The Washington Commanders have wrapped up their offseason program with the conclusion of minicamp. Here are some observations from Thursday.
\-- The players have a little over a month to get ready for training camp, when the true evaluations for how to shape the roster will begin.
For rookies, this can be a particularly critical time. They'll be left to themselves for the first time in months, and neither they nor the coaches want them to lose any of the progress they made in May and June
So, head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters met with each of them individually to make sure they were prepared to stay on track.
"We had a one-on-one meeting over the last week," Quinn said. "Where are they? How's it been? And going through that process, what does the next 40 days look like?"
Quinn and Peters' conversations with the rookies covered several issues, including how things were going for them off the field. Once that was settled, they moved into where each rookie was going to train and what they wanted to improve upon before camp. What impressed Quinn the most was that several players already had solid plans for this portion of the year.
"If you're already coming in with ideas and thoughts about what you want to get done, you're already moving forward," Quinn said.
\-- It was a light day for the players, who participated in seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 drills, but there were some who still managed to stand out. Chris Moore had three catches on the day, one of which was brought in for a touchdown. Moore is one of the older players in the Commanders' receiver room and faces a difficult task in earning a roster spot. Still, he consistently produced and had some highlight plays during minicamp, so perhaps he can impress the coaches during camp.