Commanders
Commanders HC Ron Rivera told reporters that QB Sam Howell performed exactly how the team expected him to in the preseason.
“Sam did exactly what we were hoping and expecting he would do. Went out and executed, took control of the offense, took control of the huddle, did a good job at the line of scrimmage,” Rivera said, via Pro Football Talk. “I thought he executed and handled the situation and circumstances the way we hoped he’d do. The first thing he told me is, ‘Those two sacks were on me, coach.’ He said, ‘I gotta make quicker decisions, I gotta get rid of the ball better,’ I thought the offensive line handled it pretty well. We feel confident in who he is. There’s a lot of reasons to be optimistic.”
- Ian Rapoport reports there is a sense of “optimism” that Commanders WR Terry McLaurin will be available for Week 1 after an MRI showed no major issues on his toe injury.
- Rapoport notes McLaurin is currently considered day-to-day.
Eagles
Eagles CB Darius Slay has praise for rookie DT Jalen Carter, noting that he has impressed all of his teammates this offseason.
“He looks like a baby rhino,” Slay said of Carter on the Big Play Slay show. “You ever seen a baby rhino and you just — man — he’s crazy. I’m talking about, he’s pushing folks back. You can ask (Eagles RT) Lane Johnson. Lane Johnson said it himself, one of the best tackles in the game, said this guy is ready to play right now and ready to take control of a game right now. He’s a game changer.”
“I know y’all heard the report about Jalen Carter, man, breaking the sled,” Slay added. “I’m talking about, buddy is strong, man. I’m not gonna compare him to who I want to compare him to, but I’ve been around a lot of great D-tackles. I’ve been around (Ndamukong) Suh, Haloti Ngata, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave. I’ve been around a great group of guys that play the D-tackle, man, and I’m trying to tell you here, Jalen Carter, this kid is just very, very dominant, man. He’s very physical, quicker than what you think, and stronger than how he looks.”
“I know you all saw his first play against the Baltimore Ravens,” Slay concluded. “He only had one play, I think — quick off the line, a quarterback hurry, almost got a sack, third-down stop — that’s what I need. That’s a DB’s dream. I’m not trying to cover long, so if they doing their job good, my job gonna be good. … I’m not lying, I’ve seen him get double-teamed in practice, and he got them both off of him like he’s just strong.”
Eagles RT Lane Johnson also weighed in on what Carter has shown so far since coming to Philadelphia.
“He’s the guy if you’re playing high, he’ll get the best of you. He plays very low. He’s very strong and he’s very quick, lateral quickness. He’s made a lot of people look silly in camp so far,” Johnson said of Carter. “I’ve been very impressed with him from Day 1. I think he has tremendous talent and tremendous ability and he plays hard every down. He’s kind of similar to Hargrave. His pass rush ability. I’m trying to think of somebody inside. He’s bigger than Geno Atkins, but pretty twitchy, man. He’s 6-foot-3, 320, he’s like a bigger Geno, I would say, but, yeah, man, he’s impressive. He’s impressed me.”
- The Eagles hosted DB Bentlee Sanders and WR Freddie Swain (signed) for workouts, per Aaron Wilson.
Giants
There was a moment in the Giants’ 21-16 preseason loss to the Lions where cameras caught HC Brian Daboll glaring at ST coordinator Thomas McGaughey. When asked about the situation, Daboll said there are no ill feelings toward McGaughey.
“Non-issue. I’m a competitive guy, we’re all competitive, we’re in a competitive environment. I hold everybody, not just T-Mac, myself, and everybody else, to a high standard,” Daboll said, via GiantsWire. “Love T-Mac.”
McGaughey reiterated there are no issues between him and Daboll.
“Let’s just address the 700-pound gorilla in the room,” McGaughey said. “We all know Dabes is intense and on gameday that’s him. It’s not a big deal. It’s happened before. That’s just part of the game. He’s an intense guy (and) we have no issues. That’s just part of football.”
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