Which Washington Commanders news stories are hitting the headlines as the franchise gets set to make their initial 53-man roster official today?
This is arguably the most difficult day in the NFL calendar year. Roster cuts have already begun around the league and many more dreams will be crushed before today's deadline, with some tough decisions awaiting Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera and his staff in the coming hours.
Until then, among the stories causing conversation include regret surrounding Sam Howell, Ron Rivera feeding off positive momentum, more strange opposition developments before Week 1, and the Commanders making their first batch of cuts.
Let's delve into each topic in more detail.
Confusion surrounds Commanders' opponent in Week 1
The Washington Commanders begin their 2023 regular season commitments against the Arizona Cardinals at what promises to be an electrifying FedEx Field. It'll be the first game without Dan Snyder as owner for 24 years and the chances of success are high considering everything that's unfolding around their opponents.
Arizona released veteran quarterback Colt McCoy in their latest surprising move on Monday. Talk of deliberately tanking for USC quarterback Caleb Williams is rife across social media, with head coach Jonathan Gannon refusing to name a starting signal-caller between Joshua Dobbs and Clayton Tune until Kyler Murray is ready to return.
According to the latest odds from FanDuel Sportsbook, the Commanders are 7.0-point favorites in Week 1. Given the doom and gloom surrounding the Cardinals, this could increase further once bettors begin truly focusing on their opening weekend wagers.
Commanders make first roster cuts
As previously stated, the Washington Commanders and others around the league are in the process of making their initial 53-man rosters official. Options will get trimmed from 90 to 53 by today's 4 p.m. deadline, which is swiftly followed by potential waiver wire claims depending on what opportunities present themselves.
The Commanders began their cut process on Monday following fierce conversations between Ron Rivera and his staff. Washington confirmed that the following 12 players were given bad news:
- WR Zion Bowens
- LB Milo Eifler
- CB DaMarcus Fields
- LB Ferrod Gardner
- S Joshua Kalu
- WR Marcus Kemp
- DT Isaiah Mack
- DT Anthony Montalvo
- OL Aaron Montiero
- RB Jaret Patterson
- DE Joshua Pryor
- CB DJ Stirgus
There weren't many surprises here, although fan favorite Jaret Patterson's demise has some disappointment attached. However, it was the decision to place rookie offensive lineman Braeden Daniels on season-ending injured/reserve that raised the most eyebrows.
Daniels struggled to adjust throughout his opening few months with the Commanders. He clearly wasn't ready for any significant responsibilities, but the team revealed he suffered a torn rotator cuff during the preseason and will now miss the entire campaign.
This was met with skepticism by some sections of the fanbase. But it did seem like a realistic option surrounding an early Day 3 selection that clearly isn't up to the required standard currently.
Commanders building on positive momentum
Much has been made about the importance of preseason. Some teams value the process more than others, but it was nice to see the Washington Commanders build some positive momentum with three straight victories ahead of such a critical campaign.
These results won't matter if the Commanders fluff their lines when the real action commences. But head coach Ron Rivera is hoping this newfound positivity is something his team can put to good use based on comments via Pro Football Talk.
"It creates a good atmosphere. It creates a positive vibe and we’re going to grow from it. Does it mean we’re going to win in the regular season? [I] don’t know but I hope it does. I hope this is something we can draw from, something that can help us as we go forward. . . . There’s some energy, there’s some excitement and hopefully we can feed off that."Ron Rivera via Pro Football Talk
One of the biggest takeaways surrounding the Commanders this summer is the increased excitement across the organization. The arrival of Josh Harris' ownership group saw fans return in their numbers, packing the bleachers throughout camp and set to sell out FedEx Field or their season opener against the Arizona Cardinals for good measure.
Rivera is under immense pressure to get things right in 2023. Washington's fortunes could go either way with a tough-looking schedule and a competitive division, but things couldn't be going much better up to now aside from one or two injury complications.
Commanders regret over Sam Howell
Sam Howell is the Washington Commanders starting quarterback in 2023 and earned the right with impressive growth throughout the preparation period. The former fifth-round selection is brimming with confidence and those within the franchise firmly believe this is the guy to drag them from obscurity and into contention.
Howell has just one career start under his belt, which makes him an unknown quantity despite showing real signs of promise. According to head coach Ron Rivera, he'd have started the signal-caller way before Week 18 had he known what talent lay within based on his comments via CBS Sports.
"You can ask Stephanie, all we f---ing talked about was the quarterback, what the quarterback did, who he was. I kept saying, 'F---, if I would have known this, I would have played him sooner.' When you only have so much time to show it, it's hard, I kept thinking, 'God' … but after that game, everything told me this kid, give him the opportunity and see what he does with it."Ron Rivera via CBS Sports
This is another strange statement from Rivera. The staff had an entire offseason and 17 weeks of regular-season practice to assess Howell, so to seemingly have no clue about his potential was certainly an odd thing to admit.
It's also worth remembering that had it not been for Taylor Heinicke going to Rivera banging the table for Howell to start in their season finale, the North Carolina product wouldn't have been involved. Another big sign evaluations at football's most pivotal position aren't up to the required standard with this regime.