ASHBURN, Va. — With training camp day one officially in the books, it’s safe to say it's a brand-new era in Washington Commanders history.
Dan Quinn took over as coach 170 days ago and he’s been nothing but purposeful in his actions. What I saw today as a sports guy who is covering his third decade of football was a short, crisp practice. They began at 9 a.m. and were done by 10:15 a.m. That isn’t to say it was easy, it was simply efficient.
Quinn told us before the practice that as they go along in camp, the practices will get longer.
"This camp will be challenging, it'll be demanding, and it's also gonna be fun as hell," Quinn said Tuesday before camp began. "This is where we start writing the chapter of what this 2024 Commanders team will be about," Quinn said. "So, having fun and working really hard, those two things should be synonymous. So, being here alongside [General Manager] Adam [Peters], hell yeah. Let's get it rolling.”
The only real news of the day was that the team activated defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton from the active/non-football injury list after passing his physical. He’s coming back from a foot injury. Defensive lineman Efe Obada was put on the physically unable to perform list. Obada continues to come back from a leg injury last season.
The takeaway from day one is that the vibe is different in Ashburn. New owner Josh Harris was not a practice, but is expected at some point of camp. New General Manager Adam Peters was on hand for a good portion often chatting with the head coach. The best news of the day came when the players left the field without an injury.
The Commanders are back at it tomorrow, as is the coverage from yours truly, as the DMV's official television station of the Washington Commanders.