Wide receiver Terry McLaurin likes what he’s been hearing and seeing from new Commanders offensive coordinator David Blough.
Shortly after Blough was promoted into the job this year, he said one of his plans is to get McLaurin 10 targets a week in the passing game. On Tuesday, McLaurin said that he’s heard the same from the coach and that he’s seen the team putting the words into action since they started their offseason program.
“I love that. You know, he told me that way back in February,” McLaurin said, via JP Finlay of NBC “He texted me that him and I have a really good relationship. He’s been a man of his word. My job is to prove that each and every day, when we’re having workouts to be the leader, to be someone who you can count on to be on the field and make plays. That’s all I’ve been asking for. That’s all I want. So, to win games and have a big part of that, so I was definitely smiling when I saw that come across the phone. From OTAs and stuff, I can definitely tell that’s gonna be part of it.”
McLaurin went on to say that he thinks playing a featured role will also help open up opportunities for others in the offense. There has been chatter that the team will add wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk to that group, but any alignment is going to have McLaurin in the top role as the Commanders try to bounce back this season.
The Commanders and Ravens are both set for joint practices with multiple teams this summer.
The Vikings announced that they will be working with the Ravens ahead of their preseason game in Minnesota on Monday and the Ravens announced that they’ll also be working out with the Commanders a short time later.
That session will take place at the Ravens’ facility on August 26. The two teams will wrap up the preseason with a game in Baltimore two days later.
While the Commanders will be making the short trip to work with the Ravens, they’ll be the hosts when the Dolphins come to town earlier in the month. Nicki Jhabvala of TheAthletic.com reported that they will practice with the Dolphins before their August 14 game.
NFL Network lost its schedule-release show. It’s nevertheless gaining a late-season Saturday doubleheader.
In Week 16, on the day after Christmas, NFLN will televise a game at 4:30 p.m. ET and 8:00 p.m. ET.
The schedule identifies four potential games for the two slots: Buccaneers-Falcons, Bengals-Colts, Commanders-Vikings, and Panthers Steelers.
The decision as to which games will slide from Sunday to Saturday will be made during the season.
Coupled with a Thursday night game and three Christmas Day games, Week 16 will have 10 total windows — one more than Thanksgiving week. That leaves only eight games to be played on the Saturday afternoon windows.
We don’t know if Fernando Mendoza will be starting at quarterback for the Raiders in Week 1 of the regular season, but we do know who the Raiders will be playing in the first overall pick’s potential debut.
The NFL’s schedule reveal on Thursday night shows that the Raiders will host the Dolphins at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 13. The game will be on Fox.
Mendoza will have to get the nod over Kirk Cousins in order to start for the Raiders. Offseason addition Malik Willis is expected to make his first appearance for the Dolphins. Both teams will definitely have head coaches making their offseason debut as Las Vegas hired Klint Kubiak in February and Miami hired Jeff Hafley in January.
Sunday will also feature a pair of divisional games in the late afternoon window. The Packers will visit the Vikings while the Commanders will be in Philadelphia to renew their acquaintance with the Eagles. The NFC North matchup will be on CBS while the NFC East clash will be broadcast by Fox.
The other late game on Sunday afternoon will see the Cardinals visiting the Chargers on CBS. Arizona could have Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew or rookie Carson Beck at quarterback for that contest.
The 1 p.m. ET games will send the Bills to Houston for a date with the Texans while the Browns go on the road against the Jaguars. The Colts will host the Ravens, the Saints will visit the Lions, the Buccaneers will travel to Cincinnati for Dexter Lawrence’s first game as a Bengal, and the Steelers will kick off the Mike McCarthy era — with or without Aaron Rodgers — at home against the Falcons.
Previous reports revealed that the Jets will be in Tennessee and that the Bears will head to Charlotte to face the Panthers. The Jets-Titans game will be on CBS along with the Bills-Texans, Ravens-Colts and Browns-Jaguars games. All the other 1 p.m. games will be on Fox.
The entire Week 1 slate will kick off on Wednesday, September 9 with a Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl rematch in Seattle on NBC. Thursday will bring a Netflix game between the 49ers and Rams in the NFL’s first game in Melbourne and Sunday night will find the Cowboys at MetLife Stadium to meet the Giants on NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Those games were all announced ahead of Thursday’s full schedule reveal, which was also the case for the ESPN Monday night game between the Broncos and Chiefs in Kansas City.
Von Miller said in March that he would love to return to the Broncos if he did not re-sign with the Commanders and that prospect came up with the Broncos’ current pass-rushing ace.
Miller was a 2011 first-round pick for the Broncos and he won a Super Bowl while making four All-Pro teams before being traded to the Rams in 2021. He remains a free agent and Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto said that the notion of a second stint with the Broncos is something that would be met with smiles in Denver.
“It would be pretty crazy, for sure,” Bonitto said, via Zac Stevens of DNVR. “Obviously, everybody would love that. Not only the fans but the players. He’s a guy that’s loved here in Denver so much. My personal favorite player ever to watch. Just being able to share a room with him would be amazing.”
Miller had nine sacks for the Commanders last season, but it’s unclear if the musings of the two players are matched by concrete interest from the Broncos in a reunion.
