Dan Quinn announces a surprise 'game' for the Commanders this week

To break up the monotony of training camp, the Washington Commanders are splitting the team in two for a special internal competition this week.

Aug 6, 2025; Foxborough, MA, USA; Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn walks to the podium for a press conference before training camp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn announced Monday his team would be participating in a joint practice on Wednesday, ahead of the team’s next preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals, sort of.

More Than Just Player Development

You see, the joint practice is an internal one, between the burgundy squad of the Commanders and the gold squad of Washington.

"We have a burgundy team, a gold team, football players, coaches, staff, strength and conditioning, equipment training, you name it... And tomorrow we'll have a
Burgundy and Gold Game,” Quinn stated.

The idea, according to Quinn, is to break up the long stretch between the team’s first preseason game, last Friday night, and its next one, this coming Monday night, with some good old-fashioned competition and spirited development.

But it isn’t just the players that are going to benefit. "Part of it is developing leaders,” says Quinn. “There'll be different play callers as we're going through it, but it's also about competing against different looks, different matchups."

Washington Commanders cornerback Jonathan Jones (31) makes a catch. | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

A Focus on Situational Football

In the ‘game’, the team is going to play a second quarter and a fourth quarter. No surprise there, as the Commanders have had a heavy focus on end-of-half and end-of-game scenarios since the first day Quinn stepped on campus. 

The idea came to Quinn over the summer, he shared, and true to form as much as he wants to develop his players, he wants to develop everyone in the organization.

"I love the staff who make up what they are. And so I also thought of them to say, ‘Let's put them on the sides to do that to different play callers.’ We've got a great succession plan in place for when people do get big opportunities to do things."

A Break From the Norm

It’s likely that this time next year, we’ll be looking back at this opportunity as one that helped shape the future of the team after one or more of the coordinators get head coaching opportunities elsewhere, hopefully following a celebratory Super Bowl parade, and it’s this kind of forward-thinking approach that can help Washington continue building on the momentum it created last season.

Of course, our focus right now is on today, this season, and for the Commanders, "These two days for us, it's a lot of fun because it's a break from the rhythm, a break from the norm, and just two days, man, it's against each other and having fun with it."

---

READ MORE: Commanders' Jayden Daniels still adjusting to new NFL fame

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2025 season.

More Washington Commanders News

• The 1 thing that 'burns my ass' about the Commanders' loss, per Dan Quinn

• The real reason for Terry McLaurin's hold-in with the Commanders revealed

• Commanders QB takes the blame for 'frustrating' preseason loss

• Commanders fall to Patriots in preseason rout