Commanders training camp is here at last, and the next few weeks will start sorting out a roster that still has plenty of moving parts.
Rookies, quarterbacks and a few rehabbing players have already been working in Ashford, VA, but the full group is due Tuesday. The first practice comes Wednesday, and from there Washington gets into the full grind: two joint practices, three preseason games and a long stretch of work in shells, pads and walk-throughs. By the end of it, Dan Quinn, Adam Peters and their staffs have to trim the roster from 91 players to the 53 who will be there for the first game of a pivotal regular season.
The cutdown deadline lands Aug. 30 at 6 p.m. ET, but the real sorting starts long before then. Camp is where separation happens, depth charts take shape and the Commanders figure out who can handle bigger roles when the games count.
Here’s the road map.
Washington’s camp schedule runs July 29, 30, Aug. 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 18, 19, 20 and 25. Practices marked with an asterisk are open to fans, with all of those dates sold out except Aug. 11-12, which are only open to season-ticket members.
The preseason opens with a home game against the Miami Dolphins on Friday, Aug. 14 at 6 p.m. ET on CBS. After that, the Commanders go to Detroit to face the Lions on Saturday, Aug. 22 at 12 p.m. on CBS, then close the exhibition slate at Baltimore against the Ravens on Friday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. on CBS.
The biggest on-field storyline may be the pair of new voices running the show. David Blough is installing an offense built around under-center snaps, zone rushing concepts and playaction.
Daronte Jones is putting in a multiple, attacking defense. Both are first-time NFL play callers, with Jones having served as LSU’s defensive coordinator for one season, so camp will be about more than just learning plays.
It will be about teaching, adjusting and making sure the system fits the personnel.
There’s real optimism that both can give Commanders football a different feel. But there’s also going to be some rough patches.
Training camp is where those show up. The pre-snap operation may lag early, mistakes will happen and the preseason is there to expose all of it.
Washington is betting that Blough and Jones can make the leap. Now they have to prove those hires were the right ones.
Another question hanging over camp is whether Stefon Diggs ends up in Washington. A lot of the offseason chatter centered on the Commanders adding a WR2, and much of that buzz pointed to Brandon Aiyuk before his social-media antics may have put an end to that.
Diggs, a DMV native, is still out there and would immediately upgrade the receiver room. Washington has the cap room to sign him and maybe even overpay a little to get it done.
Whether the team makes that move, or stays with the group already in place, remains to be seen. An early injury or problems in the receiver room could push Adam Peters to act.
Then there’s the rookie class, which may be asked to do more than anyone would like this early. That’s never ideal, especially outside the first round, but the Commanders may need it anyway.
No. 7 overall pick Sonny Styles is expected to be a three-down linebacker. Third-round receiver Antonio Williams could be needed in the passing game.
Sixth-round running back Kaytron Allen is being counted on as a short-yardage option right away. And undrafted kicker Drew Stevens will be trying to put pressure on incumbent Jake Moody.
Those are not luxury asks. They’re needs.
And that makes camp especially important, because rookies are not guarantees. Washington will be watching those four closely to see whether they look ready to help early in the regular season.
In Other News...
Commanders Are Already Dealing With A Defensive Camp Nightmare
Washington is opening training camp with an early defensive headache, as Dorance Armstrong Jr., Trey Amos and Deatrich Wise Jr. all start on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Armstrong and Amos are coming off season-ending injuries from 2025, and Wise adds another experienced body the Commanders cannot count on right away as they try to build a sturdier unit after last season.
The concern goes beyond simply missing reps in camp. Armstrong was already facing a reduced role in Daronte Jones' defense after Washington added Odafe Oweh and K'Lavon Chaisson, while Amos had been viewed as a candidate for a Year 2 jump before the setback slowed him down. The Commanders are still hoping both players can work their way back in time for the opener, but for now the defense has to sort out its depth without three names it expected to have in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders May Be Zeroing In On A Punter Change
Washingtons special teams picture may be getting a closer look after the Commanders hosted workouts for nine players, a group that included a long snapper, a quarterback, multiple receivers and three punters. For a team that has been sorting through roster edges this time of year, the punter spot stands out as one of the more practical places to make a change if the right veteran shows up.
Among the names brought in was Thomas Morstead, whose NFL rsum stretches across the Saints, Jets, Falcons, Dolphins and 49ers. He was on the field for every game with San Francisco last season and remained effective in the role, which is exactly the kind of steady profile teams tend to weigh when they are looking for reliability on the third phase. The Commanders also looked at Jamie Gillan and Matt Haack, so this appears to be more than a courtesy visit, with Washington at least keeping its options open as it sorts through the position. [Read more 🡒]
Adam Peters Just Fueled Brandon Aiyuk Talk In Washington
Adam Peters was asked this week about how much a players social-media habits might matter when Washington is weighing roster decisions, and the Commanders general manager made it clear it is only one piece of a much larger evaluation. Peters said the team considers plenty of factors, but online behavior is not usually near the top of the list, a reminder that Washingtons personnel process is still built around the usual football questions first.
The timing of the exchange naturally kept Brandon Aiyuk in the conversation, even if no one in Ashburn was saying much directly about him. Any future pursuit would still have to clear a few obvious hurdles before it ever became real, and Dan Quinns response to the line of questioning only added to the sense that the topic landed exactly where it was intended. For Washington, it was another small signal that the Aiyuk buzz is not going away anytime soon. [Read more 🡒]