3rd Week of Commanders OTAs ends with RB Croskey-Merritt still sidelined - Daily Slop

The Daily Slop - 13 June 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!

Commanders linksArticles

Commanders.com

Josh Conerly feels stronger, more confident heading into Year 2 with Commanders

The Commanders knew Conerly - a 21-year-old offensive lineman from Oregon - was going to be a project when they took him with the 29th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. He had the tools - his footwork, quickness and intelligence made him one of the best pass protectors in his class - to potentially become an above-average starter, but it would take time for him to develop into that. They drafted him believing that he still had room to grow, which made his college resume even more impressive.

Conerly is still far from reaching his ceiling, but he's gotten closer to it with a full NFL offseason under him. He's stronger and more comfortable compared to his rookie year, and there's more optimism for what he can do as part of the Commanders' offensive line.

He only allowed two sacks after Week 8 and had seven games with a pass blocking grade of at least 65 in that stint. He also cut down his penalties, going from eight in Weeks 1-8 to five for the rest of the season.

Once the 2025 season had concluded, he went back to Oregon to work with his strength coaches and personal chef. He then went to Alabama to work with fellow offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil, who spends most of his summers with his personal trainer.

Josh Conerly Jr. looks bigger entering his second season with the Washington Commanders, and that's a good thing for a player in his position.

Heavy.com

Sam Cosmi : Participating in OTAs

Cosmi was seen participating at Commanders OTAs on Friday. Cosmi was placed on injured reserve in late December with a concussion. The guard's presence at OTAs shows he's back to full health and ready to start the season at right guard as expected.

Commanders Roundtable

Complementary Running Backs Leading Washington Commanders in 2026

[I]t's about putting together the complementary" pieces together to iron out best fits for each weapon.

They have different skillsets. They complement each other," running backs coach Anthony Lynn told local media this week. I think you use them in the right situations and I think you're going to have an excellent backfield."

Head coach Dan Quinn noted White showcasing his receiving ability out of the backfield, an element sorely missed in 2025 that the former Buccaneers running back adds to the offense, while also noting he was featured as a returner during OTAs.

Lynn also pointed to pass protection as an area of growth for Croskey-Merritt, who was present yet not participating in drills during OTAs with the team not required to provide an update on injured players at this stage in the offseason. While those are reps he'll look to get back through summer workouts, it gives the rest of the room a chance to shine, including Allen who drew a comparison to one back who departed.

There's times where I see flashes of Chris Rodriguez," Lynn said of Allen. He's a bigger back and he has very good feet and agility."

Last Man Standig (paywall)

Lost in the receiver chatter, Washington's tight ends are making a case

For an offense with questions at wide receiver beyond two-time Pro Bowler McLaurin, and a system expected to feature plenty of underneath and intermediate throws, the tight end room might ultimately provide more answers than many assume.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt's next leap is taking place in the shadows

Croskey-Merritt has worked with the training staff on side fields during individual and team drills. The ninth and final OTA workout took place on Thursday. A three-day mandatory minicamp begins next week. We'll see if the soft-tissue injury the staff has chosen to slow-play, with the bigger picture in mind, is healed enough by then.

For more of from Ben Standig, click here

Podcasts & videosCommanders' 3rd-Rd Pick Antonio Williams Is A Smooth Operator" | Raise Hail With The Rookies | NFLOur Conversation w/ @JoshTaylorFB cohosted by @Gcarmi21NFC East links

Big Blue View

John Harbaugh's Giants will look like a bully; can they play like one?

The Giants are certainly bigger and stronger than they have been in recent years. They have to prove they are better.

Defensive tackle D.J. Reader, himself a mountain of a man at 6-foot-3, 335 pounds, recently called the New York Giants a get-off-the-bus team." By that, he meant that because of their sheer size, they look good getting off the bus.

John Harbaugh, in his 18 years as head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, developed a reputation for building get-off-the-bus" teams that not only looked the part, but played the part of the bully.

Asked recently why he has an affinity for players with size, Harbaugh referred to former Giants' GM George Young's twist on the Planet Theory." Young's idea was that there are only so many massive, athletic human beings on the earth, and the more you could collect, the better chance you had of winning.

Harbaugh's Giants will look the part in 2026. Whether they can play the part is to be determined.

ESPN

2026 NFL minicamp live updates

New York Giants

The Giants came out to practice for their final day of minicamp in T-shirts, and many players wore sneakers. Their workout consisted of one hour and 10 minutes of what coach John Harbaugh called a mental sweat." Essentially, it was a walk-through on the last day of school. The Giants are now off for seven weeks until they report to training camp in West Virginia in late July.

They're on the road for training camp because their practice facility will be under construction this summer while the World Cup (including the final) takes place across the parking lot. As the Giants turn their attention to training camp, the only real injury to watch is Malik Nabers. Abdul Carter (ankle) was on the field Wednesday after suffering a minor sprain earlier in the week.

But at least Nabers appears on the right path. Harbaugh said he's doing great" and made some real progress in the past few weeks. All eyes on him for Week 1.

Bleeding Green Nation

It's early, but it is pretty weird

It's very early in offseason team programs, but it is very odd that Tanner McKee seems to have lost the faith of the Eagles. I think most people did a little, Oh ok, hmm," when the Eagles signed Andy Dalton in the offseason, but I also believe, most like myself, believed that Dalton was brought aboard to be that third emergency quarterback and a mentor-type. Now, he's outsnapping McKee as QB2 in spring practices.

Before week 18 of last season, McKee was being touted as a highly cromulent backup, perhaps one who deserved a shot at trying out to be a starter on a team in need of one. Many thought the Eagles might look to trade him for draft capital, which seemed like a positive statement about the QB Factory." Now, though, the team has seemingly imported a vet to takeover backup duties over the drafted and developed McKee, which would certainly be a demerit for the quarterback assembly line.

Blogging the Boys

Cowboys Jersey Sales

The NFLPA dropped their Top 50 Player Sales List this week, and there were no Dallas Cowboys players inside the top 20. CeeDee Lamb was the highest ranked at 21.

It should be noted that the data from here is pulled from the 2025 league year which means it began in March of last year and ran through February of this.

Still... kind of shocking. Not alarming or worthy of panic or anything.

Just kind of weird and unusual for the Cowboys.

NFL league linksArticles

Over the Cap

Looking at Patrick Mahomes Record Setting Contract with the Chiefs

While this dramatically resets the market the Chiefs still remain in a great position as Mahomes once again agreed to contract with a massive length that really puts the Chiefs in a strong spot over the long term. Mahomes has now done two contracts which really buck the norms in terms of contract length giving the Chiefs control for 12 years back in 2020 and still having to add an additional two more years on this contract rather than just tearing up the old one and replacing it with a $64M per year contract. In essence the Chiefs, like the last time, are the market setters and can then pick and choose how to deal with Mahomes cap and cash to stay in line with the market as it evolves.

Mahomes contract structure is pretty basic. Each year there is a $30 million roster bonus due in May which will be the first decision date for a Chiefs restructure (Im assuming there is a no trade and this is not to extend the trade window). The team has restructured at least $27 million in each of the last four years for cap purposes. Each year the team opts to make the conversion they will lower the cap charge by $24 million and increase the next four years cap charge by $6 million a season. The team will then have options to consider any P5 salary to restructure, which in the first year will be $27 million and that basically grows by $2 million a year, maxing out at a P5 of $39 million in the final contract year.

That rolling salary increase is better than the Chiefs initial contract with Mahomes, which really was a two contracts in one type of contract that saw his salary fluctuate a bit and led to them consistently having to move money forward. The slow steady increase should lessen that in the future even as this deal is surpassed.

Getting to $64 million in new money is notable for the market and this should serve as a big boost. Regardless of whether or not the league values this at $63 million or $64 million a year, it is the first contract to seemingly acknowledge Dak Prescott's $60 million a year contract as valid. Prior to this it seemed as if every team in the NFL was working under the $55 million per year contract number as the top of the market with Prescott treated as an outlier. Prescott arguably has had the strongest contracts at the position since 2021. This now opens the door for other QBs to jump into the $60 million a year range sooner rather than later.

Discussion topics

ESPN

World Cup grass in NFL stadiums stirs debate over field surface

[I]t cuts deep that FIFA rolled out the green carpet for this year's World Cup. Fresh natural grass has been transported across the country in refrigerated trucks and laid out meticulously to meet its standards in the 11 U.S. stadiums, seven of which traditionally use synthetic turf as their primary playing surface for NFL games. It is particularly a topic of discussion at MetLife Stadium, where the turf sits beneath layers of sand and natural grass awaiting the NFL season.

It's going to be jarring to see these massive NFL stadiums, some indoor-domed facilities, flush with natural grass surfaces. It's something NFL players have been clamoring for years. Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, MetLife Stadium, Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, California, NRG Stadium in Houston and Lumen Field in Seattle have all been temporarily cosmetically altered with a natural grass field.

Each field took weeks to install with grass grown on what's called sod-on-plastic." This technique allows the surface to be deconstructed, rolled up and shipped with its root system preserved. Specialized stitching machines sew the field into place upon delivery and weeks of maintenance with help from newly installed ventilation systems and grow lights keep the grass pristine for soccer's biggest stage.

The turfgrass scientists at Michigan State and Tennessee used machines such as the foot lower extremity, which simulates a 170-pound player hitting the surface during a game, to test the grass specifically for the World Cup. They also used a ball drop machine that drops a soccer ball from six feet in the air to measure the audio of the ball hitting the ground and bouncing to assess the bounce and roll.

These are nowhere near the same demands as American football - 300-plus-pound individuals grappling on every play doesn't put a priority on how the ball bounces and rolls on the surface. The NFL is more concerned with traction, forgiveness and how it handles massive men accelerating, decelerating and changing direction.

They might be great for soccer. We don't know if they're great for football," Tretter said. So it is more we need to have a dedicated conscious effort to start building up the same high-quality grass surfaces as we're doing for everything else and other organizations are doing for their grass fields."

The Patriots had a grass field in Gillette Stadium from 2002 to 2006. The Giants and Jets had grass in Giants Stadium from 2000 to 2002.

It didn't work.

Time and usage seem to be the most pressing issues for the move to more grass fields. With all the events that occur at NFL stadiums, can team field staffs sufficiently manage fields to get them up to standards for every game?

For now, the players pine for real grass and, come this summer, the grass fields at the seven World Cup stadiums that temporarily made the transition will go back to turf.

Yeah, guys are going to be frustrated," Tretter said. That will be a frustrating moment a few months from now where they see how quickly they roll back out the turf field in place of it."

aBit o'Twitter

Putting in the work

We hosted a Salute to Service Youth Football Clinic on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling for children to come and work on their flag football skills! pic.twitter.com/JG06dsrrid

- Commanders in the Community (@commandersCR) June 11, 2026

Next up: minicamp pic.twitter.com/l9N4UqSk3c

- Washington Commanders (@Commanders) June 12, 2026

.@ClemsonFB WR, Antonio Williams, is a name to remember this week during the #nfldraft When you know; you know. a gifted router. #BaldysBreakdownspic.twitter.com/cumVGRD1Fn

- Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) April 20, 2026

New Take Command dropped with @LoganPaulsenNFL and I taking mailbag questions. pic.twitter.com/C0d2CVNZ9V

- Grant Paulsen (@GrantPaulsen) June 12, 2026

Quick recap on two days of yappin with #Commanders assistant coaches.

More on https://t.co/YvKI4Lsz48pic.twitter.com/I1mVjNlsMs

- Natalie Spala (@_nataliespala) June 12, 2026

Wes Welker explains how spending a year focusing on the defense can help him now that he's back coaching on offense. pic.twitter.com/Ibtob0IkcR

- John Keim (@john_keim) June 12, 2026

#Commanders DT Javon Kinlaw said that he fell in love with the game again" after he arrived in Washington

Shoutout to @theotfpodcast for the clip and an excellent interview by Reb, and also shoutout to Javon for embracing this role as a leader

in replies#RaiseHailpic.twitter.com/Dfg0MJoXg0

- Full Command (@FullCommandShow) June 12, 2026

#MookDawg Kinlaw's First Impression on Coach Daronte Jones... #linkinbio to watch the rest #RaiseHailpic.twitter.com/20acpu6PLT

- On The Fence Podcast (@theotfpodcast) June 12, 2026

What are the plans for the Commanders' tight ends? Will a tight end be the second-most-targeted receiver in David Blough's offense? Ben Standig's thoughts pic.twitter.com/tMZ4rlRk43

- The Team 980 (@team980) June 12, 2026

The long-awaited All-22 from #Commanders WR Treylon Burks

Included some clips from his time with the Titans.

His size & versatility is on display in his tape. He possesses all the traits & talent to be a good WR, unfortunately has had bad luck with injuries. #RaiseHailpic.twitter.com/AMr6CNdjpm

- brandon (@JayDanielsMVP) June 12, 2026

Motion by a wide receiver across the formation is NOT the same man/zone indicator that it was five, ten years ago..."

Running backs have become a MUCH better man/zone indicator and predictor."@GregCosell explains why: pic.twitter.com/7ystSoUtGo

- Ross Tucker Podcast (@RossTuckerPod) June 12, 2026

Now that OTC has full details on the new Patrick Mahomes contract, I thought that I would visualize the annual cash flow with a divider between his previous and new contract.

His APY on the previous one ended up being $47.6375M.

The APY on his new contract is a shade over $63M. pic.twitter.com/csnayZYFNY

- Nick Korte (@nickkorte) June 12, 2026

Highest paid OTs by annual average:

Laremy Tunsil - $30.1M
Rashawn Slater - $28.5M
Tristan Wirfs - $28.1M
Penei Sewell - $28.0M
Charles Cross - $26.1M
Christian Darrisaw - $26.0M
Trent Williams - $25.8M
Lane Johnson - $25.0M
Bernhard Raimann - $25.0M
Andrew Thomas - $23.5M

- NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) June 12, 2026

The NFL notified Stefon Diggs today that it concluded its investigation of him under the personal conduct policy and determined that there is insufficient evidence to support a finding of a violation of the policy.

- MarkMaske (@MarkMaske) June 12, 2026

My only thought about the latest BA post, there's no location police on Instagram. You can just post any location. Maybe he's here, maybe he's not, but he's still under contract w the Niners. pic.twitter.com/J2GVHvXOq7

- JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) June 12, 2026

The UFL season finale is here. Who will be the winner of the United Bowl?

DC Defenders-Louisville Kings, Saturday at 3 PM ET on ABC and the ESPN App pic.twitter.com/SpgvJgBwie

- ESPN (@espn) June 12, 2026

Audi Field will be the place to be on Saturday as the @UFLDefenders battle @UFLKings in the United Bowl.

Credit Shannon Harris and his squad for overcoming the level of adversity they did to get to this point.

Big thanks to @JoeTessESPN for sharing his insight before the call. pic.twitter.com/5zd6SznBYC

- Natalie Spala (@_nataliespala) June 12, 2026

Jayden Daniels(@JayD__5) meets up with Speed(@IShowSpeedHQ) at the first USA World Cup win!pic.twitter.com/HrS2lloXHf

- COMMANDERS FOOTBALL (@HogsHaven) June 13, 2026

The World Cup comes to America this year, who's going to a game? Grab @USMNT kits from @Fanatics to support the home team! #FanaticsCreator#adhttps://t.co/QA6IsvpHOd#fanaticsworldcup#FanaticsStorefrontpic.twitter.com/SQdU5WRgdp

- COMMANDERS FOOTBALL (@HogsHaven) May 24, 2026

Street Food in Bangkok..I give homeboy and his seafood salad a 5 star Michelin Rating. #BaldysBreakdownspic.twitter.com/Ga78ge2yCX

- Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) June 13, 2026

this Asian Water Monitor, the 2nd largest lizard to the Komodo Dragon, needs better cleats!! #BaldysBreakdownspic.twitter.com/Evkw442Zl3

- Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) June 12, 2026

I'm speechless. I have no speech. The man himself had acknowledged me.

Thank you to everyone who's liked, commented, reposted and reached out to me these past 36 hours. Never in a million years did I expect this to happen. pic.twitter.com/d8Q0iXZbvd

- Alex (@ajak1033) June 12, 2026