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Commanders Minicamp has opened! Listen as The Junkies Hit the Skins to look at the final offseason activity before camp begins for real!
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00:00We wanted to get into some audio we have here of Dan Quinn,
00:03head coach of the Commanders' mandatory minicamp,
00:06ongoing right now out in Ashburn.
00:09It started yesterday.
00:10It goes through tomorrow.
00:12They got everybody there, Cakes.
00:14Yep.
00:14They certainly do.
00:15Everybody participating except guys that are coming off season-ending injuries.
00:18Yep.
00:19You know, guys like Dietrich Wise, et cetera.
00:21So the first clip we have, this is Dan Quinn talking about
00:25which wide receivers have impressed him outside of Terry McLaurin so far.
00:30Yeah, a number of them have.
00:31I would say on the outside, Van Jefferson has been somebody that's really caught my eye.
00:36Having Deami back has been excellent as well.
00:39I hit him up after practice the other day.
00:41There's just like a good intensity about him, a good mindset of where he's at.
00:46And so he's somebody that I've been super impressed with just off the bat.
00:50It's good to see Lane and McCaffrey making their jumps in.
00:53So those are a few that jump to mind.
00:56But having Deami back, a feel of speed, having Van here,
00:59he's an excellent route runner going into it.
01:02And then inside the slot, those would be the two that jump out.
01:05Yeah, I heard a couple of guys that are out there on the beat
01:09talking about Van Jefferson, how he just kind of looked different from the beginning.
01:14His speed has really jumped out at people.
01:16Veteran.
01:17He's been around.
01:19Feels very comfortable in this system.
01:21This might be a system tailor-made for a guy like Van Jefferson.
01:25And when you start to look around that wide receiver room,
01:28you really do wonder who would be on the outside looking in
01:32if they did sign an Iuke or a Diggs or somebody.
01:36Of course, Iuke's still posting every day.
01:38Posted something yesterday, him getting on a sale.
01:40I'm sure we'll get something today.
01:41Probably during the show.
01:42He'll wake up and post something.
01:44But you think about it.
01:45Terry and Antonio Williams, they're locked up.
01:48Guaranteed.
01:48That's two guys.
01:49You've got Van Jefferson, who is the first guy that DQ mentions.
01:54Other people have noticed him.
01:55So you've got to figure he's in a pretty good position, but still fighting for a spot.
02:00Deami's got a great rapport.
02:02He's the second guy DQ mentions.
02:05Jayden's very familiar with him.
02:06He's butt cheap.
02:07I think they gave him like a million and a half.
02:09Then you've got, of course, he mentions Luke, who really provided some worth to the roster
02:15with what he was doing on special teams.
02:17And Jalen Lane, also a special teams guy, contributed to the receiver room.
02:21And then you've got Trelon Burks.
02:22Yeah, they signed Burks to a one-year deal.
02:23That's seven guys right there.
02:26Now, all those, you know, four or five of those guys, they could be surprise cuts.
02:31They could actually, if they bring in an IUK or a Diggs, one of those guys could be, you
02:39know, on the outside looking in.
02:40Then I assume they'd bring him back to practice squad or something if they don't get picked up.
02:43Any chance they keep seven just because Lane's a punt returner?
02:47It's possible.
02:48But that would be their seven.
02:49Yeah, that would be the seven.
02:50But if they brought it somebody in.
02:52Plus, you know who's raised some eyebrows?
02:54I've heard a few people mention.
02:55He's the Dematha kid.
02:56Jaden Bradley.
02:57Big receiver.
02:596'4".
03:00He played his first couple years at Pitt.
03:04Then he went to UNLV, I think.
03:05Well, he went to Charlotte.
03:08Didn't really do anything.
03:09Must have been hurt.
03:10And then he went to UNLV.
03:12And he's got that kind of size they just don't have.
03:15Like, he's just got that look.
03:19It looks great coming off the bus.
03:21With all the bodies that are in there, he's probably a practice squad guy.
03:24Probably.
03:24But I'm just saying.
03:25See what they've got.
03:26I'm not saying he's going to crack the top six.
03:28Right.
03:29But he is another name that's raised a few eyebrows.
03:32The longer they go without bringing somebody else in, the more I keep thinking that maybe
03:37they're just going to try to, like, Frankenstein together their number two wide out on the
03:42outside, outside of Terry, between Burks, Van Jefferson, and Diami.
03:46Like, maybe it's not one guy that's playing that role.
03:49Maybe it's just they filter three guys in.
03:52I'm telling you.
03:52They think Antonio can play inside and outside.
03:55Yeah.
03:55They think he can play inside and outside.
03:57There's a reason they drafted him as high as they did.
03:58The draft in the third round.
03:59And they said it on draft day.
04:00It's possible that they just like who they have.
04:03Right.
04:04I'm not saying they won't add somebody.
04:06You know, I'll probably be wrong on that.
04:08But they might just be happy with what they got.
04:10They might like the current personnel that's in there.
04:13And feel like they can get it done with Burks, with Jefferson.
04:18If Jefferson gets more targets, like, last year he didn't do much in Tennessee because
04:23he's got a rookie quarterback throwing him the ball in an ineffective offense.
04:26Maybe they feel like if he's the number two guy and gets, I don't know, 60 targets, he
04:32can catch 40 balls in this offense.
04:35And Quinn's talked about Burks before.
04:37Right.
04:37He's impressed with Burks, too.
04:39And again, Burks' real problem since he's been in the league is availability.
04:43Correct.
04:44Dodging injuries, staying out on the field, and being effective.
04:49But do you guys still think that they're going to add one of these guys later in training
04:53camp?
04:54Well, there's no reason to think they're not going to kick the tires on Iuke if they do
05:02release him.
05:04Right.
05:04But San Francisco might not release him until almost the start of the season.
05:08That's true, but I saw a report yesterday that San Francisco's come to grips with the
05:12fact that no one's going to trade for him and that they're ready to be done with him.
05:15They might just be out.
05:16They're ready to be done with him.
05:18So then you might say he is playing chess.
05:20He kind of orchestrated his way out without having to show up if it ends up happening.
05:24Yeah.
05:25If they release him in the next couple weeks because they're just done, don't want to
05:28be bothered with it, just want the whole headache to go away, which don't you think
05:33on some level you kind of would?
05:34Just like, you don't even want to think about it.
05:37This guy's a whack job.
05:39You know, we botched it.
05:41Let's get him out of sight, out of mind, ready to move on.
05:44There may be some of that, but I feel like in their brains, the Niners brass, they feel
05:48like they've already divorced themselves of him, and he's just kind of like a minor hindrance.
05:54Like, they don't care that he's stepping on the scale and posting it on his Instagram.
05:58Like, he's basically out of their hair.
06:01It's just a formality to actually release him.
06:03But if he doesn't want to get fined 50 grand a day by not showing up at training camp, that
06:09would become a hassle, because certainly the local media would be all over that.
06:14Yeah.
06:14And that would be very awkward and uncomfortable.
06:17But maybe he doesn't care.
06:19Maybe he just doesn't show up.
06:20A big part of me thinks if he's willing to just punt away $30 million in guaranteed money,
06:25that losing 50K a day for missing minicamp isn't really going to stress him.
06:29Maybe not.
06:30Maybe not.
06:30I wouldn't think.
06:31Now, I saw J.P. Finley yesterday posted.
06:34He was going around talking to all the coaches.
06:35He was talking to D.J. Williams.
06:38He was talking to, well, the one that I want to talk about here was when he was talking
06:44to Wes Welker, and he asked them specifically about Antonio Williams.
06:48And I'm super high on Williams.
06:50And he was positive, but it was muted praise.
06:53It was like, yeah, he's a rookie.
06:55He's doing fine.
06:55But, you know, he is a rookie.
06:57And so there's a learning curve.
06:58And it was a little more muted.
07:00Now, I don't know if that's just because that's a grizzled veteran.
07:03He's just not going to, you know, glaze some rookie.
07:06Or if, but he's like, yeah, you know.
07:08And then I think J.P. followed up.
07:10What's the biggest adjustment for a guy like Antonio?
07:12And he goes, you know, obviously speed of the game.
07:16Just understanding leverages, understanding how to read coverages and all those things.
07:21And just being consistent and doing it time and time again.
07:23But, you know, he said nice things, but it was muted.
07:27It wasn't like, oh, he's, like, actually, when you hear him talking about Sonny Stiles, like, I can't even remember
07:34who the defensive coach was.
07:36But they're like, even DQ said, yeah, Sonny, we can't wait.
07:40Like, so far, passing every test, you know, he just looks like a freak out there.
07:45You know, 6'5", just running around so smooth, picking up all the calls.
07:52They're moving him all over the place.
07:53It's not like he's just going to be right there at Mike Linebacker all the time.
07:56They're going to move him around.
07:58He's going to do a lot of things.
08:00They could tell he's really absorbing and understanding the playbook, which is good.
08:05I mean, he's a very smart player.
08:07Yeah.
08:07Yeah, he's going to be really good.
08:10But what was interesting was I didn't hear that same exuberant praise from Welker talking about Williams.
08:17You said Bobby Ingram did talk about him?
08:19No, it was Welker that I heard.
08:21Oh, so you didn't hear him?
08:22I didn't hear him.
08:23Because Ingram's the wide receivers coach, right?
08:24Yes, Welker's kind of helping around everywhere.
08:26Yeah, he's the assistant, offensive assistant.
08:28I still think you want to overburden a rookie with crazy expectations.
08:32I know.
08:32You kind of want to ease him in.
08:33Yeah, and maybe that's all that is.
08:35Yes, and we've been talking about this guy for weeks, if not months.
08:40The pressure has taken off the number two wide out.
08:43If Chig Okonkwo, maybe Chig Okonkwo is the de facto number two wide out on this team.
08:49He's just playing tight end.
08:50I think in a lot of ways, it's just a label.
08:52If he catches 75 or 80 balls in his offense, that's your number two wide out.
08:58And then you can get that without having to spread out all the other ones to the four or five
09:03guys.
09:03Without having to bring in Ayuk or Diggs or re-sign Debo Samuel.
09:08You know who else was getting shout-outs from people that were there yesterday?
09:12Ben Sinnott.
09:14Oh, really?
09:14Ben Sinnott made a couple plays that caught people's attention.
09:19And apparently, he's had a great offseason.
09:21It sounds like this offense is much more suited to him and his skill set.
09:24And hopefully that's the case.
09:26Because you'd love to see a return on a guy that was drafted that high.
09:28They say if Blau incorporates kind of the Ben Johnson offense, he's going to use a lot of different tight
09:34ends.
09:34That'd be great.
09:35And he's going to have opportunities.
09:36And somebody even said yesterday that Sinnott is playing so well that you almost wonder if he isn't pushing for
09:44a rep or two that Chig might normally get.
09:47In other words, he's really pushing.
09:49That's amazing news.
09:50And that the first year took a while for him to kind of feel comfortable.
09:55Last year, towards the end of the season, I think when Ertz went down, Sinnott started to make a few
09:59plays.
10:00And then the confidence is there in that third year where he's ready.
10:03That's great.
10:04Well, and he also knows this is a big year for Sinnott.
10:07Because if he doesn't do anything, he's gone.
10:09If you're not a freak, let's just say you're a great athlete, you're an NFL caliber player.
10:13But it takes a while to get your confidence and feel comfortable.
10:16Just kind of like it would for most guys when they're in college.
10:18You know, most guys in college don't just step on the field as freshmen and ball out.
10:22It's like usually their junior, senior year, right?
10:25Where you start to really blossom some guys.
10:28True.
10:28But you also, when you're a second-round pick, usually you start seeing production earlier than what he's getting.
10:32Yeah, but he also had a pro bowler, a hall of very good players.
10:36He wasn't on the field a lot.
10:38Yeah.
10:38Zach Ertz vacuumed up a lot of targets and opportunities.
10:40And we've talked about Rashad White, too, out of the backfield.
10:42I mean, they're going to have a lot of options.
10:45They have a lot of passing options.
10:46I think it's going to be great.
10:47For Jayden.
10:47And regarding, you know, are they going to sign an IUK?
10:51Are they going to sign, you know, a Diggs or somebody?
10:53There's even quoted Diggs as kind of even publicly kind of dreaming about the possibility of coming home.
10:59Like, he's kind of even alluding to it a little bit.
11:01Oh, I bet.
11:02I guarantee he's thinking about it all the time.
11:04That it's in his head, wondering about the possibilities.
11:07I just wonder who would be on the outside looking in.
11:10You know, I think if most people looked at this roster before the offseason really began and the workouts and
11:16everything, they'd go, oh, Van Jefferson, they just signed him, fill-in guy.
11:19I think he's more than a fill-in guy.
11:21I think he's somebody that they think can help them.
11:24Yeah.
11:25If they brought in a Diggs, I'm just wondering if Burks might be that guy.
11:31They like him, too.
11:32I know they like him.
11:33I'm just thinking.
11:34There's always so much room, though.
11:35There's always so many seats in the room for wide receivers.
11:38You can't carry seven or eight of them.
11:40I mean, maybe.
11:41I don't think it would be McCaffrey.
11:42Could they cut McCaffrey and then just bring him back to practice squad?
11:45Yeah, I mean, if no one else picked him up, for sure.
11:49I mean, Lane's staying.
11:51Let's play this second piece of audio as well.
11:53Head coach Dan Quinn met with the media ahead of day one of minicamp, and he was asked if he
11:59would consider cutting the minicamp short like he's done in the past.
12:03Yeah, they should not be asking you, are we going to get a bone or that?
12:06Like, no, you guys should.
12:07Yep, we'll be here.
12:08Yeah.
12:08You might have had the offer.
12:11Was that from a player, right?
12:13Yeah, he's no early break to minicamp.
12:17But they're either there today and tomorrow.
12:19I don't know if he's sensitive to it, but there have been the rumblings from guys that I remember even
12:25our buddy Ben Standig kind of alluded to almost like a Club J approach last year.
12:30Remember all the days off that all the veterans are getting?
12:33Well, they were the oldest team in the league, or one of them.
12:36That's part of it.
12:37But this year, especially when you've got two brand new coordinators, first time being offensive coordinator.
12:42They've got to be out there.
12:43Those guys need to be out there.
12:44They need the reps just like the players do.
12:48So they're there.
12:48All right, so it goes through tomorrow.
12:50Correct.
12:50Today and tomorrow.
12:51Yeah.
12:51And then they're back for training camp.
12:54Get like a five-week break.
12:55Then it's training camp.
12:56Then it's on.
12:57So DQ goes out to Hawaii with his wife.
13:00They hang out there for a few weeks.
13:02I need to find pictures of this Hawaii house.
13:04I mean, you know what?
13:04It's not that hard.
13:05I'm going to do that at some point.
13:06I'm going to covet Dan Quinn's Hawaii off-season house.
13:10I mean, it kind of made me a little.
13:11I know you guys feel differently, but it kind of made me a little sad when DQ said we were
13:1639 days away from training camp.
13:18Because that just signals the end of summer for me.
13:22I know, but I love the fall.
13:24Well, that just means fall is the best season.
13:27I still have that youthful love of summer.
13:29Yeah.
13:30Well, dude, 39 days is a long time.
13:33And you've got your vacation coming up.
13:37Yeah.
13:38I know.
13:39It seems like it's flying by.
13:40Life is flying by.
13:41But yeah, so yesterday was 39 days.
13:4338 days away from the start of training camp.
13:45Summer hasn't even started.
13:47Yeah, summer officially starts June 21st.
13:49No, but that's just how it works in my brain.
13:51Right.
13:52Well, that's late July.
13:53You have two more months at least.
13:55No, September's not summer.
13:56You have great weather.
13:57September's definitely summer.
13:58Definitely is.
13:59Well, kids are back in school.
14:00Technically, it's summer.
14:01To me, it's when the kids are off school.
14:04That's summer for me.
14:06So it's different.
14:07Different than the calendar.
14:08You've still got a long time.
14:09It's different than the calendar.
14:11You know?
14:12You know what?
14:13Go out to CQ Stadium and watch the Terps play one of their early opponents on a Saturday
14:18in September and tell me it's not summer.
14:20Yeah.
14:20You'll be baking like a chicken out there.
14:22No, I understand that it's still warm.
14:23I mean, it'll still even have some warm days in October.
14:25I'm so glad that Virginia Tech-Maryland game is at 730.
14:28It's not at 12.
14:29Beautiful.
14:301230.
14:30It's a beautiful thing.
14:31Yeah.
14:32You going to go root for the Terps?
14:34Can't do it.
14:35I know.
14:35That's not going to happen.
14:36Any other game, I would.
14:37When is that game?
14:38What's the date?
14:39September 19th.
14:40Is that the second or third game?
14:42I believe it's week three, yeah.
14:44Week three?
14:44Their third game, yeah.
14:46Is there an early line on it?
14:48I'm sure there is, but I haven't seen it.
14:50I could look it up.
14:51Who would you guess would be the favorite?
14:54Probably Maryland.
14:55You think Maryland?
14:55Probably Maryland's small.
14:57Yeah.
14:58That's going to be a fun weekend.
15:01That's going to be a good game.
15:03That's a big one.
15:03That's going to be a big one.
15:04Stands will be packed.
15:05Now, half of the stadium will be Virginia Tech fans.
15:08No, because I don't think that week three would be out yet.
15:12I mean, the week ones are probably out, but I don't think the week three would be out.
15:16All right, so Minicamp continues through today and tomorrow out in Ashburn.
15:21We will be keeping an eye on that.
15:22When we come back, we'll get into the Wizards.
15:25Multiple teams apparently interested in trading for Trey Young.
15:29They've got their eyes on one of our assets.
15:33One of our crown jewels.
15:34That was obtained.
15:36We'll talk about it.
15:36We'll discuss that next year on The Fan.
15:39We'll discuss that next year on The Fan.
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