Training Camp – Rise & Fall, Part 2

August 15, 2023

By Noonefromtampa

Well, the first preseason game is in the books and for a surprising change Washington won the game. The new owner got a game ball, but as head coach Ron Rivera said in his post-game speech, the team has a lot of things to work on. The fans vented their frustrations on social media against second-round pick Quan Martin who had an up and down game but will likely improve. A portion of the Commanders fanbase has already decided that he is going to be a bust and railed against Rivera for drafting him instead of improving the offensive line. The play of the offensive line this season will provide a definite answer to this question.

One social media post I liked this week was about the trade down for Jahan Dotson.  That trade and a subsequent trade involving one of the picks received yielded Dotson, Brian Robinson, Sam Howell, and Cole Turner. All four players look to be impactful this season.

Quarterbacks

Sam Howell performed well overall, going 9 for 12 passing for 77 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. His passer rating was 119.1, which is pretty good considering the poor offensive line play. Jacoby Brissett and Jake Fromm both threw interceptions. In Brissett’s defense, the receiver was open, but he could not step into the throw because of the pass rush so the ball came up short and was intercepted. Brissett also showed off his running ability picking up a touchdown when nobody was open near the goal line. Risers are Howell and Brissett with Fromm being neutral. The NFL’s new emergency QB rule may allow Fromm to make the final roster since he would be available on game day if both QB’s were hurt and not count against active game day players.

Keep: 2 maybe 3

53-Man Roster Locks: Sam Howell, Jacoby Brissett

On the Bubble: Jake Fromm

Wide Receivers

Terry McLaurin and Curtis Samuel got minimal work in the game as the coaches wanted to see more of other players in live game action. Jahan Dotson ran a great route and caught a touchdown pass. Teams are going to have matchup issues against this group of receivers and Eric Bieniemy is going to exploit that. Brian Pringle and Mitchell Tinsley had good games. Marcus Kemp almost had a big play and as several beat reporters posted, he has been having a good camp. Risers are Pringle, Kemp, Tinsley, with Allen and Milne and the rest of the non-veteran players being fallers. Milne did not help his case by catching a punt with one foot out of bounds.

Keep: 6

53-Man Roster Locks: Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, Jahan Dotson, Dyami Brown

In contention: Bryon Pringle, Marcus Kemp, Kazmeir Allen, Jalen Sample, Mitchell Tinsley

Practice Squad: Jalen Sample

Probable Releases: Dax Milne, Zion Bowens, Kyric McGowan, Brycen Tremayne

Running Backs

Brian Robinson and Antonio Gibson showed some flashes, but the offensive line blocking was inconsistent. The player who impressed me was Chris Rodriguez, who seems to be a capable backup to Robinson, with five carries for 39 yards and 7.8 yard per carry average.

Keep: 3

53-Man Roster Locks: Brian Robinson, Antonio Gibson, Chris Rodriguez

Practice Squad: Jaret Patterson or Jonathan Williams.

Probable Releases: Derrick Gore

Tight Ends

I think we got a glimpse of what Cole Turner will be able to achieve this season. He may have not made any splash plays in this game, but he caught everything thrown at him and moved the chains up field. Logan Thomas didn’t play as a precaution because of his minor leg injury. John Bates had one incompletion thrown his way which was negated by a holding penalty. Curtis Hodges’ only target was intercepted, so most of the tight end group did not contribute much to the stat line. The riser is Turner, with everyone else neutral. Kaden Smith, who last played in 2021 with the Giants, was signed to roster on Sunday.

Keep: 4

53-Man Roster Lock: Logan Thomas, John Bates, Cole Turner

On the Bubble: Curtis Hodges, Alex Armah

Probable Release: Brandon Dillion, Kaden Smith

Offensive Line

Saahdiq Charles did not play out of injury concern. Andrew Wylie picked up two holding penalties. The whole starting offensive line was out of sync for the first two series and overall played poorly against several Cleveland backups who played in place of the regulars. If the offensive line doesn’t perform better, it will be a long season for Commanders fans. The riser is Cosmi at guard, and faller is  Wylie.

Keep: 9

53-Man Roster Locks: Charles Leno Jr., Chris Paul, Nick Gates, Sam Cosmi, Andrew Wylie, Tyler Larsen, Cornelius Lucas, Ricky Stromberg

On the Bubble: Saahdiq Charles, Trenton Scott

Practice Squad: Mason Brooks, Braeden Daniels, Nolan Laufenberg

Probable Releases: Alex Akingbulu, Jaryd Jones-Smith, Aaron Monteiro

Defensive Line

Chase Young played and looked decent but was pulled when he was dinged on a tackle. Montez Sweat made a tackle for a loss to force a turnover on downs on the Washington 1-yard line. Too frequently, the line allowed significant gains on the ground by both running backs and quarterbacks. James Smith-Williams had the only Washington sack in the game. John Ridgeway had a fumble recovery. Andre Jones Jr. also flashed in the game showing his speed. Risers are Smith-Williams, Ridgeway, Jones, and fallers are Toohill Potoa’e, Bradley-King.

Keep: 9

53-Man Roster Locks: Chase Young, Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Montez Sweat, Phidarian Mathis, Efe Obada, John Ridgeway

On the Bubble:  James Smith-Williams, Casey Toohill, K.J. Henry

Practice Squad: Benning Potoa’e, Andre Jones Jr.

Probable Releases: Will Bradley-King, Curtis Brooks, Joshua Pryor.

Linebackers

Milo Eifler had a forced fumbled and three tackles, while Khaleke Hudson had 6 total tackles leading the team.  De’Jon Harris had three tackles and a pass defense. Eifler, Hudson and Harris are all risers at this point.

Keep: 5

53-Man Roster Locks: Cody Barton, Jamin Davis, David Mayo

On the Bubble: Milo Eifler, De’Jon Harris, Khaleke Hudson

Practice Squad: [If Eifler or Harris don’t make the roster, one of them will end up here.]

Cornerbacks

Kendall Fuller did not play, so Emmanuel Forbes and Benjamin St-Juste got the starts. They played well enough but that was expected. Of the backups, Christian Holmes, Danny Johnson, Castro-Fields and, yes, even Rachard Wildgoose played well. Holmes had two passes defended and Castro-Fields had one. Risers were Holmes, Castro-Fields, and Wildgoose.  The fallers were Stirgus, Whittaker.

Keep: 6

53-Man Roster Locks: Emmanuel Forbes, Kendall Fuller, Benjamin St-Juste, Danny Johnson

On the Bubble: Christian Holmes, Tariq Castro-Fields, DaMarcus Fields, Rachad Wildgoose

Practice Squad: [Probably Holmes and/or Castro-Fields]

Probable Releases: D.J. Stirgus, Nick Whiteside II, Jace Whittaker

Safeties

Overall, this group played well, outside of Jartavius Martin, who had a rough game, including a pass interference call. Percy Butler had an interception with a nice return on an overthrown ball. Ferrod Gardner had 3 tackles on defense and one on special teams. Terrell Burgess had two tackles and a pass defense. The riser is Gardner; Martin is neutral.

Keep: 5

53-Man Roster Locks: Percy Butler, Kamren Curl, Darrick Forrest, Jartavius “Quan” Martin, Jeremy Reaves

On the Bubble: Terrell Burgess

Practice Squad: Ferrod Gardner

Probable Releases: Joshua Kalu, Kendall Smith

Special Teams

Colby Wadman, who was essentially auditioning for a job with another team, had a good game punting with a 44.3 net average. He was released on Sunday, indicating the Tress Way is ready to assume the main role again. Joey Slye converted a 49-yard field goal attempt and he split successful point-after attempts with Michael Badgley.

53-Man Roster Locks: Tress Way, Joey Slye and Camaron Cheeseman

Probable Releases: Michael Badgley

Released: Colby Wadman