Commanders links
Articles
ESPN
Commanders to hire D.J. Williams as new QBs coach
The Washington Commanders are hiring D.J. Williams, the son of franchise great Doug Williams, to be their quarterbacks coach, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Wednesday.
D.J. Williams served as Atlanta’s quarterbacks coach this season. He was the Falcons’ assistant quarterbacks coach/offensive assistant in 2024.
D.J. Williams spent five years with New Orleans as an offensive assistant before joining Atlanta. He also spent 2018 working in the Saints’ football operations department. Williams participated in the NFL/Black College Football Hall of Fame quarterback coaching summit from 2019 to ’21, and again in ’23. He was the quarterbacks coach of the National Team at the 2023 Senior Bowl.
Washington Post (paywall)
D.J. Williams, son of former quarterback Doug Williams, will join the Commanders’ coaching staff. He spent this past season with the Atlanta Falcons.
Williams will be the third person to serve as the Commanders’ quarterbacks coach in the past two months. Tavita Pritchard left to become Stanford’s coach in November. Washington picked assistant quarterbacks coach David Blough to replace Pritchard on an interim basis. After the Commanders surprisingly parted with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury last week, they made a similarly surprising move to promote Blough to that role.
Commanders.com
Commanders 2025 position review | Linebacker
Jordan Magee saw an uptick in his playing time this season and showed noticeable improvement in his second season. Magee, a former fifth-round pick from Temple, suffered a knee injury prior to the start of the 2024 season that forced him to miss most of his rookie campaign. Now healthy, Magee showed the quickness that made him stand out during the draft process, recording 54 tackles with three stops for a loss. Although Magee still split his time between the defense and special teams, the coaching staff seems excited about his development and what he could accomplish in 2026.
What happens with Wagner? Wagner did not provide an answer on whether he intends to retire after the 2025 season, although he certainly showed that he can still be an NFL starter as one of the oldest active players in the league. Wagner is also set to be a free agent in March, and there could be interest from both sides to get a deal done. Wagner loves playing for Quinn as well as linebackers coach Ken Norton, and he was their most consistent defensive player. However, it’s possible that his future in Washington will depend at least partially on who the Commanders bring in as their new defensive coordinator.
What’s next for Magee? Magee took one of the biggest jumps last season and seemed like he was closer to being a bigger fixture in the Commanders’ defense. He was one of the few linebackers on the roster who had the speed to keep up with running backs in coverage, and his ability to run sideline-to-sideline started to flash more often in the second half of the season. The next logical step for Magee is to be a full-time starter on defense, but that will depend on how he looks during the offseason and in training camp. The Commanders’ coaching staff prefers to give more snaps to players who earn them, which is why he was more involved in the game plan last year. It’s possible that Magee could become the on-field play caller for the defense in the near future, but part of that might depend on whether the team decides to re-sign Wagner.
Riggo’s Rag
Ben Sinnott faces a pivotal offseason that will shape his Commanders’ future
When they chose him with the No. 53 pick in the 2024 draft, general manager Adam Peters compared the Kansas State product to George Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk, perennial Pro Bowlers from the San Francisco 49ers. Needless to say, Sinnott has yet to reach these lofty expectations.
While it made sense in 2024 for Ertz to dominate the snaps, as 2025 went on, that became increasingly harder to justify. Sinnott did indeed play a little more, but he was never an integral part of the offense. Even after the Pro Bowler went down with an injury, the fledgling second-year pro never appeared to be more than an afterthought.
There was a time when tight ends generally had to play for a few years before making a significant mark in the league. Because it combines the responsibilities of both receiver and lineman, it is usually the second-hardest offensive position to master, after quarterback.
But that has changed in recent years.
In addition to the three rookie sensations mentioned above, Trey McBride, Sam LaPorta, Tucker Kraft, and Dalton Kincaid all hit the ground running, gaining more than 1,000 receiving yards in their first two seasons. Brock Bowers — the only tight end chosen ahead of Sinnott in 2024 — blew away all rookie receiving records with over 100 catches and 1,000 yards in his first season. He is already an All-Pro-caliber performer, meeting generational pre-draft projections.
Most of this season’s top tight ends played on losing teams. But of the 14 playoff teams, their primary option at the position averaged 50 catches and 557 receiving yards. That is what Washington thought it was getting with Sinnott.
The 2026 campaign will provide another chance.
Ertz will be gone. Kingsbury, who may have favored the veteran, is also out. David Blough, who arrived in Washington at the same time as Sinnott, will be calling the shots. At present, the Commanders are not exactly loaded with lots of pass catchers. He should get an opportunity to step up.
Commanders Wire
Kliff Kingsbury, Commanders parted on good terms
ESPN NFL insider Peter Schrager…appearing on the Pat McAfee show Tuesday, was very confident that the Dan Quinn/Kliff Kingsbury parting of the ways was, in fact, merely an agreement to go their separate ways.
“I think for Kliff and Washington, at the end of the day, they wanted to make a change, and he was more than fine to no longer be the offensive play caller in that building,” Schrager said. “And he loved Jayden (Daniels) and loved Dan Quinn. I think it was just time, and they are moving on to David Blough, who is 30 years old, and they get their fresh new start. I’m excited to see where that goes,” added Schrager.
There had been much talk of a rift between Dan Quinn and Kingsbury, or of GM Adam Peters meddling in Kingsbury’s decision-making on who should play in the offense. But Schrager insists, “It actually ended on good terms with him and Quinn. Kliff goes on now, and I think they (Commanders) were just looking to get into a new scheme and mirror what they (Adam Peters) did in San Francisco.”
Schrager then voiced his agreement with the parting of the ways. “I think that is fair. What Kliff does is different; it is not what they want to run. So they are going to move on. Again, both sides are cool with each other, happy, and Kliff is going to get another opportunity.”
Commanders sign former Army star to reserve/futures contract
On Monday, the Commanders added another: Andre Carter II. No, he’s not related to the longtime former NFL star of the same name, who also spent five seasons with the Redskins. Carter, 25, played collegiately at Army, where he was a third-team All-American in 2021. In that 2021 season, Carter recorded 20.5 tackles for loss and 16.5 sacks. He missed time in his senior season before going undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Carter spent most of his first two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. After making the 53-man roster as a rookie, Carter spent most of his second season on the practice squad before he was waived and picked up by the Las Vegas Raiders. He appeared in three games for the Raiders late in the 2024 season.
After being waived by the Raiders in August 2025, Carter signed with the Detroit Lions’ practice squad. The Miami Dolphins signed him off the Lions’ practice squad to their 53-man roster. He was again waived and re-signed to the practice squad. With several practice squad contracts expiring around the NFL on Monday, Washington moved to add Carter to its offseason roster.
The Athletic (paywall)
Jayden Daniels to join Tom Brady in Fanatics flag football event in Saudi Arabia
The Washington Commanders’ quarterback will participate and serve as a captain in the Fanatics Flag Football Classic in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 21.
The March event, held at Kingdom Arena, will be a round-robin tournament with three teams — the Founders, Mustangs and Wildcats — made up of current and former NFL players. Brady will quarterback and captain the Founders, while Daniels will be the captain of the Wildcats. The quarterback for the Mustangs has yet to be revealed.
Other announced participants in the March event include running backs Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffrey; wide receivers CeeDee Lamb, Tyreek Hill and Odell Beckham Jr.; pass rushers Maxx Crosby and Myles Garrett; cornerback Sauce Gardner; tight end Brock Bowers; and retired tight end Rob Gronkowski.
Pete Carroll, who was fired as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders last week, will join the Denver Broncos’ Sean Payton and the San Francisco 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan as the coaches.
In a memo to NFL clubs last September following Fanatics’ announcement of the Saudi flag football game, the NFL reminded that the event is not league sanctioned and that players will not have any injury protection through their contracts or the collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players’ Association. The NFL also reminded clubs in the memo, which was obtained by The Athletic, that they can deny permission for players to participate.
Podcasts & videos
Breaking down David Blough’s (potential) offense with Logan Paulsen | John Keim Report
Moving on up David Blough & D.J. Williams!: All Ears with JP Finlay | NBC4 Washington
Lions podcaster gives his take on Commanders recent roster moves and promotion of David Blough
(The tight end signed to the future contract he references but doesn’t name near the start of the video is Lawrence Cager, a college QB turned TE who spent 2025 on the Commanders practice squad)
NFC East links
Big Blue View
NY Giants, John Harbaugh nearing a deal
The New York Giants appear set to hire John Harbaugh as their next head coach
The report, per Adam Schefter of ESPN, came late Wednesday following a long meeting between the two parties during the day. An agreement is expected barring a setback.
It had previously been reported that Harbaugh left East Rutherford without a deal, and would take a meeting with the Tennessee Titans at home on Baltimore.
Instead, it seems as though Harbaugh will eventually be announced as the Giants head coach in 2026. This is clearly welcome news to any fan who feared the team fumbled the opportunity to get the most experienced coach in a chaotic market.
Giants have been starved for victories (literal and figurative) for far too long. John Harbaugh was the consensus No. 1 coaching domino, and—barring a setback—he will coach the Giants in 2026. That represents a much-needed victory for a franchise desperately seeking leadership to guide its young nucleus of talent.
Blogging the Boys
Hard Knocks detailed Brian Schottenheimer, Jerry Jones explaining Matt Eberflus firing
In case you are unaware, NFL Films and HBO have been chronicling the second half of this season through the in-season version of Hard Knocks. Like the version that people know and love from the summer that covers a team in training camp, it serves as a fly-on-the-wall documentation of what is happening.
A new episode of the documentary series dropped on Tuesday night and in it Brian Schottenheimer was seen explaining Eberflus’ firing in a Cowboys staff meeting.
“I just met with Flus early this morning. Incredible human being. I love the man, but at the end of the day, the football wasn’t right. I’ve been in this position, I’ve been Flus. I’ve been the guys in this room. I understand the questions. I understand the concerns, and I will answer all of those. Right now the focus has to be, number-one, the man. Reach out, tell him you love him, because he’s a great man. Number-two, finishing this process. The exit interviews with the players are critical. We have to continue that process. We got players rolling in here in a little bit. If anyone has questions, come see me.”
Schotty was not the only person associated with Cowboys leadership to address this on the episode.
Jerry Jones offered his thoughts and mentioned that firing Eberflus was among the hardest decisions he has made in his time with the team.
“Our 2025 season was a roller-coaster. We were inconsistent on defense. The Eberflus decision of not going forward with him was one of the hardest that I’ve been involved in during my time with the Dallas Cowboys. But at the end of the day, I think it was the thing to do.”
You can file these statements under “that makes sense, what else are they supposed to say” type of responses. They were kind, Schotty was particularly intent on instructing his staff to show kindness to Eberflus, and professional. That is great to see.
Bleeding Green Nation
The new Eagles OC will likely have complete autonomy over the offense
Josina Anderson is reporting that some candidates have asked and been assured that they would have complete autonomy over the offense with no interference.
A league source also just told me initial talks with Eagles offensive coordinator candidates [and] “their camps” have gone well, adding that the feedback has been on wanting to have questions assuaged on “complete autonomy” over the offense–similar to what Kellen Moore enjoyed when he was with Philly.
Those concerns were met with responses insuring an elite candidate should not anticipate “any interference,”
the source said.
Several reports have also indicated that the Eagles are looking for an established offensive play-caller, so the fact that whomever they’ve spoken to has asked about control over the offense makes sense. Reports have suggested guys like Mike McDaniel and Brian Daboll are at the top of the list, and that the team is also reportedly interested in Kliff Kingsbury and Kevin Stefanski.
NFL league links
Articles
Pro Football Talk
Kirk Cousins joins CBS for next two rounds of playoffs
With Matt Ryan leaving CBS for the Falcons, a Falcons (for now) player will be filling his seat.
CBS has announced that quarterback Kirk Cousins will join The NFL Today for the next two weekends of the postseason.
Last year, Cousins joined ESPN for the divisional round of the playoffs. He had been scheduled to appear on NBC’s Football Night in America during Atlanta’s 2024 bye week, but he later canceled.
Cousins has a future in media, if he wants it. For now, he’s in line to get paid yet again as a free agent in March. A recent tweak to his contract sets the stage for the Falcons to release him on March 11 or 12, putting him on the market in the early days of free agency.
NFL Draft
ESPN
QB Dante Moore opts against NFL draft, returning to Oregon
Oregon quarterback Dante Moore has decided to return to school for the 2026 season, he announced Wednesday on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”
By going back to Oregon, Moore gave up a chance to be a top pick in the 2026 NFL draft. He’ll project near the top of a loaded quarterback class for 2027.
“With this decision, mainly all my life has just been about being as most prepared as I can for any situation I go into,” Moore told “SportsCenter.” “And when it comes to me making my decision, I just want to do what’s best for my situation, especially as a quarterback.
“With my decision, it’s been very tough. I’ve prayed a lot about it, talked to many people — my mentors and people I look up to. With that being said, of course I’ll be coming back to Oregon for one more year, being able to play for the Oregon Ducks and reach our goal and be national champions.”
Wednesday was the deadline for underclassmen not playing in the College Football Playoff championship game to declare for the draft.
2026 NFL draft Big Board rankings: Mel Kiper’s top prospects
Of course, the class will still change a lot more between now and April 23 when Round 1 begins in Pittsburgh. Players will rise and fall over the coming months. This is how I see the top of the class right now, but I will keep this list updated throughout predraft events. I have scouting reports for the top 25 overall, and I have stacked the best of the best at every position at the bottom.
Over the Cap
Median QB Earnings by Draft Round
With Dante Moore making the decision to go back to college for his senior year I wanted to just look at what the risks could be with making that decision.
Being selected high is generally a golden ticket. The worst performers were Jake Locker and Josh Rosen both slightly over $28 million. The next worst was Blaine Gabbert, generally considered a bust who was able to use the draft status to get up to about $52 million. RGIII was at $68M while Mitchell Trubisky is $74 million.
My guess is the average of the rest of round 1 and the entire round 2 numbers are the real numbers for the non top 10 status. The bottom here was Johnny Manziel at $11 million and he didn’t even earn his guaranteed rookie contract because he was immature. Paxton Lynch is next at $15 million. Round 2 had Christian Hackenberg at $4.3 million and DeShone Kizer at $6.3 million.
Round 3 sees us drop over $18 million and then $5.4 million for round 4. Round 5 had a little bounce to nearly $8 million while round 6 and 7 did not have a lot of success. UDFA’s are often quickly in and out.
This doesn’t mean that where you are drafted defines your upside. Russell Wilson and Kirk Cousins are the top two earners among all of the QBs in this timeframe and were not picked anywhere near round 1 but they were the exceptions. Like I said above. Making it in the NFL is tough but that rookie contract locks in nearly $50 million for those top picks and basically covers a lot of financial ground. The soft factor of getting to hang around to bring out that potential for top picks is also a real thing.
Now maybe Moore was not going to be selected in the top 5. He may have been advised that teams were not as hot for him as the draft experts currently are. That is a totally different scenario if it is the case, but if he was a lock to go somewhere in the top 5 this is a real risky financial decision on his end.
Hopefully it works out for him and he gets selected near the top of the draft next year, but this is a big risk and to play it off like it isn’t because he might get drafted by the Raiders or Jets just isn’t based on any historical evidence or any real idea of how contracts have worked out in the NFL.
Commanders.com
Logan Paulsen profiles top players in 2026 draft class
Keldric Faulk, DE, Auburn
Height: 6-foot-6
Weight: 285
2025 stats: 29 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 FR, 4 PBUs
Paulsen’s take: “This was a really interesting journey I took with Keldric Faulk. He’s not this player, but in terms of body type, I got very strong Julius Peppers vibes. In Auburn’s defense, he plays a wide nine technique, so outside the tackle. He plays a five technique, which is tight to the tackle’s outside shoulder. He plays a ‘4i technique,’ which is inside the tackle, three technique and there’s even some pass rush reps for him at nose guard. So, he’s very versatile in the front, and the thing that sticks out to me above all else is his hand usage is excellent. You see these guys that are 6-6 or 6-7, and they don’t always use their length the best. I feel like he uses his length really, really well. He’s got a natural kind of basketball athleticism to him … He just turned 20 at the beginning of the month, so he is a puppy … I didn’t like him at the beginning, and then the more I watched him, I was like, ‘This guy could be an absolute stud.'”
Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 195
2025 stats: 51 receptions, 875 yards, 9 TDs
Paulsen’s take: “I definitely think he’s a first-round player. I’m having a hard time categorizing him. To be fair, I’ve always had a hard time categorizing Ohio State wide receivers because they’re just so much better. The offense is so much better; the team is so much better than a lot of guys they play against. He’s tall, so a big guy, good frame, a little bit of a long strider. I don’t see this great short-area burst with him. He is a kind of ‘build up speed’ type of guy. His drop rate decreased dramatically from 2024 to 2025, so he obviously worked on that and got significantly better. He’s become significantly better in contested catch situations. I feel like he needs to lean on that skill set a little bit more. I think the reason I’m having a hard time with him is that he has the body type of a receiver I really like, but I understand the body type that’s winning in the NFL is not necessarily that. It’s more these guys that are excellent accelerators and decelerators that get in and out of cuts super clean. He’s a little more of a traditional mold, and I just wonder how fast he is. To me, he feels like a really good No. 2.”
