Commanders

One of the key differences for QB Jayden Daniels in his second season in Washington is the young quarterback is taking on more leadership responsibilities, including holding teammates accountable for mistakes. That’s a difference from his rookie season when HC Dan Quinn said the Commanders were intentional about leaving that off his plate.

“Don’t worry about, ‘You get lined up here, you do this, you do that,'” Quinn said via ESPN’s Dan Graziano. “We wanted him to be a great teammate and absolutely crush playing quarterback. So much can be put on kids: ‘Lead more, lead more.’ Right now, I want you to build your relationship with your teammates, who are learning you, and play quarterback. You don’t have to bring the team up. You don’t have to put the organization on your shoulders. Leave that to us.”

• Graziano says he’s been told the Commanders do not intend to trade WR Terry McLaurin and the team says it’s still trying to lock him up to a long-term deal.
• The Commanders want to see first-round OT Josh Conerly improve his play strength before slotting him into the starting lineup at right tackle, per Graziano.

Commanders

Commanders QB Jayden Daniels had one of the best rookie campaigns at quarterback last season as he led the franchise to the NFC Championship game. Daniels spoke on the drastic comfort increase heading into his sophomore season because of his experience in the offense.

“Most definitely night and day,” Daniels said, via ESPN’s John Keim. “It’s being more comfortable in the offense. I understand what Kliff is calling and what we want to accomplish as an offense. I have different tools in my tool belt to get to different protections, to get to different runs versus certain looks.”

Washington RB Austin Ekeler has been impressed with Daniels’ evolution as a leader, citing when he kicked someone out of the huddle after committing a false start.

“He said, ‘Get out, we can’t be doing that,'” Ekeler said. “That’s leadership we wouldn’t have seen last year. He’s holding the standard, letting everyone know this is how we play. If you’re not playing at this level, you can’t be on the field. That’s awesome to see in a quarterback.”

Eagles

Eagles RB Saquon Barkley‘s phenomenal year came at a cost. Barkley shouldered a staggering 482 touches between the regular season and postseason, a workload that would have been huge even in the old-school days before the league grew wise to the cost of operating non-committee backfields. The Eagles are aware of the historical trends for backs like Barkley in the year following a season with huge use, but at the same time, neither the team nor player really want to take him off the field.

“We’ve kind of talked about that, he and I have,” Eagles OC Kevin Patullo said via ESPN’s Dan Graziano. *“I think it’s very game-specific. It depends on how the flow of the game goes. He does a really...