ASHBURN, Va. — Writing as I fly home, after first going to the wrong D.C. airport (long story). My five takeaways from Commanders camp, and the final practice open to fans.
• Dan Quinn is very much trying to instill a hard edge into his team after he felt like it lost a little bit of that in a come-back-to-earth 2025 season. So what does that mean? Longer practices, more time in pads, and conditioning and hardening a team under the sauna of the DMV summer. It has also meant more game-like conditions for everyone to sharpen their skills. More than anyone else, that’s applied to Quinn’s two new coordinators—David Blough on offense and Daronte Jones on defense. The Commanders are conducting mostly 11-on-11 periods, and most of that work’s been done in “call it” periods, where the coaches don’t have a script, are calling plays against each other and reacting to the circumstances in the moment. That’s great training, of course, for Blough and Jones as they build toward the season. And as for areas where the Commanders are getting the edge Quinn is looking for, corner would certainly be one, where both Amik Robertson and Mike Sainristil are playing with chips on their shoulders, which has been really good for the growth of younger guys like Trey Amos. Safety Jeremy Reaves, who, like Robertson, had to earn his way into the league, is another DB in that category.
