Commanders takeaways as training camp nears its end, plus five players who need big preseason finales

ASHBURN, Va. — The Commanders held their penultimate practice of training camp Thursday afternoon, but the biggest news came earlier in the day: Washington traded wide receiver Jahan Dotson to the Eagles.

“I was speechless,” fellow wide receiver Dyami Brown said. “That was a weird one … didn’t really expect that one. For him to go, I wish him the best of luck. We’ve been here, and we built that brotherly bond. It’s always love. I wish the best for him.”

Dotson had been in the midst of an up-and-down training camp, but his departure throws another twist into a wide receiver room that was already uncertain behind Terry McLaurin.

Speaking after practice, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury called Dotson a “great kid” but also praised the remaining group for their development.

“Very confident,” Kingsbury said. “They’ve made a bunch of plays so far in camp. [I’ve] been impressed, like I said, with how they’ve gotten better since the spring and continue to improve and [be a] very hard-working, competitive room.”

The Commanders will hold a more game preparation-focused practice Friday, Dan Quinn said, ahead of their preseason finale against the Patriots. With Dotson’s departure and plenty of roster questions looming, here were the key takeaways from Thursday’s session.

The offense worked mainly on red-zone situations, and Daniels coincidentally hit rookie Luke McCaffrey — one of the players expected to see his role increase following Dotson’s departure — on the first play for a touchdown.

Overall, Daniels had some good moments, though his best came in a mock game scenario in which the offense received the ball near midfield, trailing by four with 51 seconds left. Daniels found McCaffrey for a big gain to the right sideline, and McCaffrey got out of bounds. On the next play, Daniels found a wide-open Zach Ertz for a touchdown of roughly 40 yards. The veteran tight end punted…

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Author : Zachary Pereles

Publish date : 2024-08-23 01:30:06

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