NFC East

Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder has declined a request to appear at a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing to discuss the NFL franchise's workplace misconduct.

Axios' Hans Nichols reported Wednesday that Karen Patton Seymour, an attorney for Snyder, wrote in a letter to the committee that his legal team has concerns about due process.

"Although Mr. Snyder remains willing to cooperate with the Committee—as he has done in the past— for the reasons set forth below, he is unable to accept the Committee's invitation to testify at the scheduled hearing," Seymour wrote in the four-page letter.

While Snyder declined the invitation, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will hear at the hearing virtually, per Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio.

In July 2021, the NFL fined the Washington organization $10 million following an independent review by Washington, D.C.-based lawyer Beth Wilkinson.

Goodell said the investigation found the franchise operated in a "highly unprofessional" manner, both in general and particularly toward women, within a workplace that saw bullying, intimidation and multiple allegations of sexual harassment.

Questions were raised about why a written report detailing the results of the investigation was never released publicly.

In October, former employees of the NFL team delivered a letter to the league's Social Justice Committee seeking information from the review be released to the public, per ESPN's Seth Wickersham:

While your working group was formed to address issues of racial justice in the league, you also have the ability to seek justice for the hundreds of women and men, such as us, who bravely came forward to share stories of harassment and abuse we experienced while employees of the [Washington Football Team]. The NFL should not be allowed to encourage employees to come forward at great personal and professional risk to speak to investigators, only to sweep the results of that investigation under the rug.

Goodell said the league couldn't release the results because it promised employees to protect the information provided during the probe.

Lisa Banks, an attorney who represents 40 former Commanders employees, described the idea her clients wanted anonymity as "false."

In April, the House Oversight and Reform Committee alleged Snyder's NFL franchise may have also engaged in a "potentially unlawful pattern of financial conduct" that included withholding deposits from season-ticket holders and hiding money that was ticketed for the league's revenue-sharing system, per Mark Maske and Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post.

Members of the Committee sent a letter June 1 requesting Snyder and Goodell appear at a June 22 hearing about the group's investigation into the franchise.

"Since we launched our investigation in October, the Committee's goal has been to uncover the truth about the culture of harassment and abuse at the Washington Commanders, to hold accountable those responsible, and to better protect workers across the country," chairperson Carolyn Maloney said in a statement.

She added those efforts have been "met with obstruction from the Commanders and the NFL at every turn."

Goodell hasn't confirmed whether he'll appear at the hearing, but Jarrett Bell of USA Today reported Tuesday it "appears likely" the commissioner will testify.

Meanwhile, Washington's selection of Commanders as its new nickname in February ended a two-year rebranding process after Snyder succumbed to pressure to alter the moniker from the previous one which was a slur for Indigenous people. He'd long stated the prior name would "never change."

Snyder, a 57-year-old Maryland native, has owned the franchise since 1999. The team has never advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs during his tenure.

As the Washington Commanders go through mandatory minicamp without Terry McLaurin amid a contract dispute, they have no intention of trading the star wide receiver.

Head coach Ron Rivera told reporters Wednesday the team is "not trading" McLaurin and "it's just a matter of time" before the two sides get a new deal done.

Per NFL.com's Kevin Patra, McLaurin could be fined up to $93,085 for missing all three days of mandatory minicamp this week.

Commanders general manager Martin Mayhew told reporters during the NFL Scouting Combine in March that he was going to meet with McLaurin's agent.

The Athletic's Ben Standig reported Monday that talks between the Commanders and McLaurin's camp have "netted scant progress" thus far.

It's unclear what McLaurin is seeking from a new deal, but Standig cited league sources who project he can get a contract "north of $22 million" per season.

This has been a huge offseason for wide receiver contracts. Of the 11 wideouts signed to contracts worth at least $20 million annually, seven of them have agreed to those deals this offseason.

Three of the four highest-paid receivers by average annual salary signed their contracts this offseason (Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams, Cooper Kupp).

McLaurin is entering the final season of his rookie contract. The 26-year-old is set to earn $2.79 million in 2022, per Spotrac.

A third-round draft pick in 2019, McLaurin has established himself as one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. He has averaged 1,030 yards and 5.3 touchdowns per season in 46 starts over the past three campaigns.

The Commanders are looking to rebound after a disappointing 7-10 record in 2021. They acquired Carson Wentz from the Indianapolis Colts with the hope he will provide better quarterback play.

McLaurin is Washington's best offensive player, and his presence is essential if the franchise wants to contend for a playoff spot this season.

The Dallas Cowboys are planning to use Dak Prescott as a runner more often this season, according to head coach Mike McCarthy:

Prescott missed the final 11 games of 2020 because of a broken ankle, which also limited him throughout last offseason. He suffered a calf strain midway through 2021, although he missed only one game.

The quarterback is now preparing to go into 2022 at full strength.

"This is the healthiest I've been in a long, long time," Prescott told reporters last month.

Prescott did finish last season with 146 rushing yards on 48 carries, but his 3.0 attempts and 9.1 yards per game were both the lowest of his six-year NFL career. He was especially limited down the stretch, averaging 2.6 carries after the calf injury compared to 3.7 carries in the first six games.

The most notable difference came near the end zone, where Prescott was especially a threat early in his career.

The Pro Bowler had six rushing touchdowns in each of his first three seasons and 24 total in his first five years. He had just one rushing touchdown in 2021.

If Prescott can run more in 2022, it could add another dimension to an offense that already led the NFL in both points and total yards last year. It would especially help by forcing defenses to account for the quarterback, freeing up Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard on other run plays.

It could put the Cowboys on the right track toward making a deep run in the playoffs after losing in the first round in 2021.

Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera said defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio made an apology during a team meeting Tuesday for his comments describing the January 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol as a "dustup."

"Jack spoke to the team this morning during the team meeting and was very open and contrite and apologized and was open to questions," Rivera told reporters. "He said, 'Guys, if you have any questions, come see me and let's talk about that.' It was good. I'm about reconciliation."

Rivera previously fined Del Rio $100,000 for his remarks.

Del Rio, a former head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders, has served as the Commanders defensive coordinator since 2020.

The 59-year-old California native made a comparison on Twitter last week between the protests following the death of George Floyd and the Capitol insurrection, which he later defended in a press conference.

"People's livelihoods are being destroyed, businesses are being burned down, no problem," Del Rio told reporters. "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."

He's since deleted his Twitter account.

Rivera explained Tuesday the fine was based on the impact Del Rio's comments had on the organization and not a punishment for the coach taking a stance and using his First Amendment rights.

"This is not about the fact he exercised his right to free speech," Rivera said. "This is about what impacted this football team. I believe in the First Amendment very strongly. It's a very serious question and topic, but at the end of the day, it did impact us. That's why I did what I did."

In his third year as Washington's head coach, Rivera also confirmed he's met with Del Rio twice since the original comments. He denied there was any talk of the assistant being "one strike" away from being fired but declined to provide any further specifics.

"This was not communicated any other way other than Jack and I had a conversation that will remain between the two of us," Rivera said.

The Commanders are set to hold a mandatory minicamp Tuesday through Thursday.

Tight end Dalton Schultz reportedly plans to attend Dallas Cowboys' mandatory minicamp on Tuesday after skipping part of voluntary OTAs.

According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, contract talks between the Cowboys and Schultz have "picked up" in recent days, although "no deal is imminent." Schultz has already signed his $10.931 million franchise tender, meaning he will play at that salary on a one-year deal in 2022 if he and the Cowboys are unable to agree to a long-term contract by July 15.

Pelissero reported last week that Schultz was sitting out the remainder of voluntary OTAS as he was "frustrated" by the lack of progress toward a long-term deal.

Schultz discussed his situation with reporters in April and made it clear that he wanted to be with the Cowboys moving forward:

"Obviously, I think this is the place that I want to be. I've got a good rapport with a lot of the guys here. I love being here. I love this organization.

"I was grateful that I was able to at least come back here for a year. I want to work out a long-term deal and I think they do, too—hopefully we can get that done. But just knowing where I'm going to be for the next year, I'm happy with."

Schultz's desire for a long-term contract is justified as he is coming off one of the best seasons by a tight end in team history.

In 17 games last season, Schultz finished with career highs across the board, logging 78 receptions for 808 yards and eight touchdowns. That placed him second on the team in catches, third in receiving yardage and tied for first in receiving touchdowns.

It was a strong follow-up to a breakout 2020 campaign that saw Schultz record 63 grabs for 615 yards and four scores.

That performance came out of nowhere, as the 2018 fourth-round draft pick out of Stanford had a total of just 13 catches for 122 yards and no touchdowns in his first two NFL seasons combined.

Now, Schultz is a key cog in the offense and one of quarterback Dak Prescott's top targets along with wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup.

That means the Cowboys figure to go to great lengths to lock Schultz in long term, but even if a deal can't be reached by July 15, Dallas will at least have him in the fold for 2022.

The Dallas Cowboys reportedly plan to use running back Tony Pollard as a "primary weapon" in their offense during the 2022 NFL season despite the presence of Ezekiel Elliott.

Clarence E. Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Monday the Cowboys' coaching staff "explicitly told" Pollard he'll be used in a "larger role" this year.

It's a situation to monitor closely from a fantasy football perspective, especially with Dallas using two-back formations featuring both Elliott and Pollard, who's also been doing work as a slot receiver during the offseason's organized team activities, per Hill.

Touches are king in fantasy football and, while Pollard has shown game-breaking ability in recent years, the Cowboys haven't been willing to keep Zeke, who's still got five seasons left on his six-year, $90 million contract, off the field for extended stretches.

Here's a breakdown of how things played out in 2021:

• Elliott: 284 offensive touches in 17 games (16.7 average)
• Pollard: 169 offensive touches in 15 games (11.3 average)

Hill noted Dallas' desire to get Pollard more involved is "not about diminishing" Elliott but rather a goal of better maximizing the 25-year-old's impact.

Trying to get University of Memphis product a handful of more opportunities per week makes sense because his per-touch average was higher than Elliott in both rushing (5.5 to 4.2) and receiving (8.6 to 6.1) situations last season.

Yet, it won't be easy to increase Pollard's role without taking away from Elliott since there are also a lot of mouths to feed in the passing game. Dak Prescott has CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, James Washington, Jalen Tolbert and Dalton Schultz at his disposal.

It creates a situation where Pollard (101.0 average draft position, per Yahoo) carries more draft-day upside than Elliott (35.4 ADP) given the uncertainty.

The ideal situation is both players getting around 15 touches per week. Elliott would retain his value by scoring more touchdowns on the ground and Pollard could make up the difference with additional catches out of the slot, giving him serious potential in points-per-reception formats.

That said, it's worth pointing out the potential nightmare scenario where the Cowboys use the hot-hand approach on a weekly basis. One game Elliott may be rolling on the ground and Pollard rarely gets featured, and then the next contest is the opposite.

Those type of timeshares are a massive headache because it's a coin flip for fantasy managers, and the scoring floor is low if the game script goes the wrong direction.

Some managers may prefer to avoid the Cowboys backfield for that exact reason, but there's certainly a path to a breakout year for Pollard if the staff successfully implements its plan.

Amid a string of controversies over comments he has made on social media, Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio is no longer on Twitter.

Per ESPN's John Keim, Del Rio deleted his account on Saturday.

Keim noted the Commanders had no comment on the decision, and Del Rio did not immediately respond to a text message.

Del Rio generated controversy on the social media platform on Monday when he attempted to compare the Jan. 6 Capitol riots to the 2020 protests in response to Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin murdering George Floyd.

"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," Del Rio tweeted.

Del Rio's Twitter comment led to a chain reaction of moments over the course of the next five days.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday about the tweet, Del Rio referred to the Capitol insurrection as a "dustup" and defended himself by saying he was asking "a simple question."

"Why are we not looking into those things if we're gonna talk about [January 6], why are we not looking into those things? Because it's kind of hard for me to say—I can realistically look at it. I see the images on TV. People's livelihoods are being destroyed," he said. "Businesses are being burned down. No problem. And then we have a dustup at the Capitol. Nothing burned down. And we're not gonna talk about—we're gonna make that a major deal."

Del Rio issued an apology statement later on Wednesday, noting he stands "by my comments condemning violence in communities across the country."

"I say that while also expressing my support as an American citizen for peaceful protest in our country," he added. "I have fully supported all peaceful protests in America. I love, respect, and support all my fellow coaches, players, and staff that I work with and respect their views and opinions."

Washington head coach Ron Rivera announced a $100,000 fine for Del Rio, with the money being donated to the United States Capitol Police Memorial Fund.

Del Rio previously caused a stir on Twitter in June 2020 when he posted a quote tweet that had a fabricated picture of New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He later went on to voice his support for former President Donald Trump and told anyone who disagreed with him to "kiss my A$$."

Since no one else is trying to fix soaring gas prices across the country, Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons is taking matters into his own hands to help those in need.

The ordeal began on Thursday when Parsons tweeted about the average cost per gallon of gas being nearly $5 in the United States:

After a fan responded to his tweet about "not being rich having to deal with this," the Penn State alum agreed and urged fans to send him their Cash App info so he can help them out.

Parsons posted a video showing he had to pay $116.46 to fill his vehicle with gas. The reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year is fortunate that he can afford to pay it without really having to think about it.

Per Spotrac, Parsons' contract paid him a $2.445 million signing bonus and a $660,000 base salary in 2021. He's set to earn $1.44 million in base salary this season, plus another $2.445 million from his signing bonus.

Parsons later posted a screenshot of some of the people he sent $25 to, noting there was more coming to others who sent him their info.

Per Chris Isidore of CNN.com, the average cost for a gallon of gas is up to $4.99, with California having the highest cost per gallon in the country at $6.42.

Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis for the OPIS that tracks gas prices for AAA, told Isidore the national average could get up to $6 per gallon by the end of the summer.

"Anything goes from June 20 to Labor Day," Kloza said. “Come hell or high gas prices, people are going to take vacations."

One of the biggest reasons for rising gas prices is sanctions placed on Russian oil stemming from the country's invasion of Ukraine.

"The EU’s recent decision to ban oil tanker shipments from Russia has sent oil prices soaring on those global markets," Isidore wrote.

It's unclear at this point when prices might start to drop, but at least Parsons is willing to help out in a small way for those who need it.