- 7 weeks ago
Washington Commanders Reporter Ben Standig from The Last Man Standig Podcast and Substack joins The Kevin Sheehan Show to discuss the Commanders’ roster cuts to make the final 53 man roster and breaks down if we can expect anymore more additions to the roster moving forward before week one of the NFL season.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Our Monday insider, our Friday insider, this shows all the time insider, Ben Standig, at Ben Standing on X.
00:09You can subscribe, as you should, to Last Man Standing, Ben's sub-stack, where he covers the team,
00:16and he projected the 53 breakdown, and then laid it out, and to what's next, potentially.
00:23It's a couple bucks a month. It's totally worthwhile. Ben is with us now.
00:29Where is your panic meter, since you're joining us now?
00:32Zero, no panic at all. Five, full-fledged hysteria run for the hills.
00:43Give me a one. I mean, like you said, what has probably led to a lot of this notion of
00:52panic
00:52is what's happened over the last 10 days, in which the guy that we'll be talking about on Sundays
00:57this season, played a grand total of, like, five snaps, so there's not much there.
01:03I think my – I mean, there's obviously the, you know, the things we've talked about,
01:09the offensive line and some other injuries.
01:12I was a little, though, disturbed by the – from the Detroit game in terms of how things went with
01:20the starters
01:20to the joint practice in Baltimore to the game.
01:24You know, Dan Quinn talked about, like, he was just dismayed a bit by the lack of, like, energy
01:29and, you know, enthusiasm or whatever, however he phrased it.
01:33And I kind of would agree, but I would put this not so much on the individual players who, you
01:39know,
01:39you think a lot of these guys are out there, this is maybe the last time they ever played football,
01:42right?
01:43I put it more on, like, is there some sort of a stink in the air or is there something
01:47culturally,
01:49so to speak, that is leading to this?
01:52Because it's been – it has felt –
01:53Wait a minute.
01:54The culture is supposed to be what we're hanging on to here.
01:58So has the culture changed?
02:00I'm just saying, like, it's a weird thing to come out, you know, give up those sacks
02:06or, you know, the pressure they did against Detroit right off the bat.
02:08I mean, granted, the defense did score a touchdown.
02:10I'm not ignoring that.
02:11But then the joint practice, I mean, you know, you heard how, you know, again,
02:15I think some of it was overstated because of who was not playing, but it was still pretty poor.
02:21And then what we saw in this game – so I don't know.
02:24It's just like what – it's just a little bit odd that you couldn't get –
02:28because even if they're the backups, even if they're players that aren't going to make the team,
02:32they're still players.
02:33You still had them all summer, you know.
02:36Right.
02:36So it's a little – but that's about it.
02:38I mean, by and large, if you tell me that OA and Saints are good to go for week one
02:43and, you know, most everybody else is back, I'm okay.
02:47The Browns against the defending AFC champions on Saturday or Friday scored 27 points on five drives.
02:59They went five for five in the first half against the Patriot defense.
03:02So the Patriots have some culture issues too.
03:06And then, as somebody pointed out – I didn't see this because I follow nothing typically of the final preseason
03:13weekend in the NFL.
03:14But the Arizona Cardinals, who have the lowest over-under win total, by the way, in – I think it's
03:21since 2007, I think it is.
03:24No, 2017, my fault.
03:26They put up 38 against that Packer defense, for those that are counting.
03:31Now, the Packers themselves scored 42.
03:33By the way, I wonder – look this up, Max.
03:36I'm just curious.
03:37What's the highest-scoring preseason game ever?
03:40Like, that's 80 points in preseason week number three with nobody playing that's going to be on the roster, you
03:50know,
03:50or on a depth chart mostly in week one.
03:54That's a lot of points.
03:56By the way, the Ravens – I didn't see this until now.
04:00The Cardinals, by the way, had 500 yards of offense too.
04:03The Ravens had, oh my God, 456 yards of offense.
04:06That's crazy.
04:08All right.
04:09Let's talk about things that really do matter for the most part.
04:13Tell me the cuts that surprised you the most.
04:20I don't want to be like that guy and say not much, but like –
04:24Well, be that guy.
04:26How many did you nail?
04:27How many of the 53 did you nail?
04:30I actually didn't do the math, but I mean, you know, like I'm not counting the Tunsil and Johnny Newton
04:37part because that's just, you know, that's cheesy.
04:41That's not our fault on that one.
04:43But, you know, I went a little nuts and didn't put Matt Goulbin on because I guess I was that
04:49spooked by the performance,
04:50and I didn't have the other rookie who made it, which was the surprise opposite.
04:55But I did – you know, I didn't have Trent Scott making it.
04:57I had Trey Amos going on IR.
05:01I had Ricky Barber in.
05:03So, you know, it was mostly pretty reasonable.
05:08But like I said, I don't know – like I think here's what I think is the biggest surprise, but
05:12this has been a few weeks coming.
05:13You know, if you go back and listen to the conversations you and I had here going back to, you
05:19know, start a camp,
05:19and then during the first couple weeks, we kept saying, boy, they're going to have some tough decisions to make
05:24by the time you get to final cuts.
05:26And granted, injuries factoring, you know, Tunsell and probably Newton would have been, you know, on the team and, you
05:33know, stuff like that.
05:35But in the end, it didn't really get that complicated because a lot of guys didn't step up and, you
05:42know –
05:42What do you think the toughest decision was?
05:49I don't – I mean, I don't know.
05:51Maybe Madrona or Kehoe at linebackers.
05:54There are different types of linebackers.
05:55They were both on the team.
05:56But that doesn't seem very exciting per se.
06:00Like I said, I don't even know that there was a tough one.
06:05Like, did I think Van Jefferson could make that team?
06:07Sure.
06:07But once they brought in Diggs, that's kind of like, well, there's a lot of overlap and skill set there.
06:13And Diggs is obviously the better player.
06:15So, you know, was it McCaffrey?
06:19You know, we can all sort of acknowledge this play as a receiver.
06:22McCaffrey has not been – has not given us a lot to work with.
06:25But, you know, he still was one of the top kick returners in the league last year.
06:29You know, and it's not like he's without receiving talent.
06:32It's just not necessarily going to be a top-tier guy, it doesn't appear.
06:35So, I really ultimately didn't have that much.
06:39And I did like how they manipulated the roster a little bit.
06:43And that was something I was attempting to do with, you know, shy Tuttle and it looks like Fabian Moreau,
06:48who are probably going to be back today.
06:50But they were like, hey, you're not going through waivers.
06:54We'll pick you back up.
06:55Just go through waivers, sit at home for a day, and then we'll see you tomorrow.
06:59You know, it's a good way to manipulate the roster now.
07:02What do they do, you know, when Armstrong comes back or some other, you know.
07:08Hold on.
07:08I want you to explain what you mean by Tuttle and Moreau coming back.
07:13It's because of the Tunsell and the Johnny Newton add to the injured reserve, right?
07:22Or is it because of McNichols and Amos?
07:25Yeah, no.
07:26I mean, because they're going to put Tunsell and Newton on injured reserve with a designation for return.
07:35Right.
07:35And that will create two spots.
07:39Tuttle is going to come in and be another defensive lineman.
07:41And, again, they only have three corners on the roster.
07:45Obviously, that's not a real thing.
07:47So, in fact, Fabian Moreau.
07:49Of course.
07:49San Restill, Douglas, and Amik Robertson.
07:54Yeah.
07:55And so, the fact that Moreau was kept out of the healthy scratch in the last preseason game suggested he's
08:01the one that they would keep.
08:03I thought that would mean he could make the 53.
08:06But, okay, like I said, they went for the sort of roster manipulation.
08:10So, he'll be back.
08:11And then we'll see which of the other corners.
08:13They do expose him to waivers, though, right?
08:16No, because waivers only applies to guys, I think, like four years or less.
08:20Four years or less.
08:21For guys who've been around the league for a minute like him or, you know, Coward, like Byron Coward is
08:26also expected back.
08:27Like those guys and Tuttle.
08:29But, yeah, they don't – they're not subject to waivers.
08:32Yeah.
08:33All right.
08:33So, I mean, you don't have to go back.
08:36I mean, the most obvious additions to the practice squad are, to me, Antonio Hamilton is an obvious ad, right?
08:45They love this guy on special teams.
08:50Yeah, yeah.
08:51Yeah, no, for sure.
08:51I mean, you know –
08:53Cager, who caught six balls the other night, is he going to be back on the practice squad?
08:58I mean, I think it's reasonable.
09:00I think, again, obviously we view it from, like, a perspective of, you know, these guys are almost, like, lucky
09:06to be back.
09:07I mean, some of these guys will have options and they'll have to decide whether it makes sense.
09:11You know, I mean, if you're a Cager and somebody else is willing to give you a shot, you know,
09:15with the practice squad to maybe have a better shot to make the roster, you know, because I don't know
09:20what he's getting.
09:21I mean, we don't know what's up with some of the injuries, like Ben Sennett.
09:25They obviously didn't put him on any kind of IR, but at the same point, we don't quite know where
09:31he's at with his oblique injury.
09:32So, hypothetically, a guy like Cager could get elevated on game day if Sennett were to be out.
09:38So, yeah, I mean, that would be in general.
09:39I mean, I think Jaden Bradley and Jacoby Jones at receiver would make a lot of sense.
09:45I think Craig Reynolds, who's sort of a Jeremy McNichols type, who kind of would do a little bit of
09:49everything, he would be a logical fit for the practice squad.
09:52It may be a guy you call up, you know, a couple times in the first month to give you,
09:57you know, sort of that McNichols reliability should you want.
10:02Again, Trent Scott, you know, look, I think Trent Scott did not have a particularly great finish to the camp
10:07in preseason, but, you know, he's been around.
10:09You know, they know the guy, so bringing him back to the practice squad would make sense.
10:15But then, you know, look, ultimately, and then like I said, probably a bunch of the corners as well.
10:18But then ultimately, you know, who's out there?
10:21Like, because we're all like saying that most of these positions, there's a lot of depth questions or at least
10:27like not as robust as maybe we would have thought a few weeks ago.
10:30So who else is out there in free agency?
10:31They should be, or all flavors, they should be looking for, you know, a couple guys.
10:35So that's where I was going to go next.
10:37So do you have any names of people that have been released or could be, you know, available via a
10:46trade?
10:47Like, have you thought about the scouring of the waiver wire, scouring of potential players that could be available that
10:56could be added between now and, you know, serious prep for the Eagles beginning next week?
11:03Yeah, I actually, right before you had me on, I just tweeted out a list of a bunch of guys
11:08that either like offensive linemen or players with ties to staff or just other guys in general that stood out
11:16to me.
11:16I think, you know, for all looking at the center situation, and again, this is just me looking at stuff.
11:23I'm not breaking down the tape of all these guys.
11:25Like Will Putnam from the Raiders, it's weird to say our Raiders off in the linemen because their line has
11:30been horrendous, but he's a center on a team that just added Tyrell Lindenbaum, so maybe he got squeezed.
11:35But, you know, he hasn't played a ton, but he's a guy that, you know, for where they're at, might
11:39be able to be helpful.
11:42There's another guy, Trevor Keegan.
11:43He's more of a guard, but he has had some center work over time who's with Dallas.
11:48He's, you know, he was a relatively recent draft pick, so there's another guy that kind of stood out in
11:54that regard.
11:57The guy, Daryl Luther Jr., he's a cornerback.
11:59He was a draft pick.
12:01He was a fifth-round pick by the Niners during the Adam Peters era.
12:06He just got cut.
12:07They also cut Jalen Graham, a linebacker, who actually was here for a minute on the practice squad, and then
12:14San Fran brought him back.
12:15So the fact that they had him here at one point and it was a Peters pick, you know, just
12:20makes me think maybe that's somebody to keep an eye on, at least in terms of, like, the practice squad.
12:28So, yeah, I mean, there's also a guy, I mentioned what I'm saying in the first part, now, Tavares Thomas,
12:36veteran safety from the Vikings.
12:38He was, it seems like he's more of their, looks like their Jeremy Reeves, the guy who has more special
12:43teams and safety, but obviously Durante Jones would have some familiarity with him.
12:48And knowing that Jeremy Reeves himself is actually probably, in theory, playing less special teams this year, you know, maybe
12:53a guy like that could be of interest as well.
12:56So, you know, there's a lot of players that we could all sit here and point to.
13:04It's just a matter of where do these guys, as much as we're lamenting the line and some other positions,
13:10you know, where are they at?
13:11They obviously never felt the same urgency that the rest of us did at center because they never really did
13:15anything about it.
13:17So, you know, maybe they're good with what they got.
13:20But, you know, those are some of the names.
13:22If you go to my Twitter feed, I've been standing, you'll see the.
13:24But I'm looking at it right now.
13:26I just pulled it up.
13:27Trayvon Diggs signed with Seattle and got cut immediately, huh?
13:30Well, I think it's a similar deal with like what we just discussed with like Moreau.
13:35Like it sounds like he's going to go back to their practice squad, but I put him there just because.
13:40Okay.
13:42Those are, Ben put out a whole list of potential players that they could add between now and probably, you
13:51know, the end of this week, I would guess.
13:53Although, remember, some of these players, right, Ben, with that are a veteran nature, you got to be careful because
14:00if they're on that week one roster, they get paid for the whole year.
14:04Correct?
14:05Correct.
14:06That's why, like, you know, even like a guy like a DJ Humphries, you may have to may wonder like,
14:11all right, is there a world where they, you know, cut him to then bring him back for week two,
14:16but don't have him wrap for week one.
14:17So, yeah, there is some of that in play.
14:19You got to make sure there's a guy that you like and is a real help.
14:22But, yes, that is something to consider.
14:24Absolutely.
14:25We're talking to Ben Standing, of course.
14:27So, let's look ahead to Philadelphia and talk about the players that they were, you know, expecting and hoping would
14:33be healthy enough to play and contribute in a meaningful way.
14:37And just give me your sense on whether or not they'll be ready to go week one, and if not
14:44week one, by when.
14:45And I want to start with, I think, a growing concern, you tell me, and that's Adafi Owe, their biggest
14:50free agent signing in the offseason with a calf injury.
14:54Is it possible that Owe isn't available early in the season?
15:00Yeah, so, I mean, at some point during this whole lead up to this, to cut down day, I say
15:07this, I say this with a love, Dan Quinn, but, like, he just became an unreliable narrator when it came
15:12to injuries.
15:12I mean, the amount of times that he would say a guy would be back in a week and then
15:16two weeks would go by and we wouldn't see anything and hear anything.
15:18And that's why, like, I was talking to a couple people about the Trey Amos thing, and they're like, well,
15:23he never said that this was a possibility.
15:24I'm like, well, that doesn't matter to me.
15:26You know, like, the guy simply hasn't played.
15:28Like, just because Dan Quinn's not saying it doesn't mean it is.
15:32So, my point is, I have no idea what to make of Owe or Chason.
15:35I don't want that to be an alarmist sound.
15:38I mean, hopefully Dan Quinn and Peters today, when we speak with them around 4 o'clock, say, yep, these
15:43guys are good to go.
15:44I did ask Dan Quinn after the game, are there players you're anticipating back in practice this week, and if
15:50so, who?
15:50And he said, yes, there are, but he was, of course, wasn't willing to say, or maybe he couldn't say
15:55at that point.
15:56Like, who they were.
15:57So, I definitely think it's a concern.
15:59Like, if it was just a PR call, I would have, if I was watching it, I might have just
16:04put it out there somehow that one of these guys is good to go for next week, if that's the
16:09case.
16:09Because this, to me, for all the initial question of what's my panic meter, if you tell me that the
16:16rest of the team, the guys that are hurt, are actually on the field against the Eagles, then my only
16:21real panic is, how does the line hold up?
16:23Which is, you know, which is the thing.
16:25But if you tell me those guys are not available, now my panic really sets in, because if you don't
16:30have the pass rush.
16:31Well, for week one.
16:32Yeah, yeah, for week one.
16:33But, I mean, you know, what does that mean for, you know, the cornerbacks are now going to have to
16:38be more on their own than getting the marriage with the pass rush?
16:43You know, there's a lot of questions, but until we see, until they tell us something, or we see the
16:49guys on the field, I'm just not buying what they're selling at this point.
16:53And just, you know, they'll be back in a week or so.
16:54All right, well, let's just, let's not go with what they're saying.
16:57Let's just go with the Ben Standing hunch.
17:02Like, I'd like to say, on 08, what's your hunch?
17:07Because I'm feeling from a further distance, a queasy feeling about him, not only week one, but just early in
17:16the season.
17:17Just in part because of the nature of the injury, calf.
17:23Yeah, I mean, you know I'm willing to go out on a limb and some stuff.
17:28It's just hard here because, like, I don't, you know, a calf could mean all kinds of things, right?
17:32I mean, Alec Grady's had a calf injury.
17:33I know.
17:34He's had it longer, though.
17:35And Tim's, well, but I'm just saying, you know, he came back, then went out again.
17:41Tim Settle had a calf injury, kept him out about 10 days or so.
17:45He came back, actually played in the last preseason game.
17:47So, presumably, he's in better space.
17:50So, look, until O.A. and Chason are practicing, it is nervous.
17:57I told him, if you feel some panic, I would tell you to, you know, listen to your gut.
18:01Yeah, because you could open up in week one in Philadelphia without O.A., Chason, and Dorrance Armstrong.
18:08You know, you're three top-edge pass rushers in some order.
18:15And, you know.
18:16I'm in my.
18:17Oh, go ahead.
18:18No, I was just going to say.
18:19And then all of a sudden, you know, John Baptiste and Joseph's become huge in the opener.
18:26A hundred, a hundred percent.
18:27I mean, just for some clarity, like, my sense is that Deron Payne, I don't know what the injury is,
18:33but my sense is, like, the guy's been in the league for a while.
18:36He doesn't really need to kill himself.
18:38So, you know, whatever he has, it seems relatively minor.
18:41He should be okay.
18:42Same thing with Ja'Cory Krosky-Meritt.
18:44You know, it's a groin.
18:45Again, Dan Quinn called it a lower body injury.
18:48So, you know, even for – we all saw him kind of limping around for a minute, but, you know,
18:53we don't need that – we could be a little more specific than that.
18:55But anyway, I think from what I understand is Bill should be fine as well.
19:00Rashad White was able to, you know, start getting into some individual drills late last week, so that seems positive.
19:05Jordan McGee, who has been out of the shoulder, he was at least dressed and, like, just sort of doing
19:11some work on the side
19:12with some of his linebacker peers before the Ravens' joint practice.
19:18So, you know, there are some guys who are coming back.
19:20But, yeah, the biggest ones are those two edge guys.
19:23I think Benson, it's interesting just because it just happened.
19:27And, you know, obviously, Trey Amos, like, you know, what is the deal there is obviously a big question.
19:33Yeah.
19:35You answered the next ones about Krosky-Meritt and White.
19:38And, I mean, here's a name that we haven't talked about.
19:41Now, hopefully he doesn't have to play at all this year.
19:44But is Mariota going to be ready to be the backup early in the season or not?
19:48I mean, he better be if they didn't do anything about it, right?
19:51So, you know, I mean, in this case, the tell is what they didn't do, which was bring in any
19:58kind of veteran backup.
20:00Now, Josh Johnson was released by the Bengals, so now he is available if they want to go down that
20:05route.
20:06You know, Jeff Driscoll is still out there if they want to go down that route.
20:09But, you know, they obviously have three guys on the roster.
20:11But as we've discussed before, if somehow it came out that Mariota was out, I just can't comprehend a world
20:17where they would start.
20:18Or, sorry, would they even have Cali McManus as the backup as a just-in-case situation.
20:24So, we'll see.
20:26But I'm assuming that based on their actions that Mariota should be back, you know, maybe even by this week.
20:31So, hopefully that's the case because it's not, you know, again, it feels like they already missed the mark on
20:38center, just like they did last year on the receiver depth.
20:41So, hopefully Mariota's not a guy who's in that same bucket because that would be potentially problematic.
20:47Yeah, I'm actually interested, like, the, let's just, Amos is out early.
20:52The three corners end up being against Philly, Douglas, Sandra Still, and Amik Robertson.
20:59With Sandra Still and Douglas being the outside corners and Amik Robertson being the slot, the nickel corner, correct?
21:06Well, I mean, again.
21:07I mean, I don't know how they'll play it.
21:09Probably play a lot of zone, which they, you know, yeah.
21:12Yeah, I mean, they had Robertson, and again, it's all relative, but they had Robertson and Sander still kind of
21:19starting on the outside, you know, much of the joint practices and camp and things like that.
21:24I mean, Douglas was mixed in, of course, and I would think logically he makes more sense because he's got
21:29some size.
21:30To have Mikey Sander still be the tallest of your two corners at 5'9 does not seem like a
21:36good place to be.
21:38And I, I've talked about this before, I still wonder what the real plan is here for Robertson because on
21:43the outside with the Lions last year, he got lit up a bit.
21:47You know, again, you go off of, like, PFF grades, which they typically don't, but, you know, that was not
21:53his strength.
21:53So, you know, if we're just talking about him as a slot, well, then, you know, where else, you know,
21:58where else are they going to have some help?
22:00I mean, Fabian Moreau has been around and all, but he was also on the street two weeks ago.
22:04So, it's not like he's a guy that's been covered around the league.
22:07So, the Trey Amos thing is definitely problematic, and you have to wonder what their deal is here because, again,
22:16I think there's still Robertson outside tandem to me just does not make a ton of sense.
22:20Look, Brian Flores, this scheme, a lot of zone coverage, period.
22:27And you are going to probably see that even with Trey Amos in the lineup.
22:32So, it's just that covering up whatever you have as a deficiency behind the front seven is a need to
22:41stop the run and then rush the passer.
22:43And the three best pass rushers, at least based on what we know now, may not be available for the
22:48opener.
22:49All right.
22:50Anything else?
22:51What else is important?
22:55Well, I mean, again, Adam Peters and Dan Quinn speak today, and, you know, obviously what they have to say.
23:01You think they'll get to it, or they, I mean, a lot of fans seem to think that there's a
23:05chance they could both be fired before the opener.
23:09I'm kidding.
23:12They're going to hold the press conference, and then you can get angrier than people out there that think that
23:180-7, somewhere between two and three wins is a good bet.
23:23I mean, this is why, this is just why, like, overreacting to joint practices or the preseason is just such
23:30a disaster.
23:30Because, again, like, almost nobody that we're going to pay attention to on game days was involved in almost any
23:37of the preseason stuff.
23:38And, you know, even the joint practices, again, I'm not saying it was good, but it calmed out.
23:45I mean, remind me, what was everybody saying before Jayden Daniels' rookie season?
23:52I mean, I know that, obviously, there was a lot of optimism.
23:54Oh, it's good.
23:54I mean, a lot of people wanted Sam Howell or J.J. McCarthy.
24:00What are you talking about?
24:01Right.
24:02But, like, yeah, they were coming off of, what, a two-, three-win season?
24:06One of the worst we've seen in a while.
24:08Right.
24:08So, you know, you never know how these things play out.
24:10I think if they're healthy, they're good.
24:12But the offensive line, this is going to be a question, but that's until no matter what.
24:15Yeah, and that's where you also will look to Blau and say, how are you going to scheme around perhaps
24:23a weakness, which is your offensive line?
24:27Maybe interior more than exterior, but who knows?
24:31And you do have teams early on the schedule that right now, especially on defense in two of your first
24:39three, look really, really formidable up front in particular.
24:45And, look, with what Dallas added at the trade deadline last year to go with Rashawn Gary, you know, Kenny
24:51Clark, et cetera, Quinn and Williams, they're going to be, you know, a lot better up front than they were
24:59last year.
24:59So we'll see.
25:01Good news is two weeks from now we'll be talking about an actual result that makes sense to measure.
25:08Talk to you then.
25:09Kidding.
25:09I'll talk to you later in the week.
25:11See you.
25:11See you.
25:13Ben Standig, everybody.