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Ron Rivera says Terry McLaurin’s extension impacts entire Washington Commanders organization

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ASHBURN, Va. — Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera viewed receiver Terry McLaurin as more than just a receiver who needed to be extended. He was a key player for an organization trying to rebuild its image amid a congressional investigation.

“He’s an organizational signing,” Rivera said. “It impacts not just the football side but the business side. It tells people we want to retain young men of this stature; we want young men of this magnitude out there representing our organization.”

Congress has been investigating Washington owner Dan Snyder since October. It held a hearing on June 22, and Snyder declined to attend or to testify via video call. The House Oversight Committee’s Democratic leadership continues to negotiate with Snyder’s attorneys to get him to testify about Washington’s workplace culture.

The drumbeat of the congressional story has drowned out other organizational on-field news. When McLaurin skipped the on-field voluntary OTA work and then the mandatory three-day minicamp, fans feared more bad news was headed their way. McLaurin worked his way from a third-round pick in 2019 — expected to be a key special teams player and backup receiver — to a guy with two 1,000-yard seasons in his first three.

Rivera stressed to McLaurin his importance to the organization in a phone call during minicamp — when McLaurin was training in Florida.

“He emphasized the priority from ownership on down was to get the deal done,” McLaurin said.

By the time Washington left minicamp June 16, there was optimism McLaurin would soon be extended. He agreed to his three-year contract worth up to $71 million — with a $28 million signing bonus — last week and signed it Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Rivera centered the McLaurin signing around how he said the organization has changed in the past two years, getting rid of others in key spots who have been accused of sexual harassment.

“As I ask, please don’t judge us from, ‘This happened at this point in time,'” Rivera said. “We’re going forward. We’re changing things. We’re trying to do the best we can. I know some people don’t think it matters, but it does matter. It shows you can change, you can adapt, you can make things better. You can correct your mistakes, and that’s what we’re doing. We’re correcting our mistakes; we’re getting a lot of support.”

McLaurin blossomed in Washington despite having played with eight different starting quarterbacks. After finishing with 919 receiving yards as a rookie, he topped 1,000 yards each of the next two seasons.

In the past two seasons combined, McLaurin ranks 11th in the NFL with 2,171 receiving yards and 12th with 164 receptions.

That’s also why he was a must have for Rivera as he juggles on-field planning with off-field news.

“We’re doing the best we can putting the best players in position so we can build something we can all be proud of,” Rivera said. “I get a little upset about it because I get it, it’s a news item. What we do on the field is important; that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re not trying to say what happened isn’t important because it is. It’s something we need to make sure societally going forward we don’t let those things happen again so we’re doing everything we can to make sure we are better.”

McLaurin said he and other team leaders have tried to look forward.

“We trust Coach Rivera’s vision and how he leads us,” McLaurin said. “He does a great job handling it and taking all the pressure on from outside voices. … We represent the organization the best way we can on and off the field. We take that seriously. It comes with work and, honestly, transparency and working hard as a collective group and building unity. Coach Rivera allows us to focus on the field. We understand what’s going on outside; we want to focus on where we’re heading.”

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House Panel alleges Commanders owner Dan Snyder fostered toxic workplace and ‘conducted a shadow investigation’ targeting accusers

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Maloney said that Snyder “fired women but not men who engaged in relationships with other employees, while defending male executives accused of sexual harassment,” according to testimony from former top team executives during the panel’s eight-month probe of the Commanders’ culture and the NFL’s response.

The New York Democrat said Snyder sent private investigators to former cheerleaders’ homes, “offered hush money to buy their silence,” created a “dossier” of communications from journalists, attorneys and former employees who accused the team of harassment, and tried to blame former team President Bruce Allen for the team’s troubles.

“The NFL was aware of his actions, but failed to stop him,” Maloney said.

Snyder declined to testify at the hearing, but Maloney announced she intended to issue a subpoena to compel his testimony next week. A Snyder spokesperson said the hearing was “little more than a politically charged show trial, not about uncovering the truth.”

“It is clear the outcome of the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the Washington Commanders was predetermined from the beginning,” said Snyder’s spokesperson.

Last year, after an internal investigation by attorney Beth Wilkinson, the National Football League fined the team $10 million, and Snyder gave control over the franchise’s daily operations to his wife, Tanya. But the NFL declined to publicly release its findings, sparking the House Oversight Committee’s review in October.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell testified before the panel on Wednesday and said that the Commanders’ culture was “not only unprofessional, but toxic for far too long.”

“It is clear to me that the workplace in Washington was unprofessional and unacceptable in numerous respects: bullying, widespread disrespect toward colleagues, use of demeaning language, public embarrassment and harassment,” Goodell said. “Moreover, for a prolonged period of time, the Commanders had a woefully deficient HR function, particularly with respect to reporting practices and recordkeeping.”

But Goodell maintained that the Commanders’ workplace has changed for the better and that Snyder “faced unprecedented discipline,” including the fine. He said that Snyder has not attended league or committee meetings in the past year, and he noted the Commanders put in place “an entirely new, highly skilled and diverse management team” and “revamped” their cheerleading program and leadership with a coed dance team. In 2020, the Commanders hired Ron Rivera as their head football coach and Jason Wright to be their team president.

Goodell also said that the team had not received a written report from Wilkinson in order to preserve the confidentiality of those who had participated in the internal investigation but could release a “summary of the key findings” in the future “if appropriate.” Illinois Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi suggested that the NFL could release a detailed report with redacted names if necessary.

Republicans said Wednesday that the House Oversight Committee should’ve instead spent its time on more important national issues — like rising consumer prices, the baby formula shortage, record numbers of illegal border crossings, fentanyl overdoses or the tanking stock market — and focus on investigating the federal government rather than the private sector. Maloney said that the committee had the authority to investigate “anything and everything,” leading at least one Republican member to say that they’d remember that next year, when the GOP is favored to take back the House.

“This committee is failing the American people,” said Kentucky Rep. Jim Comer, the top Republican on the panel.

Maloney disagreed, noting that attorneys general in six states had told the NFL in April of their “grave concerns” about allegations of workplace harassment of women and minorities and that the NFL had started a new investigation based on the committee’s work.

The NFL hired former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Jo White to investigate an allegation of sexual harassment against Snyder by former employee Tiffani Johnston, a former cheerleader and marketing manager for the team. Johnston told the congressional committee that the Commanders owner had put his hand on her leg under the table at a work dinner and tried to persuade her to get into his limousine. Snyder has denied Johnston’s allegations.

“Some have argued that protecting women isn’t worthy of this committee’s time. I strongly disagree,” Maloney said. “For more than two decades, Dan Snyder refused to protect the women who worked for him from the toxic culture he created. The NFL has also failed to protect these women. Now I believe it is up to Congress to protect them, and millions more like them.”

Maloney said she had introduced two bills to “ensure that employers like Dan Snyder cannot abuse non-disclosure agreements to silence employees — and cannot film their employees” and use the footage without their consent. Goodell said that he supported the intent of the bills.

“In concept, we certainly support it, and we’d be happy to work with your staff,” Goodell said.

Snyder had been invited to appear before the panel on Wednesday but was out of the country, according to Maloney.

“We also invited Daniel Snyder to testify today. But rather than show up and take responsibility for his actions, he chose to skip town,” said Maloney. “Apparently, Mr. Snyder is in France, where he has docked his luxury yacht near a resort town. That should tell you just how much respect he has for women in the workplace.”

Snyder attorney Karen Patton Seymour said that the Commanders’ owner is willing to cooperate but the committee was not “willing to consider changing the date of the hearing,” according to the four-page letter obtained by CNN.

“The Committee also stated that it is not willing to consider changing the date of the hearing, despite the fact that Mr. Snyder has a longstanding Commanders-related business conflict and is out of the country on the first and only date the Committee has proposed for the hearing,” the letter said. “The Committee instead insisted on a yes-or-no response from Mr. Snyder as to whether he would appear for the hearing at the appointed time.”

Asked by Maloney what “specific steps” the NFL would take to hold Snyder accountable for not testifying, Goodell said, “I do not have any responsibility for whether he appears before Congress. That is not my choice. That is his choice.”

Correction: A previous version of this story gave the incorrect day for remarks made by House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney. It was Wednesday.

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Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder declines invitation to testify at June 22 congressional hearing

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ASHBURN, Va. — Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder informed the House Oversight Committee by letter that he won’t testify at their June 22 hearing, saying he would be out of the country.

It had been long expected that Snyder would decline to testify. In the four-page letter, attorney Karen Patton Seymour said Snyder was willing to testify but that the committee “is not willing to consider changing the date of the hearing.”

The letter stated that Snyder had a “longstanding Commanders-related business conflict and is out of the country on the first and only date the Committee has proposed for the hearing.”

According to a committee spokesman, “The Committee intends to move forward with this hearing. We are currently reviewing Mr. Snyder’s letter and will respond.”

Congress started investigating Snyder and Washington’s workplace culture under him in October. It also is investigating claims of sexual misconduct by Snyder, a charge levied by former employee Tiffani Johnston, in a roundtable session before the committee.

On June 1, the House Oversight Committee invited Snyder and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to testify at the June 22 hearing. It’s uncertain if Goodell will testify. The committee could still opt to change the date of the hearing as sometimes happens in less publicized situations. It could also issue a subpoena to Snyder.

Attorneys Lisa Banks and Debra Katz, who represent at least 40 former Commanders employees, said in a statement that “We, along with our clients, are disappointed but not surprised that Dan Snyder does not have the courage to appear voluntarily. We fully expect the Committee will issue a subpoena to compel Mr. Snyder to appear. It is time that Mr. Snyder learns that he is not above the law.”

According to the letter, Snyder’s attorneys responded five days later by asking the committee to provide more information about the scope of the inquiry. It also stated that the committee would not guarantee that the questions directed to Snyder would be limited to the organization’s historical workplace issues.

Nor would the committee agree to provide copies of documents that “members of the Committee intend to question Mr. Snyder about.” Seymour wrote it’s a courtesy that “I understand is often extended to witnesses at congressional hearings.”

The letter also said Snyder’s attorneys requested “basic information” about Johnston’s allegations — “such as when and where it supposedly occurred, and who else was present.” According to the letter, the committee declined to provide the information. Snyder has denied the charges.

The NFL also hired attorney Mary Jo White to investigate Johnston’s claims. The league fined Washington $10 million on July 1, 2021, as a result of its investigation into the workplace culture under Snyder.

The attorney generals in Virginia and Washington, D.C., are investigating claims of financial improprieties alleged by a former employee. The team responded with a 105-page letter with signed affidavits refuting the charges.

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Commanders coordinator Jack Del Rio calls Jan. 6 insurrection a ‘dust-up’

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In a post-practice meeting with reporters, Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio minimized the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol building by calling it a “dust-up” in comparison to the racial justice protests that followed George Floyd’s death in 2020.

“I can look at images on the TV [of the Floyd protests] — people’s livelihoods are being destroyed. Businesses are being burned down. No problem,” he said. “And then we have a dust-up at the Capitol, nothing burned down, and we’re going to make that a major deal. I just think it’s kind of two standards, and if we apply the same standard and we’re going to be reasonable with each other, let’s have a discussion. That’s all it was [on Twitter]. Let’s have a discussion. We’re Americans.”

Del Rio, 59, has been outspoken on Twitter in each of the three offseasons he’s been a Commanders coach, often on conservative political issues.

The latest came Monday night in response to an article by the Brookings Institution think tank about the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. Del Rio wrote, “would love to understand ‘the whole story’ about why the summer of riots, looting, burning and the destruction of personal property is never discussed but this is ??? #CommonSense.”

His comments have drawn the ire of some fans and commentators, with former cornerback DeAngelo Hall tweeting a clown emoji at the veteran coach, and Brian Mitchell calling on Commanders head coach Ron Rivera to address the situation.

“How do [you] expect anybody on that team to be straightforward when you’ve got a guy like that in the defensive coordinator position?” Mitchell said on his 106.7 The Fan radio show Wednesday.

Del Rio said he’s not concerned that his players would take offense to his comments.

“Anything that I ever say or write, I’d be comfortable saying or writing in front of everybody that I work with, players and coaches,” Del Rio told reporters Wednesday. “I express myself as an American; we have that ability. I love this country, and I believe what I believe, and I’ve said what I want to say. Every now and then, there’s some people that get offended by it.”

After practice, Rivera declined to discuss Del Rio’s tweets and whether he’d discussed them with his defensive coordinator. Rivera said he does “not necessarily” worry Del Rio’s comments will affect the locker room, which is predominantly Black and includes many players who supported the Floyd protests with words and social media posts two years ago. If it does become an issue, Rivera said, he’ll deal with it.

“How I deal with it, I’m not going to share with you guys because it’s going to be a private matter,” he added.

Some of the defense’s most vocal leaders, including defensive tackle Jonathan Allen and defensive end Chase Young, were not available for comment Wednesday. Cornerback Kendall Fuller said he hadn’t seen Del Rio’s tweet, and after he was read it, said he had no reaction. If he changed his mind, he said, he’d bring it up with his coordinator.

Fuller was asked if the team has had ongoing discussions about race since the summer 2020 demonstrations.

“It’s definitely something that guys still have,” he said. “It might not be as broad as how that was when everything happened. But it’s something that you still see, conversations that guys still have. Just like everything in the locker room. I love NFL locker rooms because everybody’s so comfortable. We all know each other; we’re all comfortable with each other; everybody’s open to listening and hearing everybody. Everybody’s kind of just putting their opinion and their pride aside and just listening to everyone’s opinions. I think that’s how we grow.”



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Washington Commanders Deny Financial Malfeasance in a Letter to FTC

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Friedman, through his lawyers, stood by his testimony and said he would answer follow-up questions from any of the government agencies reviewing the team’s activities.

“My client is also prepared to defend himself publicly against these baseless allegations if Mr. Snyder permits him to do so,” his lawyers, Lisa Banks and Debra Katz, said, referring to the team’s owner, Daniel Snyder. “In the meantime, we will communicate directly with the team about these demonstratively false allegations.”

In March, Friedman testified to the committee about a practice he said some team executives called “juicing,” in which revenue from N.F.L. game tickets was reported as having come from other events held at the team’s stadium in order to reduce the amount of ticket revenue it was required to share with the 31 other N.F.L. teams.

One example he provided involved licensing fees for college games or concerts hosted at the team’s stadium in Maryland. In testimony the committee cited in its letter to the F.T.C., Friedman said team executives kept one set of books with the altered numbers it submitted to the N.F.L. and a second set with the accurate accounting that was shown to Snyder.

Snyder, through a representative, declined to comment.

In Monday’s submission to the F.T.C., the team said its auditors, as well as those from the N.F.L., had access to all revenue, including from non-N.F.L. events, and would have discovered such a discrepancy had it existed. Specifically responding to Friedman’s claim that $162,360 from Commanders games was categorized as revenue from a college game, the team offered screen shots of emails it claims show that the money was properly listed as the N.F.L. team revenue.

Friedman also testified that in his role he oversaw the processing of security deposits paid by season-ticket holders and that after Snyder bought the team in 1999, the team intentionally made it difficult for ticket holders to recoup their refundable payments. He alleged that the Commanders organization held on to $5 million from such deposits.

Washington disputed those claims, saying it converted about $200,000 in security deposits into revenue, but only after those customers defaulted on their payments. In 2014 alone, the Commanders said, they refunded the security deposits of about 750, or half, of the dormant accounts, and over time returned more than $2 million.

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Report: 24-year Washington Commanders employee testified to Congress about alleged financial improprieties

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More facts are coming to light regarding the recent reporting as to alleged financial irregularities within the Washington Commanders organization.

According to Daniel Kaplan of TheAthletic.com, an employee who spent 24 years working for the Commanders has testified before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight & Reform and “alleged financial malfeasance.” Jason Friedman gave the secret testimony, which as Kaplan writes “appeared to” spark multiple reports in recent days, including the bombshell contention that the team withheld payments from the ticket revenues that go into a league-wide visiting-team pool.

Kaplan, citing an unnamed source, reports that “Friedman supplied no evidence to back up his claims.” Kaplan also points out that it’s unclear whether Friedman held a position that would have given him access to records or other evidence that would support the claims.

Friedman previously supplied a letter to the Committee corroborating the allegations made by former team employee Tiffani Johnston against Commanders owner Daniel Snyder. His testimony presumably addressed that incident, along with his claims about financial irregularities.

A spokesman for Republican members of the Committee apparently took indirect aim at Friedman with this comment, released in the aftermath of recent reporting: “The leak of one-sided, unconfirmed, unsupported allegations from a disgruntled ex-employee with an ax to grind is just further proof the Democrats’ investigation is a waste of Congress’ time. Nothing the committee has heard from any credible witness points to any financial improprieties; in fact, the only credible witness in a position to know the facts the Democrats have heard from has denied any such improprieties.”

As we see it, there’s no gray area here. Financial improprieties happened, or they didn’t. Friedman’s testimony is a starting point. The ending point is proof to support his claims or proof to debunk his claims (or the absence of proof to support his claims).

And if there’s nothing to any of this, it’s safe to assume that the league or the team will say so, loudly.

The Commanders issued a statement last week, in the aftermath of the initial reporting regarding potential financial improprieties. There has been no specific statement since Saturday’s report from A.J. Perez of FrontOfficeSports.com regarding the allegation that money was withheld from the visiting-team fund.

Given the potential implications of this specific claim, which if true would undoubtedly bring down Snyder, it’s hard to imagine that the league and the team will remain silent.

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Congress investigating allegations of financial impropriety by Commanders

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The financial investigation remains behind closed doors and among the highest levels of the 45-person committee at this point. Asked about this new phase, several members of the panel indicated they have heard speculation about this but said it remains at such a sensitive phase they do not know details. Other members were unaware.

“The team is not aware of any investigation by the House Oversight Committee regarding financial matters, despite vague and unsubstantiated claims today by anonymous sources,” a Commanders spokesman said. “The team categorically denies any suggestion of financial impropriety of any kind at any time. We adhere to strict internal processes that are consistent with industry and accounting standards, are audited annually by a globally respected independent auditing firm, and are also subject to regular audits by the NFL. We continue to cooperate fully with the Committee’s work.”

The committee’s examination of alleged financial irregularities in team operations comes amid the NFL’s second investigation of the team or Snyder’s behavior in the past 19 months.

The NFL’s current probe — led by Mary Jo White, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission — was prompted by an allegation of sexual misconduct against Snyder that was aired during a public roundtable hosted by the Oversight Committee on Feb. 3. During the proceedings, Tiffani Johnston, a former cheerleader and team marketing manager, told members of Congress that Snyder harassed her at a team dinner, putting his hand on her thigh and pressing her toward his limo afterward. In a statement, Snyder called Johnston’s allegations “outright lies.”

When asked whether the panel is looking into allegations of financial impropriety, a spokesperson for the committee said: “The Committee continues to investigate the hostile workplace and culture of impunity at the Washington Commanders as well as the National Football League’s inadequate response and lack of transparency. The Committee will follow the facts wherever they may lead.”

The House Oversight Committee launched its investigation of the team in October, after some members expressed dissatisfaction with a perceived lack of transparency in the NFL’s investigation of the team’s workplace, which was led by Beth Wilkinson and began in the summer of 2020.

Following Wilkinson’s 10-month investigation, the NFL fined the team $10 million in July and announced that Snyder’s wife, Tanya, the team’s co-CEO, would take over the franchise’s day-to-day operations for an unspecified period. The NFL did not release Wilkinson’s findings, saying then that she had been directed to relay her conclusions orally rather than in writing.

The committee requested the NFL turn over all documents and information related to Wilkinson’s work, as well as her findings. Frustrated by what it called partial compliance by the NFL, the committee set a second deadline for all of the requested documents and threatened further action in February for anything short of that. In a February letter to the House committee, the NFL wrote that the Commanders were denying access to approximately 109,000 requested documents related to Wilkinson’s investigation. An attorney for Snyder denied the assertion.

The House Oversight Committee is the investigative arm of Congress, and its chair, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), has subpoena power to compel the production of documents not willingly provided and the authority to convene hearings on matters of public interest. There is some disagreement among members, largely breaking down along party lines, over whether the inner dynamics of a professional football team warrant the committee’s attention.

While the committee’s focus remains on the Commanders’ workplace culture and the NFL’s handling of allegations of pervasive sexual misconduct within the franchise, the financial allegations arrive amid indications that the NFL is growing weary of defending Snyder.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell publicly rebuked Snyder for announcing during Super Bowl week that the team would handle the investigation of Johnston’s allegations. Goodell said instead the NFL would do so via an independent investigator because it would be improper for the team to investigate itself.

At the NFL’s annual meetings Tuesday in Palm Beach, Fla., Goodell said Tanya Snyder would continue to oversee the team’s daily functions and represent the Commanders at league meetings “for at least the foreseeable future.”

The Commanders are worth $4.2 billion, according to Forbes. While in his 30s, Snyder led an investment group that bought the team and its stadium for $800 million in 1999.

After an acrimonious dispute with his second set of limited partners in the team in 2020, Snyder was granted a debt-ceiling waiver by the NFL in March 2021 that enabled him to buy out his partners’ combined 40 percent stake for approximately $875 million.

The deal put ownership of the team entirely in the hands of Snyder and family members but saddled him with as much as an additional $450 million in debt at a time when the Commanders’ fan base is eroding. The NFL’s top-drawing team in the early 2000s, the Commanders ranked 31st among the league’s 32 teams in home attendance last season, ahead of only the Detroit Lions.

Anheuser-Busch, the official beer sponsor of the NFL and more than two dozen of its teams, acknowledged in a mid-March statement to The Washington Post that it was ending its partnership with the Commanders.

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Indianapolis Colts’ Frank Reich says Carson Wentz can still be a top-10 QB for Washington Commanders

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PALM BEACH, Fla. — Indianapolis Colts coach Frank Reich moved on from Carson Wentz, but he’s not budging off what he thinks the quarterback can still become in the NFL now that he’s in Washington.

“I really believe he can be a top-10 quarterback,” Reich said. “That’s not just a given. That has to be earned and proven, so we’re all hoping that happens for him.”

The Colts traded Wentz to the Washington Commanders earlier this month, one year after acquiring him from the Philadelphia Eagles. Washington swapped second-round picks with the Colts and sent them a third-round pick as well as a conditional third. Washington also received a seventh-round pick.

Though Reich said the decision to trade him was unanimous, he remains sold on Wentz’s potential. He was the offensive coordinator for Wentz’s first two seasons in Philadelphia, including in 2017 when the quarterback was considered an MVP candidate before tearing his ACL.

“I love the guy, I really do. And I think he’s a really good quarterback,” Reich said. “He’s going to play really well for the Commanders and I’m excited to see that. … We as an organization thought highly of Carson in a lot of ways. Obviously, we traded for him. But then secondly, sometimes you can’t explain everything. You want to, but you just have to make a move that you think is right.”

Last season, Wentz threw 27 touchdown passes to seven interceptions and ranked ninth in total QBR. But the Colts still decided to trade him, a move that sent red flags to others about Wentz.

“Ultimately there was a consensus,” Reich said. “You don’t want to have seller’s remorse. We had already determined that wasn’t going to happen. This was well thought out. It was not a quick decision.”

But that doesn’t mean he’s altered his opinion of Wentz. Washington coach Ron Rivera talked to Reich about Wentz and said the Colts’ coach called him after the trade to congratulate him — and to say he’ll love coaching him.

“They’re getting a player who, first of all, is a highly intelligent player, who can process a lot of information quickly. They’re getting a guy who, physically, is a prototype NFL quarterback,” Reich said.

For Wentz to return to top-10 status, Reich said it’s a matter of playing consistent, winning football. With a chance to clinch a playoff berth by winning one of the final two games last season, the Colts lost both. In those games, losses to the Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars, Wentz posted a combined total QBR of 13.0, having completed 58.9% of his passes with two touchdowns and one interception.

“He has been a top-10 quarterback in this league,” Reich said. “I think ’17 he obviously was. I think ’19 you could probably argue, the way he finished that year was the case. He put the Eagles team on his back in the last four games of the ’19 season and made all the plays needed to be made to make the playoffs. This year, we had some good moments as well.”

Within a week, the Colts had traded for Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan — whom Reich said was not on their radar when they traded Wentz to Washington.

“Lucky, blessed, whatever you want to call it, we’re thankful Matt became available,” Reich said.

Reich sounded similar feelings about Wentz a year ago. The reunion did not go as planned. “It’s 2022. Not everything is a storybook ending,” Reich said. “Those are the decisions that an organization has to make, that the leaders of an organization have to make. That was just the decision that we felt like was best for our team at this point.”

Jacksonville coach Doug Pederson, who coached Wentz for five seasons in Philadelphia, also spoke to Rivera before the trade. Wentz, the No. 2 pick in the 2016 draft, led the Eagles to an 11-2 record before getting hurt in the ’17 season. Philadelphia won the Super Bowl with backup quarterback Nick Foles. A year later Wentz missed five games and the Eagles went 4-1, winning the last three to make the postseason.

But in 2019, Wentz finished strong. In the final four games, all wins, he threw seven touchdown passes and no interceptions as the Eagles again made the postseason.

Pederson refuted rumors about Wentz’s leadership style, saying among other things that he would involve young players in his offseason workouts. He pointed to Wentz’s work ethic.

“They’re getting a tremendous leader,” Pederson said. “They’re getting a guy that’s going to lead that football team and he’ll lead that locker room. … I only know him from a couple years ago and it’s hard to speak on what he did last year in Indy and what he can do in Washington, but the guys responded to him.”

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J.D. McKissic flipped back to Washington Commanders for ‘unfinished business’

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Washington Commanders running back J.D. McKissic said he changed his mind about signing with the Buffalo Bills because he had “unfinished business” with his former team.

McKissic had agreed to a two-year deal with the Bills during the preliminary negotiating period, only to pivot back to Washington when the team let him know it would match the offer. The Commanders had not made him an offer before this period.

There are conflicting reports about what transpired to persuade McKissic to return, and Bills general manager Brandon Beane voiced his frustration last week.

“Once you have an agreement, the agent’s supposed to say it’s over,” Beane said. “And this agent did that. And this agent told the other club it’s over. But the other club didn’t back off.”

Sources told ESPN that Washington was under the impression it would have the chance to match any offer to McKissic.

“So crazy, I don’t remember,” McKissic said of that period. “My agents called me to let me know what happened.

“You can’t ask for a better organization to be chosen by, but I had unfinished business in Washington. The way we left off, we felt we were inclining. … I had things I wanted to prove in Washington. I made my decision off where I wanted to be. Buffalo is a great organization, but I feel we can do great things here as well.”

The Commanders continue to make signings during the free-agent period, reaching a two-year, $8.2 million deal to bring back offensive tackle Cornelius Lucas, agent Dan Saffron told ESPN on Thursday.

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Commanders games will no longer air on The Team 980

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“We initiated a formal RFP [request for proposal] process last fall for the Washington Commanders Radio Broadcast Agreement, which concluded last week,” the spokesperson said Wednesday in a statement. “Multiple companies submitted bids as part of this process, including Audacy who was an active and aggressive participant and submitted multiple partnership proposals for the next three years of increased value over our previous deal.

“Based on the evaluation process, we selected a new partner who will bring a significantly larger deal, as well as new creativity and broader reach and scale, to programming. We shared with Audacy last week that we would not be moving forward as partners.”

Kevin Sheehan, the host of 980’s morning show, said on air Wednesday that the company and the team “disagreed on the value of the broadcasts” and that “it was important for us to continue to provide what we provide on our talk shows, which is honest, objective analysis about the team.”

Sheehan said the station’s coverage of Commanders game days this season will include “at least four hours of pregame coverage, a new in-game talk show focusing on analysis and fan-reaction and in-game betting angles.”

Audacy, one of the largest radio companies in the country, also owns D.C.’s 106.7 The Fan and Richmond’s 910 The Fan. The change, however, strictly pertains to 980’s game broadcasts.

“It doesn’t change our show one bit or another,” John-Paul Flaim a co-host of 106.7’s “The Junkies” said on air Wednesday. “Like, we’ve done our show with the rights and without the rights.”

WTEM held the broadcast rights for Washington football games from 1992-94, then again starting in 2008, when Red Zebra Broadcasting, owned by Commanders owner Daniel Snyder, purchased the station from Clear Channel. In 2018, WTEM rebranded to become the Team 980 and Snyder sold it to Urban One. Audacy, then known as Entercom, purchased the station in 2020.

Commanders add depth to D-line, secondary

The Commanders on Wednesday also signed two players for depth on defense: fifth-year lineman Efe Obada, who spent two seasons (2018-19) with Coach Ron Rivera in Carolina, and cornerback/special teamer Danny Johnson, an undrafted player who first signed with Washington in 2018.

Obada’s deal is for one year, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The 6-foot-6, 265-pound lineman became the first player out of the NFL’s International Pathway Program to join a 53-man roster when the Panthers added him in 2018.

He was born in Nigeria and lived in the Netherlands and then England, where he played for the London Warriors of the British American Football Association National Leagues. After only five games with the Warriors, Obada signed with the Dallas Cowboys in 2015 and spent part of the season on the practice squad. After short offseason stints with the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons in 2016, he participated in the international program and latched on with the Panthers. He spent last season with the Buffalo Bills.

In both Carolina and Buffalo — two teams that used a 4-3 base scheme on defense — Obada was used at both tackle and end, according to Pro Football Focus’s snap counts. Rivera has stressed versatility, especially among reserves, and Obada could help fill a void after the Commanders let defensive tackles Tim Settle and Matt Ioannidis head elsewhere in free agency.

Rivera has mentioned Obada over the years, especially in relation to defensive tackle David Bada and tight end Sammis Reyes, two other international players to come through the IPP, an initiative that began in 2017 to give international athletes an opportunity to vie for NFL roster spots.

“He played well for Carolina and now he’s in Buffalo playing well for them,” Rivera said of Obada last season. “And you see that David Baba has that ability to go forward. But the little nuances of feeling certain things, understanding certain things, he’s still learning those things. It took Efe Obada 3½, almost four years, before he really became that guy, and that’s pretty much what I see with David Bada.”

Johnson signed with Washington after going undrafted out of Southern University and has evolved into a core special-teams player and backup. Last season, as injuries and the coronavirus depleted Washington’s defense, Johnson played a team-high 161 coverage snaps in the slot, according to PFF. Rivera praised his play, especially late in the season as the team relied heavily on reserves, citing his anticipation and understanding of route concepts in coverage.

Johnson could be used primarily in the slot again this year, depending on the team’s draft additions. Washington’s secondary remains mostly intact, but cornerbacks Darryl Roberts and Torry McTyer, who is recovering from an ACL injury, are unsigned free agents.



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