The Good and Not So Good From Commanders’ Second Training Camp Practice

Washington’s defense created three turnovers, young pass-catchers flashed and both kickers remained perfect during Thursday’s practice.

Jul 29, 2026; Ashburn, VA, USA; Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn walks on the field at training camp. At BigBear.ai Performance Center at Commanders Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Day 2 of Washington Commanders Training Camp is in the books, with several encouraging developments and a few things worth monitoring. The most important theme that emerged Thursday was that Washington's defense is already working to force more turnovers, which was one of the team's weak spots last season, when it forced only 10 turnovers. That said, let's take a look at what went well and what did not during today's session.

The Good

Malik Spencer got 🆙@SeatGeek | @43kilam pic.twitter.com/jwkFuWNtnK

— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) July 30, 2026

The first of Thursday’s three turnovers came when undrafted safety Malik Spencer intercepted seventh-round pick Athan Kaliakmanis. Second-year cornerback Mike Sainristil forced running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt to fumble by standing him up and punching the ball out. Veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas put his skills on display by closing practice with an interception of Marcus Mariota, returning the pick for a touchdown.

Earlier in the morning, Commanders HC Dan Quinn told reporters, "Ball security and takeaways, they’re everything for us." The aggressive ball targeting in practice is clearly by design. "We’re tracking shots at the ball, opportunities and conversions every day."

On the offensive side of the ball, Ben Sinnott made himself visible as a pass-catching threat Thursday. It is especially important for Sinnott to establish a role for himself early in training camp after Washington added Chig Okonkwo in the offseason and is still trying to figure out how to divide the tight-end roles.

Starting quarterback Jayden Daniels was able to find receiver Luke McCaffrey for a touchdown with the first team. Colson Yankoff had what many described as the "catch of camp" so far with a nice 50-50 grab over the middle. Mariota also connected with Antonio Williams, who has now put together two good days in shorts.

While it's great to see the receiver room still producing evenly, the competition for WR2 remains unsettled despite Washington's younger room taking advantage of the opportunities they get.

The kicking competition had a great day, as both Jake Moody and Drew Stevens finished 6-for-6. It's always good to see your kickers doing well, but in terms of how the competition goes, this was an uneventful day.

First kicking period today:

27
31
33
37
43
45

Jake Moody and Drew Stevens both 6 for 6.

— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) July 30, 2026

The Not So Good

While Washington's defensive success in the first two days is great, overall it's just exposing offensive mistakes that should not be ignored. Knowing that Croskey-Merritt had issues fumbling last year and then seeing him drop it on the ground today is a bit concerning. Ball security is what limited him some in his rookie season.

Kaliakmanis could not have picked a worse time to throw an interception, with every rep scrutinized at this level for his position, especially in a crowded room. Mariota's interception to end the session ended the offense's chance of closing the day on a good note.

Interceptions in camp are not that shocking when you are telling the defense to play overly aggressively to create turnovers. Turning the ball over three times in one session, however, should give the offensive staff several workable areas of concern to address in the film room.

Nick Allegretti's calf injury forced Washington to experiment at center with Julian Good-Jones getting first-team reps, Matt Gulbin working with Mariota, Tyler Cooper working with Kaliakmanis, and Tim McKay working with Sam Hartman. For Washington's offensive line staff, it's a great time to evaluate the talent behind Allegretti, but overall it's a lost opportunity for Allegretti to keep a firm grasp on a position battle the team believes he can win.

Turnovers were the separating factor on Day 2, while the receiver and kicking competitions remained closely contested at the start. Now the big question is: will the takeaways become a recurring theme at Commanders camp, or was Thursday just an isolated incident?

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