Recalculating, not rebuilding: Commanders open training camp in Ashburn

ASHBURN, Va. (WAVY) — First-year Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn will tell you, himself, that he isn’t known for his patience.

“Yeah, I’m not the best on patience,” Quinn said. “I’ll say that because somebody asked me over the summer, rebuild and that feels like real estate to me. That’s why I said recalibrate.”

However, patience is a virtue. Fans of this Washington franchise have had to exude more than patience for the better part of four decades. Since 2000, Washington only holds five winning seasons. It’s a mark that Quinn wants to improve rapidly, which is why patience is the last thing on his mind.

“I wanted urgency in all that we’re doing, but it takes a lot of prep behind the scenes to go out and execute because if the execution and the communication is not game — like how could you perform in the game?” Quinn said.

Training camp headlines

Day one of Commanders training camp was headlined by the obvious — Jayden Daniels, Terry McLaurin … You know, the headline-makers.

But players like Johnny Newton, who was one of Washington’s rookies to watch out for, and was placed on the non-football injury list, came back on Wednesday.

“In my head, I thought it would be later, but just because of the progress he made, we were able to speed some of that up,” Quinn said. “So that was good to see. Think of the first little bit of his training camp is that’s his off-season training — the technique work to go then get into practice and then go. So, we’re playing where we got some space and some runway to make sure he doesn’t miss one step of his development.”

And Newton has an opportunity to lean on All-Pro level talent to continue to work on his defensive craft. Players like Johnathan Allen, Daron Payne and Bobby Wagner have the chance to guide the rookie defensive lineman to success in his first season.

“He’s definitely going to fit in really well,” Allen said. “He loves to work out, he loves to do the little things right, and he loves to work. And for me, once I see that, that’s all I need to see.”

Exclusive interview with Jamison Crowder

The Sportswrap’s Craig Loper got an exclusive interview with Commanders wide receiver Jamison Crowder, who enters his 10th season in the NFL. He addressed the differences in this training camp versus previous ones, and how the team is coming together.

The Sportswrap’s Craig Loper and James Kattato will continue to have full coverage throughout the week from Ashburn.

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