Commanders

The Commanders hired OC David Blough and DC Daronte Jones, giving both their first coordinator jobs. Washington GM Adam Peters said both did a great job at illustrating their vision and what their systems will look like. 

“David went first and talked about offense, our vision, our scheme, and then got into the particular players and what we’re looking for in those particular players,” Peters said, via Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic. “Daronte did a great job of painting the picture of what we’re looking at and how the (defensive) front is multiple, so … if a guy can do multiple things, then the versatility is probably more of a premium now.”

Peters said he is eyeing some edge rushers in the 2026 NFL Draft. 

“Ideally, you want Myles Garrett,” Peters said. “That’s who you want, but there’s only one of those guys walking on the face of the earth. But a lot of those same traits — long, fast, explosive, can turn the corner, can finish, all those things. In terms of guys with shorter arms … there are a few in this draft who are really, really good players.”

Peters reiterated that “arm length” is a key attribute that he looks at when evaluating pass rushers. 

“Arm length — I could go days on this arm length thing, because every time you measure somebody’s arm, it could be 30, 31, 32, 33 (inches), just depending on who measures it,” Peters said. “So, you get a pretty good idea of how long their arms are with that, but it’s really how well they play with whatever length they have. Some guys have short arms and they play with great length and extension all the time. Some guys have really long arms (but) don’t use their length as well. It’s great to have that length, but it’s also how they use it and how it comes out on the tape. So, some guys can excel with shorter arms by doing things differently, but ideally you always want to err on the side of longer arms.”

• Commanders DT Daron Payne is entering the final year of his contract. Peters said he’s “excited” about Payne in Jones’ defense and plans on keeping the lineman around.
• Jhabvala points out that the team has yet to open contract discussions with Payne.

Cowboys

Cowboys OC Klayton Adams admitted OL Tyler Guyton has to be available more, as he’s played 25 of 34 games over the first two seasons of his career. Adams thinks Guyton’s game will only continue to take off as he’s handled a handful of professional starts. 

“The most important thing for a young player, specifically talking about Tyler Guyton, is you’ve got to get out there and you’ve got to play,” Adams said, via Tommy Yarrish. “That’s the part I know that he’s been the most frustrated with, is he plays really well in training camp, and then he got dinged up, and then he starts coming back really without having much of a training camp, and then gets dinged again. So he’s just been a little bit unlucky in that way.”

“Once you can get a guy through that first 20 to 25 starts, you can really start seeing those guys kind of self-reflecting and kind of modernizing their game on their own a little bit, which is always fun to see.”

Regarding RT Terence Steele, Adams called him the “absolute pro,” and said they have a handful of new things they plan to work on with him this offseason.

“I just think that there’s a ton of good things that he’s doing,” Adams said. “The margins are smaller as you get later in your career for the type of improvement that you specifically want to be able to make, but we’ve got an improvement plan ready for him for probably seven or eight different things that maybe he hasn’t worked on in his career. And so I can certainly see some of the benefits of the way that the guy works. He’s an absolute pro, and we’re gonna continue to find ways to help him get better.”

• Todd Archer reports that LB Donovan Ezeiruaku is five weeks removed from hip surgery that will keep him out of the offseason program, but sees him return in time for training camp.

Eagles

Eagles OLB Jaelan Phillips is set to be an unrestricted free agent. When asked about his approach this offseason, Eagles GM Howie Roseman said they want to add “difference-making players” and retain those types of players already on the roster. 

“I think it starts with difference-making players,” Roseman said, via Zach Berman of The Athletic. “And when you have an opportunity to keep difference-making players, you don’t want to let those guys leave. So that’s when we talk about when we’re going to retain those guys: you can’t find those guys. It’s hard to find those guys in the draft, hopefully, where we’re picking. And so those are the guys that we made a concerted effort to keep. And when you do that, and you pay those guys, then you have to make sacrifices somewhere else.” 

Roseman thinks their defense took “another step” after acquiring Phillips from the Dolphins.

“We knew what kind of person Jaelan Phillips was from the time we spent with him in the pre-draft process, and it was confirmed throughout our time with him in Philadelphia,” Roseman said. “From my perspective, that (trade) gave us a shot in the arm. The defense obviously played really well throughout the course of the season, and took another step when he was here. We understood, also, here’s the worst-case situation, which is he’s going to be a free agent. If he leaves a free agent, you have to not sign somebody to get the (compensatory) pick for next year. Understanding that. And also, the hardest part about free agency is understanding who the player is, because you don’t live with that person, and getting the chance to be with him and see who he was, obviously, to us, is even more addictive.”