ASHBURN — In the NFL, coaches typically scrap the last day of mandatory minicamp as a reward for their players’ hard work in the offseason. The move was commonplace, for instance, under former Washington coach Jay Gruden. And last year, Dallas’ Mike McCarthy and the Giants’ Brian Daboll were among those who gave their teams an early start on vacation.
For the Commanders, there will be no such reward.
Not after the NFL docked the team two offseason practices for excessive contact, anyway.
“Oh that’s not happening,” Commanders coach Ron Rivera said when asked about the possibility of eliminating the third day of minicamp.
Over the last few weeks, the Commanders have tried to cram in as much as possible after having two fewer practices this offseason as a result of the NFL’s punishment. A year ago, the league came down hard on the Commanders for having excessive contact in practice — which is strictly prohibited before training camp. Beyond the loss of two sessions, the league also issued a $100,000 fine to Rivera.
As a result of the reduced practice time, the Commanders were still working on the installation of their playbooks during their three-day mandatory minicamp that began this week — something that would have normally been finished by now. This year, Washington is also implementing a new scheme under offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who was hired in February. Bieniemy’s playbook is complex and play-calls are long, giving players a lot to learn.
But Rivera and Co. have said they feel like they’ve been able to make up for lost time.
“We’ve got the work that we’ve wanted out of it,” Rivera said.
Case in point: Wednesday’s session was an extensive workout that still took place outside despite hazy air conditions caused by more than 100 wildfires in eastern Canada. Before practice, Rivera said he consulted with team doctors who advised him that the conditions were safe to practice in because the Air Quality Index fell below 200 — the number that would have forced Washington to look at alternatives like practicing inside.
The air quality, at least for one player anyway, was noticeable. During an 11-on-11 drill, safety Jeremy Reaves made a great read on quarterback Sam Howell to intercept a pass targeted down the field. But after Reaves came up with the interception?
“I was a little winded,” Reaves said with a laugh. “I was kind of thrown off a little bit because honestly, I wasn’t paying attention with what was happening in Canada.”
Reaves, for what it’s worth, is partly responsible for why the Commanders have fewer offseason practices this year. Last June, the safety came flying in to break up a pass to Dyami Brown and collided head-first with the wide receiver. The thunderous hit caused Rivera to momentarily stop that day’s practice then and there to chew out his team for the lack of discipline. The NFL later cited the collision as one of several that the league deemed excessive in a letter informing the team of its punishment.
The lesson, though, was learned. Reaves recalled how in Tuesday’s practice, there was a moment when he made a break for the ball but had to pull off the route in order to avoid contact.
Despite the reduced practice time, Reaves agreed with Rivera that the Commanders have been able to accomplish a lot this offseason. There’s an urgency, he said, to pick up the pace — an area that has been stressed to combat the team’s slow starts.
Under Rivera, the Commanders have started the last three seasons 1-5 (2020), 2-4 (2021) and 2-4 (2022) through the first six games.
“Our biggest problem is we haven’t started fast,” said Reaves, who joined Washington in 2018. “That’s been the case, really, since I’ve been here. And so, just trying to make a huge emphasis on, ‘Don’t wait until the middle of practice to now start flying to the ball. Start it from the first period and all the way through because the season works just as much as practice, right?
“It’s about sustaining that winning and that type of tempo throughout the year. The good teams do that.”
That tempo, in part, is set by Bieniemy — whose boisterous style of coaching harps on details and demands excellence out of players. But across the roster, there’s been a competitiveness that has fueled practices.
Punter Tress Way recalled how during one May session, defensive tackle Jonathan Allen took exception at the level of celebrating by the offense, which Way says was “rolling” against the defense.
“He was like, ‘Hey, I just want to remind everybody at ths time … that the d-line is not allowed to pass rush right now, so you guys can calm down with all the celebrating,’” Way said of Allen. “I love that. I looked at Jon and (said), ‘It’s May and you can’t even let that go one day.’ I love that. It’s why he is our leader, our team captain.
“Everyone’s together, but this is a competitive bunch. That’s fun to be a part of.”
If Rivera does change his mind and want to give players a break, the Commanders have a voluntary workout scheduled for Tuesday that the coach could theoretically cancel. But in speaking to reporters, he made no indication that he was leaning that way. He said the team would “take advantage” of the session before a six-week break until training camp.
“Then we’ll send them on their ways,” Rivera said.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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