ORLANDO, Fla. – Josh Harris continues to tick boxes in his first year as managing spouse of the Washington Commanders.
There, the educational camp, the normal season, the layoffs, and the hiring of football staff. Attending the NFL Scouting Combine put Harris at the combine as general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn turned their attention to quarterback prospects. A fancy hotel in Central Florida marked another milestone, but not because of the great food or the sumptuous pool.
Advertising
“My first annual (league) meetings in the NFL,” Harris said in a question-and-answer briefing with reporters in Washington. He said the meetings, which included notable rule tweaks and announcements such as scheduling two games on Christmas, even if the date fell on a Wednesday, were “super productive. “
“And obviously, we did something ourselves,” he said.
Harris gave the impression that he was referring to an $86. 5 million financing loan for improvements to the home stadium without a corporate call approved through the other owners. You may have simply pointed to a revamped list and the new voices that paved the way for the three-month period. to hire coaches, hire 22 outside and inside agents and prepare for April’s NFL Draft.
GO FURTHER
Commanders free agency tracker: WR Olamide Zaccheaus signs, Michael Davis adds depth to DB
“We’re all drinking from the chimney hose,” Harris said of the organization dealing with the NFL’s busy schedule while learning how to become a cohesive organization. “But it’s a wonderful opportunity to start, essentially, with a blank page. “. Bringing in a new coach, a new general manager, a new front office, a new owner, obviously, and it was exciting. . . You may have noticed how we did it in free agency, and now let’s move on to the draft. So, I think we’re building, and that’s exciting.
A day after Peters met with reporters, Quinn and NFC head coaches held formal one-on-one press sessions Tuesday. Here’s a look at some of Harris and Quinn’s highlights.
The football measures taken and their completion refer to an imminent football season. Washington may not have a replacement for the old Prince George’s County, Maryland, stadium until later this decade. In addition to football options, Harris and his teammates are “focused on our new home. “
They are not in time and place.
“We’re in extensive conversations with Maryland,” Harris said, “but at the same time, we’re proceeding to explore the option of having an in RFK. “
Advertising
Maryland has merit on the field. The District is winning nostalgically, but the hurdles are primarily “political,” Harris said. Although Congress agreed to cede RFK’s campus to the city, the Senate will have to act before city officials can do so. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday that a new stadium in Washington is “justified. “
Goodell, who grew up in the Washington, D. C. , domain, is hopeful based on conversations with @MayorBowser and the motion on Capitol Hill. He said having a stadium there was “justified”https://t. co/7OBKRuFE54
– Ben Standig (@BenStandig) March 26, 2024
Even if the decision is whether city officials will fund much of a task that may exceed $2 billion, there’s no guarantee the budget will be there. Monumental Sports manager Ted Leonsis would likely have to keep his NBA and NHL teams in Washington. after looking to negotiate a new home for the Wizards and Capitals in Virginia.
If that’s the case, it could simply hamper the district’s ability to court Harris and cause Virginia, which hasn’t given up on its Commanders Stadium recruiting plans, to take ambitious steps to land a primary professional sports franchise. Harris said his organization was “super focused” on the direction the Monumental Sports script would take.
“We’re actually watching it, observing it and learning from it. But there’s not much we can do in that process, so we’re a little far from that,” Harris said. “But it’s transparent that what’s happening may simply have implications. “
Free NFL updates delivered straight to your inbox. To register
Free NFL updates delivered straight to your inbox. To register
That’s Quinn’s comment when asked how he handles various reports and guessed what Washington would do with the second general election. A quarterback’s draft is the overwhelming leader of the clubhouse, even if an industry can’t be ruled out. The QB expressed what the commanders would choose is a mystery for one specific reason: they don’t know what they’re going to do.
Advertising
“That’s exactly right,” Quinn said with a laugh. And then if anyone thinks they know, they’ll have to tell me because Adam and I haven’t gotten to that point yet. “The coach said he was only investigating through the player. records after focusing on free agency.
LSU’s Jayden Daniels and North Carolina’s Drake Maye were the presumptive candidates, especially since the Chicago Bears seem bound to select USC’s Caleb Williams with the top pick. In recent weeks, J. J. McCarthy has an apparent contender for a top-five pick, with a second-choice rumor surfacing in Orlando.
GO FURTHER
NFL Draft Simulation: Viking Trade, Leading to Top 4 Picks with Many Quarterbacks
Fans and others need answers as the draft starts at number 2. Washington has no interest in responding to such demands. There are professional days to attend (LSU on Wednesday, followed by UNC this week) and clients to welcome to visit the team’s amenities in Northern Virginia, as well as gather more data before making such a decision.
“It’s clearly a very vital choice,” Harris said. And we have (six) selections in the top 100 most sensible, and we did it on purpose. So it’s vital for us to have a very strong draft, that’s for sure. “.
“I know the quarterback gets a lot of attention, as he should,” Quinn said. “It’s a story here and everywhere. But there are a lot of players (to evaluate) and. . . Lots of picks for this year’s draft. So, that’s going to be one of the scenarios, but it’s not going to be the scenario.
Harris is not referring to his school years, but to some notes in the NFL Players Association’s Washington Organizational Report as a result of an anonymous vote among players. The Commanders ranked 32nd out of 32 teams and won an F-minus as a family. treatment, locker room and education room.
“I didn’t know you could get an F-minus,” Harris joked about a factor he and his team take seriously. “They overlooked all of this” when they took over the franchise last July and followed the most recent newsletter. Harris said the focus is on the “player experience, the player room” and other issues and stated that many things can’t be completed until the next educational camp.
Advertising
The other focus is on how much to invest, knowing that the plans come with the structure of a modern practice center. As for whether those new amenities will be located in the next ballpark, Harris says it hasn’t been discussed yet, but “I don’t think the two necessarily have to be in the same place. “
“I mean, I think it’s working well,” he said. And especially when you have three jurisdictions, it’s clear that you need to think about the most productive thing you can do to engage the whole community. “
GO FURTHER
What Commanders general manager Adam Peters and what we heard at the league’s annual meetings
Let’s assume that only one player represents the adjustments to the roster and game plan. In that case, think about the safety of the free agent. Chinn, the 2020 Defensive Rookie of the Year behind Chase Young, replaced another safety, Kamren Curl. on the list. Although Washington signed Chinn to a one-year deal during the legal manipulation period, Curl’s two-year contract with the Los Angeles Rams was finalized later that week.
“I think Kam is a player, and I think he’s going to continue to do well in L. A. ,” Quinn said at the start of his reaction to what he was looking for when it came to safety. “When you look at the safeguards, there’s some that are down and playing in the box (and) can play multiple roles, and that’s what I think Jeremy can do. “
Quinn sees Chinn “charging” and “keeping the ends tight” as he is located closer to the line of scrimmage than in midfield. “We need to play tight. We need to play aggressively,” the coach continued, “so the more man-to-man, the more skill there is in the blitz, that’s what we’re in this position for. “
Don’t take this as a suggestion that Curl doesn’t have those characteristics or that the former Carolina Panthers player won in a head-to-head decision. Curl showed those skills, especially in his first few seasons with Washington, when the “Buffalo Nickel” is all the rage. The 2020 seventh-round pick is the kind of insider that groups like to stick around when possible. But for Peters and Quinn, Curl was another free agent on the market, and they went in a different direction. .
The direction in which Quinn sees Chinn and Frankie Luvu moving at their best on game day is forward. That’s where the security discussion wants to move on now. Actually, we’ll come back to the debate during the season.
(Photo via Dan Quinn: Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA Today)