The Daily Slop – 24 August 2026
Editor's note:
Each day, Hogs Haven compiles a collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East, the NFL and sports in general, with a sprinkling of other stuff. Enjoy!
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Commanders links
Articles
Sports Illustrated
At the end of the day, [Quan] Martin entered camp this year running out of time to show whether he was a reliable answer at safety, and after two preseason games, he is finally beginning to make that answer easier to see.
Martin has been…ranging from the back end, [getting] ball production, and making plays capable of changing possessions. None of this frees Martin from his tackling issues from a year ago, as we haven't seen enough evidence to confirm or deny an improvement in that situation.
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Quinn sounded extremely confident in Martin's skills
after the Lions game: "He's always somebody that has good ball skills, and he's got the speed to get to the locations for that. So, I'm not surprised," Quinn said. "He's usually at his best when he's got, as a high safety, to come and make some plays." Quinn ended the conversation by saying, "He's off to a great start," which shows he's still paying close attention to Martin's progress.
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Sports Illustrated
The Washington Commanders spent their entire offseason program and training camp preaching takeaways and, through two preseason games, are producing results. The team now has six total takeaways after adding two more on Saturday night
. Both takeaways came from the starting defense, as Amik Robertson got the early strip-sack
that Joshua Josephs was able to recover in the end zone for a touchdown. Safety Quan Martin had the other takeaway after adding his second interception in as many games.
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This defense has a plan to take the ball away, not just talk of playing more aggressively. Martin's two interceptions and Robertson's strip-sack show how the defense is generating more possessions for the offense. Mix in the five sacks against Detroit, despite several of the team's top pass rushers not playing
, and Quinn has more evidence that the disruptive style the staff has stressed wanting is now showing up in games. Those six preseason takeaways are lovely to see, but if Washington wants that to continue into the regular season, the habits creating them need to survive and thrive once the games begin counting.
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A to Z Sports
Antonio Williams was my player of the game for Washington. He finished the matchup with three catches for 41 yards on three targets and his best play was a catch where he confidently secured a ball over the middle. In a receiver room where WR3-WR8 are fighting for spots, Williams took the stick & ran with it. His job security was already decent as a drafted rookie, but he showed why today
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Bradley might be staking a claim, too. The one-handed catch was impressive, but more importantly, his separation on other targets showed he can get open. The passes from Sam Hartman & Athan Kaliakmanis weren't perfect, but Bradley was in position to catch the ball on most of his targets. Pair that natural separation with Daniels' accuracy, & you're looking at a likely catch more often than not.
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Williams brought in all three of his targets for 41 receiving yards
. This included a stunning grab in the air for a 21-yard gain, showcasing his strength and concentration to full effect. There is competition for places behind McLaurin and Diggs on the wide receiver depth chart, but the rookie is doing more than enough to gain his fair share of targets within new offensive coordinator David Blough's scheme.
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Commanders Wire
For once, the Commanders have good depth at receiver, which is something you wouldn't have thought months ago
When it comes time for final 53-man roster cuts, the Commanders are going to have some serious decisions to make. Stefon Diggs and Terry McLaurin are the anchors in the room. Luke McCaffrey, Antonio Williams, Treylon Burks, Jaylin Lane, and the rest of the receivers in the room are doing an excellent job of making a case for themselves. Unfortunately, not all of them will make the final roster.
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It's not a bad problem to have, though. Jayden Daniels needs all the weapons he can get, and having options will give the Commanders the best chance of success this season.
To read more of this article,
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Riggo's Rag
Jones is clearly making better use of Tyler Owens'
elite-level athletic traits, and Quan Martin is making plays. Free-agent signing Nick Cross
and Jeremy Reaves are locks. Percy Butler brings decent special-teams value.
Harris is going the other way, which could mean his roster spot is less assured than some envisaged before preparations for the new campaign began.
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[T]he final preseason game will tell fans all they need to know.
If Harris isn't involved against the Baltimore Ravens, or sees just a handful of snaps to start the game, his place on the team is all but assured. But if he is playing deep into the second half, the 2019 third-round pick has a big problem on his hands.
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NFL.com
Daniels hurried in brief return to action
For the first time since December, Jayden Daniels was in uniform, active and under center for the Commanders. It was a long eight-month ramp-up to play for the Washington QB, whose sophomore campaign was marred by knee, hamstring and elbow injuries. For Commanders fans eager for an extended look at Daniels in competitive action, however, they'll have to wait until Week 1 in Philadelphia.
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Daniels took just three snaps in Detroit, attempting one pass in two dropbacks. The 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year was under pressure on his first two plays in David Blough's offense, dirting an attempt to the right on the first snap and taking a sack
on the second. Daniels' day ended with a third-and-20 handoff. With three weeks to go until the season opener, Daniels in Washington's new-look attack remains one of the biggest unknowns league-wide — and Saturday was barely even a tease of what that'll look like in 2026.
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Podcasts & videos
It's all about the number 5 (and we don't only mean Jayden Daniels) by Ben Standig
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Takeaways from the Commanders' second preseason game and what cones next.
Read on Substack
NFC East links
NBC Sports
If this game was any indication, Tanner McKee has to be the Eagles' backup quarterback. Andy Dalton just isn't very good. He had a couple nice completions to Darius Cooper Saturday night – 25 yards out to midfield on a 2nd-and-7 and 13 yards to Cooper on a 4th-and-1 on the Eagles' first touchdown drive. But after an ineffective 3-for-6 for 20 yards against the Ravens last week, he finished 3-for-10 for 44 yards in New England, with all his completions going to Cooper.
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That leaves him 6-for-16 for 64 yards on nine drives this preseason with a miserable passer rating of 50.0. Dalton hasn't been terrible in practice, but in the two games he just hasn't brought any juice to the offense and has looked all of his 38 years. Tanner McKee needs to be the Eagles' No. 2 QB, and he was sharp and decisive Saturday, going 16-for-22 for 173 yards with two touchdown passes, no interceptions and a 125.8 passer rating before giving way to rookie Cole Payton with 57 seconds left. And remember, Dalton was out there with the 2's and McKee mainly with the 3's. Maybe Howie can find a taker for Dalton for a bottom of the draft pick, but McKee needs to be Jalen Hurts' backup.
If you don't like the fact that Nick Sirianni never plays starters in the preseason, you have to consider that no NFL team since 2021 has started out seasons better than the Eagles. They are always ready, and you can't ask for better evidence that resting the starters makes sense than their record early in seasons under Sirianni. This team is always prepared when the games matter. The Eagles are 5-0 on opening day under Sirianni, winning by an average of nine points, and they have the best September record in the NFL since 2021 at 13-4. It's easy to just assume that the starters are going to be rusty if they don't play in the preseason games, but that just hasn't been the case. This system works.
[ From BiB: FWIW, Commanders are 7-3 through first 5 games of Dan Quinn's first two seasons with Washington — 4-1 in 2024; 3-2 in 2025. Eagles have an identical 7-3 record; they were 3-2 in '24 and 4-1 in '25. Washington hasn't really started slowly under Quinn despite his limited use of starters in preseason. Last year's burgundy & gold breakdown really took hold with the fumbled handoff on final drive vs Bears in Week 6.
]
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Blogging the Boys
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Stock Down: Devin Moore
This game marked the debut of fourth-round rookie Devin Moore, and it was a bit underwhelming to say the least.
Cornerback has been among the biggest question marks on the overall roster for some time. We have given a fair bit of leeway to the idea that Christian Parker will just naturally raise the floor there, but there was definitely hope that a player like Moore would battle his way into some conversations.
That has not happened yet and that is okay.
Stock Down: Sam Howell
If it was Joe Milton's night then it was also not Sam Howell's.
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Milton left a very high bar to clear when he sat on the bench for the second half, and the calculus of the game hardly worked in Howell's favor as a result. The broadcast, the Cowboys one to be clear, even discusses this as the Cowboys had a rather large lead and were not in the same sort of passing mode that they were in the first half. This naturally inhibited the opportunity from a volume standpoint for Howell.
Still, he had a chance. The Cowboys drove down and were well within striking distance when it seemed like Howell was trying to force something. Maybe Milton having a hat trick's worth of scores made that feel necessary. Whatever the case, throwing an interception when points are within reach is never a good thing, but especially after your direct competition put together such a clean game.
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USA Today
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Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr.
Based on the early returns from his first on-field work in more than a year, the two-time Pro Bowl receiver's return to the Giants looks on track. Despite notching just two catches for 6 yards, Beckham consistently broke free of coverage both underneath and downfield.
"I'm impressed by the way he looks right now," general manager Joe Schoen said during the broadcast.
That re-emergent skill set should be sufficient to score Beckham a spot in a shaky receiving corps. John Harbaugh, however, was a bit cryptic in addressing the wideout's future with the franchise.
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Regardless of Beckham's resolution, the Giants' roster cull will likely include the departure of a notable receiver. Jalin Hyatt, a former third-round pick who continues to be hampered by leg and ankle ailments, might very well be running out of time after seeing his production wane over three years.
Cowboys WR Jonathan Mingo
Camden Brown's ascension from an undrafted rookie out of Georgia Southern to training camp darling has been a fun development for almost everyone in the Cowboys orbit – except for Mingo.
Brown's buzz is approaching a full crescendo after his two-touchdown performance against the Seahawks. Though Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer cautioned that Brown needs to maintain his trajectory, he added, "The game's not too big for him."
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The same can't be said for Mingo through three years in the NFL. Despite giving up a fourth-round pick to acquire the former second-round selection in November 2024, the Cowboys have netted a measly six catches for 71 yards in 14 career games for the wideout.
Eagles CB Kelee Ringo
The 6-2, 207-pound Georgia product sporadically serves up reminders of his considerable upside, as he did in the preseason opener by hauling in an end-zone interception. But the story of Ringo's career in coverage as a pro has been his inconsistency. That trend has continued to hold this summer, with his takeaway coming just one play after he was flagged for pass interference.
Next to Mac McWilliams and Jonathan Jones, he might not even size up favorably as a backup. Ringo's saving grace might be his value as a gunner. Yet special teams contributions alone might not be sufficient to keep him on the roster.
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NFL league links
Articles
The Athletic(paywall)
J.J. McCarthy bent over. Maybe exasperated. Perhaps in disbelief. He buried his helmet in his hands, reacting to another golden opportunity squandered.
It was the first quarter. McCarthy, who started Saturday's preseason game at quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, had been given a staple play call. Before the snap, second-year receiver Myles Price motioned to create confusion for the cornerback. The eye candy worked. Price used the deception to wiggle wide open in the end zone to McCarthy's right.
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McCarthy read the concept correctly. An accurate pass would have resulted in an easy touchdown. But McCarthy's pass whistled too high and hot for Price. The incompletion exemplified the young quarterback's struggles not only Saturday, but also throughout the majority of his NFL career.
He has struggled with consistency. He doesn't look smooth. McCarthy has premium throwing velocity in his holster, but almost everything else feels more difficult than it should for a first-round pick entering his third season.
His stat line of 5-for-10 passing for 81 yards requires the context of six quarterback pressures, according to Next Gen Stats. Still, McCarthy's showing — especially juxtaposed with Wentz's professional-looking operation (9-of-11 passing for 92 yards) — makes the backup quarterback question a fair one.
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He who shall not (normally) be mentioned
Front Office Sports
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Snyder, who moved to London with his wife Tanya before the sale was completed, has maintained a low public profile and has not made any known offers to return to professional sports ownership.
There are few readily available comparisons for Snyder's life as a former NFL owner. In this era of ever-burgeoning NFL franchise values, most team sales occur after the owner's death. Before Snyder's sale of the Commanders, the last living NFL owner to sell his team was Jerry Richardson, who sold the Panthers to David Tepper in 2018.
The former associates and others spoke to FOS
in recent weeks on the condition of anonymity because of the intensity of the acrimony that once was attached to Snyder and his team.
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A high-ranking official with one NFL team told FOS
: "I don't think anybody is in touch with him about anything…. I don't know who he hangs out with. I don't know who he talks to. Certainly nobody in the NFL is talking to him."
"From what I have gathered through just talking to people, the league has just totally moved on from him," a former team staffer who worked for Snyder told FOS
. "You bring up that name, people are like, 'What?' Like, 'Nah, never mind.' And I think he's over there just basically living a life of anonymity. Nobody in London gives a shit who Dan Snyder is. And it's probably mutually beneficial. The people in London don't care…. It's one of those things where thank God I don't spend much time thinking about [it]…. It's just weird. It's like talking about a movie sometimes…. People would be like, 'Really?' Yeah, believe it or not, that actually happened."
Harris's deal to purchase the Commanders from Snyder included an "earnout," a structure that would provide Snyder with a deferred payment or payments of as much as around $200 million, contingent on the franchise reaching specified financial benchmarks, five people with knowledge of the terms of the sale told
The Washington Post
in 2023. The Post
reported
in 2024 that the team was unlikely to reach the revenue markers required for Snyder to receive the $200 million. However, it appears that the Commanders' financial performance under Harris's ownership has, ironically, improved the chances of the earnout being paid to Snyder. The $200 million amount would come in addition to the initial payment of about $5.85 billion by the Harris group in the sale to push the total transaction above $6 billion, aside from the $60 million payment by Snyder.
The second former Snyder associate predicted the former Commanders owner will never reside in the U.S. again.
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"He'll never be back," that person said. "In London, they… don't bother him."
"Just let him be over there," the ex-staffer said.
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For Discussion
Commanders Wire
Mark Clouse, the Commanders team president, I so appreciate the changes he has made to increase value for the Commanders' paying customers, especially the improvements to food and concessions.
Yet what about increasing value for your paying customers for games that aren't even 'preseason'? These games are exhibitions; that is all they are for the paying fans. Last week, the Commanders announced before the game that 26 players wouldn't play. How much value did fans get out of paying regular-season price?
I love how the Harris Ownership Group is so much better than the previous owner in spending money on the current stadium. I love the changes Mark Clouse is leading. Yet, just because every other NFL owner rips off their fans in the preseason, does that mean you have to continue to do the same? Why must fans buy meaningless preseason tickets at face value to secure their regular-season seat packages?
To the Harris Ownership Group, ask yourselves, "Seeing these exhibition games will only feature, for most of the time, players fighting for roster spots 45-53, and other players making the practice squad (54-69), what would be a 'fair' admission price to your loyal customer? Instead of parking rates equaling regular season rates, what would be a 'fair' value for your fans?
Come on now, show your loyal customers some actual respect during these pointless, boring exhibitions. Give season ticket holders a meaningful discount for these exhibitions. Tell your paying customers you are thankful for their business and financial commitment, and that you'll provide them with a fair value for preseason games.
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aGoodBit o'Twitter
From John Keim on Sunday:
