Washington Commanders training camp preview: Key dates, notable additions, biggest storylines

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With 2024 NFL training camps set to open, it’s time to get up to speed on all 32 NFL teams. Eric Edholm has the lowdown on position battles, key players and notable subplots across the NFC East.

Catch up on the Washington Commanders’ offseason developments and 2024 outlook below.

Training Camp Dates/Information

• Players report: July 18 (rookies); July 23 (veterans)
• Location: OrthoVirginia Training Center at Commanders Park | Ashburn, Virginia (fan information)

Notable Roster Changes

Preseason Schedule

• Week 1: at New York Jets | 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 10
• Week 2: at Miami Dolphins | 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 17
• Week 3: vs. New England Patriots | 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 25 (NBC)

2024 Schedule Notes

• The Commanders will open the season with three of their first four games on the road.
• Washington does not have a bye until Week 14 (the last week of regular-season byes).
• The Commanders will face the Cowboys or Eagles in four of their final seven games.

— NFL Research

What You Need To Know

1) There’s new blood everywhere, from the front office to the coaching staff down to the bottom of the roster. New GM Adam Peters earned praise for adding a slew of competitive veterans and rookies to help spruce up a roster that had gone stale. Dan Quinn has a long history of making an immediate impact upon arriving at new teams, helping turn the Seahawks into a Super Bowl-winning defense, elevating the Falcons as a head coach and galvanizing the Cowboys’ defense when he got to Dallas in 2021. There’s a clear reason for optimism, and the Commanders have only one direction to go in after zero playoff victories in the past 18 seasons.

2) Jayden Daniels is, of course, a huge part of the Commanders’ offseason spring cleaning efforts, and to me, it would be an upset — no matter how much you hear Quinn or anyone else talk about competition with Marcus Mariota — if the rookie didn’t start Week 1 at Tampa Bay. No two ways about it: This was a massive selection in the franchise reboot and could be a flashpoint for a rebirth. The hope clearly is that Daniels can be dangerous as a runner and effective throwing the ball, while the coaches determine how much of the load he can handle. No. 2 overall picks have been surprisingly boom or bust in recent NFL history, and Washington knows that all too well after taking Robert Griffin III (2012) and Chase Young (2020) in that slot. But the early returns on Daniels have been quite encouraging, and one year ago, No. 2 (C.J. Stroud) significantly outplayed No. 1 (Bryce Young), so I’ll go so far as to say that I think Daniels has an excellent chance of winning Offensive Rookie of the Year.

3) Kliff Kingsbury was hired to run the offense, bringing to town his Air Raid system that has produced fireworks on both the college and NFL levels at times. Interestingly, Kingsbury didn’t air the ball out at an extreme rate with the Arizona Cardinals, showing a firm commitment to the ground game — and often the QB run game — through most of his four years as head coach. Given Daniels’ running ability, that should continue, and the Commanders have a trio of backs (Brian Robinson Jr., Austin Ekeler, Chris Rodriguez Jr.) who should allow Kingsbury to do similar things in Washington. His work in helping Daniels adapt as a passer vs. NFL defenses might be Kingsbury’s primary long-term focus, but the Commanders have a chance to be a surprise team this season if they can be a more balanced offense and cut way back on the turnovers. Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson lead a decent receiver group, and Zach Ertz and rookie Ben Sinnott could be crafty contributors at tight end. This offense might be more fun than you realize.

4) Is the defense any better? That question will linger until we see Quinn’s and Joe Whitt Jr.’s unit take the field and face some decent competition. All three levels of the defense underwent fairly significant changes this offseason, including a new group of pass rushers, the addition of Bobby Wagner as the veteran centerpiece and more help for the secondary. How it all comes together is anyone’s guess, but this group has lost some high-end talent in recent years and likely won’t be centered on two or three standouts performing. It must be a collective effort that begins with competent play in the secondary. Can Emmanuel Forbes rebound from a brutal rookie season? Are there enough reliable options at safety? Camp will be a fascinating test for just how much this unit can move forward and whether the defense can help kickstart the franchise revival.

5) The Commanders head to camp with one kicker on the roster — Ramiz Ahmed, who handled kickoff duty for one game in Green Bay in 2022 but who hasn’t attempted a regular-season field goal. He’ll clearly get the first shot at the job, but early camp struggles could lead to more competition, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Washington’s Week 1 kicker isn’t on the roster now. Coordinator Larry Izzo had decent special-teams units last season in Seattle, but there’s a lot to clean up here. The Commanders had three kicks blocked in 2023, ranked near the bottom in punting average and lacked explosiveness on returns. Perhaps Izzo will unleash a creative advantage with the new kickoff rules. But until further notice, there are special-teams hurdles the club must overcome. The Commanders lost six one-possession games a year ago, so an uptick in this department could make a surprisingly big impact on their 2024 record.