday’s practice is not open to the fans. The first open practice is Thursday morning at 9 a.m.

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It has been 35 years since Doug Williams made history and changed the narrative that Black quarterbacks couldn’t win a Super Bowl. On Jan. 31, 1988, Williams was the MVP of Super Bowl 22, throwing for 340 yards and four touchdowns in Washington’s 42-10 blowout win over Denver.

This weekend at Super Bowl LVII, two Black quarterbacks will start a Super Bowl for the first time ever.

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Williams finds himself amazed that it has been that long but has very fond memories of that historic day in San Diego. Leading up to the game, he understood the magnitude of what was happening but never really focused on that.

“I know a lot of people wanted to make it about me,” Williams said. “Being Black and playing in the Super Bowl, that was great. But, for me, I just happened to be the quarterback of the Washington Redskins, who just happened to be Black. That’s how I looked at it. I went out on that field with one thing in mind, and that was finding a way to win.”

Not only did he win, but Williams did so in record-breaking fashion.

The historic afternoon didn’t start great for Washington, falling behind 10-0 quickly and losing Williams to a knee injury. However, when he returned at the start of the second quarter, it began the arguably greatest 15 minutes in Super Bowl history.

“We didn’t say we were going in there and score 35 points on 18 plays,” said Williams. “We went in there with the idea of being able to execute what was called. After it was over, everyone was amazed.

“It was something out of a storybook, you couldn’t even write a story like that knowing you were part of something of historic proportions.”

Does he see that as something that could ever happen again?

“I don’t know if that will ever be broken and at the end of the day, I don’t know if we’ll be here if it is broken,” Williams said. “I would like to sit down and see 35 points in 18 plays.”

Super Bowl XXII was Washington’s second title under head coach Joe Gibbs, and it would be followed up with a third just four years later in Super Bowl XXVI. The architect of those teams, General Manager Bobby Beathard, passed away last week.

“We have three Super Bowl trophies, and I can honestly say you’ve got to put Bobby’s name on every last one of them,” Williams said. “He was the architect of every trophy we have in there. If it wasn’t for Bobby Beathard, we wouldn’t have them.”

Beathard was also instrumental in bringing Williams to Washington, and they remained close throughout the final years of Beathard’s life.

“When I came here, I was a veteran,” he said. “Bobby always pulled me aside and wanted to talk about the young guys. What I thought about the young guys. How they developed. Over the last couple years, Bobby would call me once a month just to talk and check on me. We’d talk for a minute, then he’d go and say ‘Ok, just checking on you.'”

Two other Black quarterbacks have won Super Bowls since Williams: Russell Wilson with the Seattle Seahawks in 2014 and Patrick Mahomes with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020.

Mahomes will have another chance at a second title while Jalen Hurts is playing in the Super Bowl for the first time.

As time was winding down during the AFC Championship Game last Sunday and Mahomes got the Chiefs into field-goal position for the win, Williams took a moment to let it sink in.

“I said to myself, ‘Wow.’ My eyes watered up because of the moment, because of the chills of the moment,” he said. “The fact that I realized what had transpired.”

It’s not lost on Williams the significance of this game, and he doesn’t think the moment will be too big for the quarterbacks either.

“I look at it from the standpoint that it’s a historical moment and they need to embrace it,” he said. “I think they will because both of them are smart quarterbacks. They will their teams to where they are today. At the end of the day, I think they’re both going to sit back and think about this moment, and go out and enjoy it and try to be the victors on Sunday.”

The 2022 season saw 11 Black starting quarterbacks in the NFL, the most ever. While there has been progress, there are things that haven’t progressed as Williams would have hoped.

“What hasn’t progressed in the NFL is the hiring of Black coaches,” he said. “That’s the only thing we’re missing at this point. More general managers, more directing of scouting, more quarterback coaches and coordinators. We still have a ways to go.

“I’m hopeful it’s going to get better. It has to get better. There’s nowhere else to go but up.”

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The Washington Commanders held a final walk-through on Thursday ahead of its last preseason game of the summer on Saturday in Baltimore at M&T Bank Stadium against the Ravens.

Head coach Ron Rivera and his coaching staff have to trim the roster down to 53 players by Aug. 30. Saturday’s contest is the last chance for some players to make their final case to make the team.

There aren’t many spots up for grabs, with most of the roster pretty much set. But, for the ones still on the bubble, Rivera had a message ahead of Saturday’s game.

“Just make sure you’re ready,” he said Thursday. “This is an example of opportunities for young guys to really show us what they’re capable of. There’s two preseason games of tape for them to watch.

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“There’s an opportunity to get to know who their opponent is. I would like to hope and believe that these guys are doing the extra things that they need to give themselves the opportunity to play their best.”

Rivera reiterated that the starters would see “very, very, very limited” action against Baltimore. In last year’s third preseason game against the Ravens, the Commanders’ starters didn’t play at all.

Washington fans will surely see a lot of Sam Howell as the rookie quarterback will get most of the snaps on Saturday.

“I like to see him continue with his preparation, the way he’s paid attention, and the way he’s getting into things,” Rivera said. “He’s always done that, but now is an opportunity because he’s going to play a lot, to take a little more time and really get a chance to look.”

Perhaps the final preseason game’s biggest storyline is that the Ravens have won 22 straight preseason games. They haven’t lost a preseason game since 2016.

Is this a big deal? Is it a fluky stat? Either way, it’s pretty impressive.

So, with everything on the line for some of his players, does Rivera think about ending Baltimore’s streak heading into Saturday?

“Yeah, you want to. You go into every game expecting to win,” Rivera said. “Good for them. It’s their thing. It’s what they’re doing. They come out, and they play in a specific way. Good for them.
“Our job is to go out and make sure our guys are playing, growing and getting better as football players. Like I said, you play every game to win.”

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