Washington Commanders

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters Tuesday that he isn't aware of the rumors that NFL owners could push to remove Dan Snyder from Washington Commanders ownership.

"I'm not aware of that at all," Goodell said.

Goodell's comments come after an anonymous NFL owner told USA Today's Jarrett Bell that there was "growing frustration" about everything going on with Snyder and the Commanders franchise.

Goodell said that he didn't sense frustration among the owners about Snyder's tenure.

"No, I don't. ... Let's wait and get the facts," Goodell said.

Another anonymous owner told Bell they were "counting votes" to remove Snyder. Removing him would require 24 votes among league owners.

In addition to sexual harassment allegations against Snyder and a House Oversight Committee investigation into toxic workplace allegations against the franchise, the Federal Trade Commission and the Virginia attorney general are investigating Snyder and the Commanders for financial improprieties.

The Commanders allegedly withheld refundable deposits from season ticket holders or made them difficult to get back. They are also accused of keeping two accounting books to hold on to money that should have been sent to the NFL's revenue-sharing pool.

Snyder and the Commanders have denied the allegations.

The NFL fined the Commanders $10 million in July 2021 after its own investigation into the toxic workplace allegations. Snyder's wife, Tanya Snyder, took over the team's day-to-day operations for a few months after that.

Washington Commanders defensive lineman Daron Payne walked off the practice field Tuesday because of his contract situation, according to Ben Standig of The Athletic.

Payne was present at the start of OTAs, but he reportedly moved to the side field and skipped team drills despite not dealing with any physical injury. He did still reportedly take part in other team activities:

The 2018 first-round draft pick is heading into the final season of his rookie contract after the team picked up his fifth-year option for 2022. Standig reported last month that the Commanders don't plan to offer him an extension and have made him available in trades.

Payne has appeared in 64 of 65 possible regular-season games in his NFL career and started all 17 games in 2021, setting a career high with 61 tackles. He added 4.5 sacks while ranking second on the team with 15 quarterback hits.

The 24-year-old played 75.6 percent of the defensive snaps last season, which led all Washington defensive linemen and ranked fifth on the team.

Despite the production, Payne could struggle to land a new deal with the Commanders because of the team's other options on the roster. Fellow defensive tackle Jonathan Allen signed a four-year, $72 million extension last offseason, while Chase Young and Montez Sweat are each scheduled to make over $10 million in 2023.

Payne has an $8.5 million salary in 2022, but there likely won't be room in the salary cap to keep him under contract beyond this season.

Washington also used its second-round draft pick this year on Alabama defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis, giving itself a potential replacement for Payne.

With Payne unhappy with his current situation, it could signal a split in the near future.   

In an offseason that saw several notable trades involving star wide receivers, the Washington Commanders don't sound like they are going to move on from Terry McLaurin anytime soon. 

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Commanders head coach Ron Rivera said the team has "had communication" with McLaurin's representatives and it's "just a matter of time" as the two sides talk about a new deal. 

It's not a surprise that Washington has been speaking with McLaurin about a new contract. 

General manager Martin Mayhew seemed to confirm talks were happening last month prior to the NFL draft. 

"We’re really excited about the opportunity we have with Terry to continue with us for a long time," Mayhew told reporters on April 25. 

The market for receivers has changed dramatically in the past two months. Four of the five richest deals for wideouts by average annual salary have been signed this offseason.

Three of those contracts were signed by players after they were traded by their previous team, including Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill and A.J. Brown. Stefon Diggs is the only player in that group who re-signed with his current team. 

Adams' deal with the Las Vegas Raiders (five years, $140 million) is the richest ever given to a wide receiver. Hill's extension with the Miami Dolphins includes $72.2 million guaranteed, the most ever for a player at the position. 

Even though McLaurin's body of work on the surface isn't quite at the level of those players, there's an argument that his resume over the past three years is more impressive because Washington has had a revolving door of journeyman quarterbacks running the offense. 

McLaurin has recorded at least 919 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons, including more than 1,000 yards in 2020 and 2021. Alex Smith and Taylor Heinicke have been Washington's primary starting quarterbacks over the past two years. 

A third-round pick by the Commanders in 2019, McLaurin is entering the final season of his rookie deal. The Ohio State alum will earn $2.79 million in 2022.      

Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin is entering the final year of his contract, and there is reportedly plenty of work to do if the team that drafted him in 2019 wants to keep him long-term.

According to Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post, the two sides "remain far apart" in contract negotiations.

Jhabvala also reported McLaurin was not present for Monday's first workout of organized team activities and has been absent at workouts since the end of April's draft in "an indication of the dissension in negotiations."

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports previously reported the talks between Washington and the Ohio State product "could get explosive," with reason for concern for Commanders fans.

"The fact that we haven't heard a peep about them getting anywhere near a trade should scare Commanders fans, given how much the WR market has shifted this offseason and how much turmoil we have already seen at that position," La Canfora wrote.

There has been no shortage of offseason movement at the wide receiver position. Davante Adams went to the Las Vegas Raiders, Tyreek Hill ended up on the Miami Dolphins, A.J. Brown was shipped to the Philadelphia Eagles, Amari Cooper was traded to the Cleveland Browns, Marquise Brown was dealt to the Arizona Cardinals and Allen Robinson II joined the Los Angeles Rams, among other moves.

If McLaurin is the next pass-catcher to be traded, he will immediately bolster any team's aerial attack.

The 26-year-old finished the 2021 season with 77 catches for 1,053 yards and five touchdowns in his second straight campaign with more than 1,000 receiving yards. He also put up those numbers with Taylor Heinicke, Garrett Gilbert, Kyle Allen and Ryan Fitzpatrick as his QBs.

His contract situation makes Washington's decision to draft Penn State's Jahan Dotson with a first-round pick all the more notable.

While Dotson could team with McLaurin and make a formidable one-two punch in the NFC East with new QB Carson Wentz, he may also be asked to quickly develop into a go-to option if the team can't make something work with its No. 1 wide receiver. After McLaurin and Dotson, the options appear pretty slim at receiver with Curtis Samuel, Cam Sims and Dyami Brown likely next in line.

The Washington Commanders have purchased around 200 acres of land in Virginia for more than $100 million for what could be used as a potential site for a new stadium, according to ESPN's John Keim.

The Commanders purchased the land, which is their "preferred" location for a new stadium, last week, Keim added. 

The Commanders like the site because it has enough space for other developments around the stadium, such as restaurants, bars, retail shops, the team's practice facility and an amphitheater, according to Keim. 

The new stadium would include 60,000 seats, a translucent roof and a facade that can change colors, according to Keim. 

The Commanders have been playing at Maryland's FedEx Field since 1997. Their contract to play there expires in 2026. Virginia has attempted to lure the team out of Maryland with tax incentives. 

Maryland is also making a push to retain the team, as the Maryland House approved a $400 million plan to develop the area around FedEx Field. However, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said in March that the state would not get into a "bidding war" with Virginia or the District of Columbia to keep the team.

"I think [the Commanders are] using everyone back and forth as they have been for eight years. They’re negotiating, pitting everyone against each other." Hogan said. "But we’re not going to get in a bidding war over them and we’re not going to be proposing $1.2 billion for them to build a new stadium. If Virginia wants to do that and they want to go to Virginia, I would say 'good luck.'"

The Commanders are interested in returning to the RFK Stadium site in the District of Columbia, according to Keim. However, it's on federal land, which would make it extremely difficult to pursue. Washington played there from 1961-96. 

The Commanders' purchase of land in Virginia comes as the team and owner Dan Snyder are being investigated the NFL and Congress. Snyder is being investigated for sexual assault allegations, while the organization is being investigated for financial misconduct. 

The Commanders are set to open the 2022 NFL season at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

As Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder finds himself embroiled in another scandal, this time the subject of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Virginia attorney general investigation into potentially fraudulent bookkeeping, his fellow owners are reportedly getting fed up.

"We are counting votes," one team owner told Jarrett Bell of USA Today, implying that the owners were considered an ouster of Snyder's ownership, which would require 24 votes to force a sale of the organization.

Among the accusations against Snyder and the organization in this latest investigation is that he had two separate accounting systems, with the potential goal of keeping some of the team's earnings out of the NFL's revenue-sharing system.

"If that happened, I think that's the nail in the coffin,” one team owner said of Snyder's ownership.

"For the first time, there's been chatter," another team owner told Bell regarding a potential ouster. "We should really think about doing something if they find something there."

This comes in the wake of a $10 million fine from the NFL in July after its investigation into allegations of a toxic workplace environment within the organization.

That punishment—given the 150 people interviewed and detailed instances of sexual harassment, bullying and intimidation, especially toward female employees—was considered incredibly light, even within NFL ownership circles.

"There's a feeling, a sense of disappointment amongst the owners that I talk to—I don't talk to them all, but owners who come to the meetings and are active—that he wasn't suspended," one team owner told Bell. "Disappointment that [commissioner Roger Goodell] did not act stronger."

In February 2021, Washington settled out of court with a number of former cheerleaders who said that executive staffers had lewd videos made of outtakes from swimsuit calendar photoshoots in 2008 and 2010, with some of those outtakes including nudity.

And for years, the organization clung to its offensive nickname before public pressure and pressure from sponsors led to the team changing its name in 2020, initially going with Washington Football Team before transitioning to Commanders.

Suffice to say, Snyder and his organization have remained in the headlines for all the wrong reasons in the past few years. He's given up day-to-day control of the organization to his wife, Tanya.

But his fellow owners appear to be running low on patience.

"There's growing frustration about the Washington situation and not over one issue, but over how much smoke there is," one owner told Bell. "I think everybody's getting tired of it."

"There are some owners who believe the league will be better off with a different owner in Washington," another owner added.

While Pro Football Hall of Famer and ESPN commentator Troy Aikman believes the Washington Commanders will be Carson Wentz's "last opportunity" to prove he can be a franchise quarterback, another football league that features some former NFLers says otherwise.

Fan Controlled Football, which features the likes of Terrell Owens, Johnny Manziel and soon Michael Vick, suggested Saturday in a tweet that Wentz has a future in its league should his NFL career come to a halt.

Since finishing third in MVP voting as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017, Wentz has struggled mightily, which has resulted in him bouncing around the league. After spending the 2021 campaign with the Indianapolis Colts, he was traded to the Commanders this offseason.

The 29-year-old completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 3,563 yards and 27 touchdowns against seven interceptions in 17 games for the Colts. It was certainly an improvement from the end of his days in Philadelphia, but he has yet to prove he can be a franchise quarterback.

If Wentz fails in Washington, the team will likely turn to rookie Sam Howell in preparation for the future. Lucky for Wentz, he can still have a career in Fan Controlled Football if all else fails.

In March, the Indianapolis Colts traded Carson Wentz to the Washington Commanders, and owner Jim Irsay suggested that Wentz's one year as quarterback of the franchise was a mistake.

On Wednesday, Wentz said on Colin Cowherd's podcast (h/t USA Today's Scott Horner) he was surprised by those comments. 

"Kinda came out of left field," he said. "He's entitled to his own opinion. He's entitled to do what he wants with his football team." 

The Colts traded Wentz to the Commanders this offseason alongside the Nos. 47 and 240 picks in this year's draft for the Nos. 42 and 73 picks this year and a conditional third-rounder next year that will become a second-rounder if Wentz plays 70 percent of the snaps in 2022. 

The Colts then traded a third-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons for Matt Ryan, and Irsay made it clear that the change was vital.

"I think the worst thing you can do is have a mistake and try to keep living with it going forward," he said in March. "For us, it was something we had to move away from as a franchise. It was very obvious."

But where did it go wrong?

Before the 2021 season, the Colts traded a 2021 third-round pick and a 2022 conditional first-rounder to the Philadelphia Eagles for Wentz, a big commitment for a player who had struggled during the 2020 season and wore out his welcome. 

Things got off to a rocky start, with the Colts opening the season 1-4, but they went on to win eight of their next 10 games and appeared to be in the driver's seat for a playoff berth. The Colts could have clinched a berth in Week 17 against the Las Vegas Raiders but lost 23-20. 

Still, they had a shot to make the playoffs in Week 18, assuming they beat the worst team in the league, the Jacksonville Jaguars. Instead, they lost 26-11 as Wentz threw for just 185 yards, a touchdown and an interception while taking six sacks. 

Irsay was incensed. 

"No disrespect to Jacksonville, but I mean, they're the worst team in the league. You play well and hard for the first quarter or so, and they're looking to go to their locker room and clean it out. I've never seen anything like that in my life," he told reporters in March. "You say, 'My God, there's something wrong here.' It needs to be corrected. I think that we feel like we did."

"Your guy's gotta pick you up and carry you through Jacksonville," he said. "He has to do it. Not an option. Has to. No excuses, no explanations."

Wentz finished the season with 3,563 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions, completing 62.4 percent of his passes while taking 32 sacks.

On paper, the numbers don't look bad. But many of the same issues that plagued him in Philadelphia—namely, ignoring his early reads and holding on to the ball too long while attempting to make a bigger play down the field, inviting pressure in the process—bubbled to the surface in Indianapolis. 

"I struggled down the stretch there," Wentz acknowledged. "The timing was poor. I didn't expect things to unfold the way they did. I thought things were in place there. Had awesome relationships with every single person in that building." 

Regardless, Irsay felt the Colts needed a change. If Ryan gets the team back to the postseason, the owner will be proved right. 

There have already been a number of league-altering moves at the wide receiver position this offseason, and there may be at least one more to come.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported contract extension discussions between the Washington Commanders and Terry McLaurin "could get explosive." The Ohio State product is scheduled for free agency after the 2022 campaign and has been "the leader and alpha" for Washington's offense.

"The fact that we haven't heard a peep about them getting anywhere near a trade should scare Commanders fans, given how much the WR market has shifted this offseason and how much turmoil we have already seen at that position," La Canfora wrote while noting a trade is still possible.

Thus far this offseason, Davante Adams was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders, Tyreek Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins, Amari Cooper was traded to the Cleveland Browns, A.J. Brown was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, Marquise Brown was traded to the Arizona Cardinals, Allen Robinson joined the Los Angeles Rams and Christian Kirk joined the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Odell Beckham Jr. and Julio Jones are each still free agents, and there were six wide receivers taken in the first round.

It has been the offseason of the pass-catcher, and one of those six first-rounders was Penn State's Jahan Dotson going to Washington. While pairing Dotson with McLaurin would make the Commanders' passing attack all the more dangerous, it was notable the team took a wide receiver so early with the uncertainty surrounding the No. 1 option.         

McLaurin has been excellent throughout the first three years of his career, even with inconsistent quarterback play and weapons around him.

He has missed just three total games and posted 77 catches for 1,053 yards and five touchdowns during the 2021 campaign. It was his second straight season with more than 1,000 receiving yards, and he is in the middle of his prime at 26 years old.

If Washington determines it cannot reach an agreement with McLaurin ahead of free agency, it may look to trade him rather than risk losing such a valuable player without a significant return on the open market.

That means teams still in need of wide receiver help could land a top option via trade, much like the Raiders and Dolphins did earlier this offseason.         

The Washington Commanders have been earmarking funds toward an extension for Terry McLaurin, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

Fowler reported Wednesday that Washington "spent mildly in free agency in part because it has budgeted for re-signing McLaurin." McLaurin is entering the final year of his rookie contract in 2022.

In three seasons with Washington, the 26-year-old has caught 222 passes for 3,090 yards and 16 touchdowns. His numbers might have been even better if the Commanders had any sort of continuity at quarterback. Since 2019, they've used eight different starters: Taylor Heinicke, Dwayne Haskins, Case Keenum, Alex Smith, Kyle Allen, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Garrett Gilbert and Colt McCoy.

While McLaurin hasn't positioned himself to be the NFL's highest-paid wideout, he's poised to cash in on the receiver spending bonanza. The extensions for A.J. Brown (four years, $100 million) and Stefon Diggs (four years, $96 million) represent reasonable targets for him in negotiations with Washington.

Fowler's report will be a welcome development for fans because the absence of an agreement to this point was bound to generate some concern. The MMQB's Albert Breer painted a worrying picture when he reported last week that the contract was "nowhere" and that "negotiations haven’t really started."

Brown, Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams were all traded after reaching an impasse with their teams, so it stands to reason the same thing could happen with McLaurin and the Commanders.

The Commanders selected Penn State's Jahan Dotson in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft. Based on Fowler's report, that may not have been done with the intention of having Dotson replace McLaurin, whom they consider a "true cornerstone and team leader."

As much as the team seems to value McLaurin, fans may not breathe easy until the extension is confirmed.