On the fourth day of training camp, Washington Commanders practice felt a little closer to real football. The clock read 1:30, the ball was on the offense’s 35-yard line, and both first-team units were on the field. It was the franchise’s first glimpse at Carson Wentz in a tough situation.
Commanders camp notes: Carson Wentz makes a connection, two new linemen arrive
“Toyota! Toyota!” Wentz yelled.
“Silver! Silver!” middle linebacker Cole Holcomb countered.
On the second play, wide receiver Terry McLaurin dropped a tough catch near the left sideline. The next play, Wentz went back to him short right for a couple of yards.
“Even! Gizmo!” Wentz yelled.
After a nice gain to rookie tight end Cole Turner, Wentz overthrew rookie wide receiver Jahan Dotson down the left sideline and then threw at his feet on a crossing route. Over four days, Wentz’s throws regularly have included impressive strikes and inexplicable misses.
Now it was third and 10. Wentz drew defensive tackle Daron Payne offside, but the play went on, and when Wentz checked down to tight end Sammis Reyes for about five yards, senior offensive assistant Jim Hostler hollered: “That was a first down! It was third and five!” The defense vocally disagreed.
On fourth down, Wentz again checked down to Reyes, who managed enough for the first down. In practice, Wentz often has held the ball for several seconds, and in a regular season game it seems unlikely he would have gotten through his reads to Reyes. Overall, Wentz has looked best when making quick decisions.
Two plays later, with three seconds on the clock, Wentz threw a 20-yard dot to Dotson over the middle — and the rookie elevated for the grab in the end zone. The offense, for one day, had finished with a touchdown.
Kerrigan honored
After a news conference announcing his retirement, defensive end Ryan Kerrigan watched practice. Players, coaches and staff often approached to congratulate him on an 11-year career, and in the post-practice huddle, Coach Ron Rivera honored the franchise’s all-time sack leader (95.5).
Injury report
Many players did not participate in Saturday’s practice. Rivera called it a veteran rest day for defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, defensive end Montez Sweat, left guard Andrew Norwell and left tackle Charles Leno Jr.
Running back Antonio Gibson (hamstring) participated in individual drills for the first time but remained out of team drills. The same went for center Chase Roullier (fibula), who was activated from the physically unable to perform list Thursday.
Wide receiver Curtis Samuel was limited again out of “an abundance of caution,” as Rivera has said. Right guard Trai Turner did not participate. Swing tackle Cornelius Lucas also sat out. He remains on the non-football illness list.
Players working on the side field also included tight end John Bates, safety Jeremy Reaves, cornerback DeJuan Neal and defensive back Troy Apke. Bates and Apke wore sleeves on their lower left legs.
Already short on offensive linemen
With so many offensive linemen out, the Commanders’ top two lines looked quite different. The first-team unit, left to right, was Saahdiq Charles, Nolan Laufenberg, Keith Ismael, Wes Schweitzer and Sam Cosmi. The second unit included two players — left tackle Alex Akingbulu and right tackle Rashod Hill — whom the team signed in the morning.
The team released Beau Benzschawel, a veteran of the practice squad, to make room. Hill, a six-year veteran who has played mostly with the Minnesota Vikings, and Akingbulu, an undrafted free agent from Fresno State, seem likely to be temporary fill-ins.
In the coming days, among the most pressing questions for the unit — other than health — will be who mans right guard and how Roullier looks in his return. After he fractured his fibula in October, doctors performed extensive surgery, putting plates into the bone and reattaching ligaments.
“There’s new hardware in my ankle that will never feel fully the same again, so I have to adjust,” Roullier said.
Fourth running back battle
With the top three running backs solidified — Gibson, McKissic and Brian Robinson Jr. — three backs are competing for a potential fourth roster spot: Jonathan Williams, Reggie Bonnafon and Jaret Patterson.
Whether the team keeps four running backs will depend on a variety of factors, most significantly special teams.
Special teams coordinator Nate Kaczor “carries a lot of weight when putting his core guys together, and if he’s a core guy, then that could factor into it,” running backs coach Randy Jordan said of keeping four backs. (The team kept four in 2020 and three in 2021.)
Special teams probably would favor Patterson. Last year, when he was the third running back on the depth chart, he took 71 snaps on special teams. But what if the player who could be the greatest asset on special teams isn’t the one who has the most potential at running back?
On Saturday, Williams entered the two-minute drill with the first team because of Jordan’s desire to see how he would react. Pleased with the result, Jordan praised Williams’s clean route running and his handle of the fast pace.
Source: WP
