Everything Lance Newmark Said After Commanders Finalized Their Roster

Washington Commanders assistant general manager Lance Newmark spoke with reporters Monday as the team continued shaping its roster following final cuts and the formation of the practice squad.

Newmark discussed several topics, including Matt Gulbin, Nick Allegretti, Joshua Josephs, Sam Hartman, Antonio Williams, Tanoa Togiai, the offensive line, and how Washington evaluates outside roster options.

Opening statement

Lance Newmark: “To have a great month, it takes a lot of hard work from a lot of really good people. You know, when you think about closest to me is obviously the personnel department. David, Chris, Kess, Demetrius, all of our pro scouts, all of our college scouts, our scouting assistants do a tremendous amount of long nights and hard work during this. So, everybody really embraces the grind of August, and I think in our department everybody really stepped up and did a great job. Along the way, you have our football solutions team that are always adjusting on the fly for us, creating new portals and mechanisms that we always dream up along the way. Our football administration team does a great job of handling all of our asks and demands and making sure that we're within compliance. Football operations does a great job of all the logistics involved with our training camp and all the moving parts. Our medical team, our video team, our equipment staff, security, culinary, coaches and, of course, our players. So, there's a tremendous amount of work that happens, and it takes great dedication and commitment from everybody. So, I think we had a great August and just want to make sure to highlight those people and all the work that was done. So, with that, I'll open it up to you guys.”

On Matt Gulbin's development and evaluating Washington's interior offensive line against outside options

Lance Newmark: “Well, for sure. I mean, you could tell me if the answer makes sense. With Matt, going back to the draft process, we were really excited to get him where we did and just liked a lot of the things about him, both physically and in terms of the football character and the makeup of the player. I think over the course of the summer and over the course of training camp, we saw development in Matt. We saw growth in Matt and really excited with where he's at currently and what we project him to develop into. In terms of comparing Matt or comparing anybody on our team to what's out there or what's being on the other 31 teams, that process is very in-depth. Our scouts do a great job of monitoring all the preseason games. We have a very in-depth process where we have a real-time board that every option is populated. We have real-time reports after each game, Weeks 1, Weeks 2, Weeks 3. So, in the end, we compare what's out there in the league to what we have, see if we think something makes sense at every position, really. And in the end, we looked at a lot of different options on the interior and we felt good about where we're at.”

What did you see from Joshua Josephs before the draft, and what progress did he make during the summer?

Lance Newmark: “Yeah, we were excited to get Josh, and we saw a lot of what we hoped to see when we drafted him. We saw that length. We saw the heavy hands at the point of attack. We saw the eyes past the box and just the instincts for plays that are coming at him. We saw a talented rusher with room to really grow in that phase as well in terms of developing further moves. And so, I've been very pleased with the progress that Josh has made and what he's shown us, and I think organizationally we feel very good about where he is in his development.”

What have you seen from Sam Hartman's growth and development?

Lance Newmark: “Well, Sam, I think took another step forward this year in camp. I thought last year, I felt like he had some hard luck in the games where there were some plays that didn't quite connect and were just barely missed. I felt like last year he just hit a streak of bad luck during camp and during the games. I felt like this year we saw growth in him over the summer as a passer. I thought he really embraced some of the new scheme and some of the new play development and really did see him take a step forward in his progression and his growth as a passer.”

Do you feel like the Commanders now have a good sense of the young foundational pieces they can build around?

Lance Newmark: “Yeah, I feel like every year we're adding a couple, I guess you call them foundation pieces or kind of the bedrock of your team. And I feel like every year we keep adding to that, and I feel like we have a pretty good sense of who those players are. And you start to really think about building around them and building with them. And, yeah, I feel like we have a really good sense of who those players are and kind of those fixtures, I guess you would call them.”

Do you feel good about the depth of the roster and practice squad compared with other teams around the league?

Lance Newmark: “Yeah, I feel great about our roster. I feel great about our 70 guys that are here, or whatever that number is. We always say that, it's our top 70 or our 70 guys. Feel really good about that group. Feel great about the practice squad that we've been able to assemble, the players that we were able to keep. We added four external guys this morning, and we'll continue to add to that as we see fit. But I guess to answer your question, yes, feel really good about the depth of our roster and that group. It's kind of a mix of developmental players and experienced players that we feel like can help us.”

Did you first learn about Jaden Bradley through Washington's local pro day?

Lance Newmark: “That wasn't the first time we learned about him. Obviously, had known about him at UNLV a little bit and had seen him play to some degree. I think that exposure really helped him in our eyes. It was a really good day for him at that event, and it kind of solidified that we thought he'd be a really good player for us to stay in contact with and see what we can get in terms of development from him.”

How much practice time does a newly acquired player need before you feel comfortable giving him a full workload in a regular-season game?

Lance Newmark: “I think every player is different, honestly. I think it's hard to say this is how many practices X needs to get ready. I think some of it is based on experience. Some of it is based on what their track has been to that moment. Some guys play a lot more in college than others. Some guys have a ton of experience in the NFL when they get here. I think every player is a little bit different. I think, as an organization, we have to look at every situation really specifically and not just have a general, okay, he needs this many days to get ready, he needs this many practices. I think every player is a little bit different. So, I think you just take every situation and assess it.”

What goes into projecting Nick Allegretti's ability to move from guard to center?

Lance Newmark: “Well, we've seen him enough at center over the years and here to have a good feel for him in that role. I think you first of all look at, do you think the guy can handle it mentally, and do you think the guy can kind of be what all that center brings with it in terms of responsibility and duties? And Nick is absolutely that guy in terms of intelligence and leadership and toughness. He's what it's all about when you talk about an offensive lineman. So, I think we have great confidence in who he is, and we've seen enough of him both here and prior to feel confident that he could do that.”

How does communication between the front office and new coordinators David Blough and Daronte Jones work as the roster is built around their schemes?

Lance Newmark: “It's a little bit of both. We do meet with them. We have meetings kind of periodically throughout training camp, and then Adam and I will sit in some of the film meetings with them and talk through position groups and talk through that side of the ball. There are meetings that are formal, and there are also informal at practice, in the halls, where you're talking through how things are. But they're clearly, obviously, very involved, and it's been a great collaboration, honestly. They both are really impressive guys and both very good to work with, cooperative, and we're all trying to accomplish the same goal. So, they've been really impressive.”

How have you assessed Antonio Williams' camp, and how ready is he to contribute as a rookie?

Lance Newmark: “I think he's been very impressive. Honestly, I feel like it's been a steady growth from early May to today. I think we've seen steady, constant growth from him. Very excited about the athlete and the overall skill set. I would say that he has a certain maturity to his game that a lot of rookies don't have, and feel like he's very ready to contribute.”

What goes into releasing a vested veteran with the expectation that he could return after another roster move?

Lance Newmark: “It kind of goes back to the prior. Every situation is a little bit different and every player is a little bit different. How you assess how to handle that situation is different for every guy, honestly. Really, it's not an easy conversation to have. It's not an easy decision to make. And you try to always think about what's best for the player and how to do what's best for him in every situation.”

How does trade dialogue around the league change after the roster cutdown deadline passes?

Lance Newmark: “I guess it probably, I feel like it really ramps up. The conversation and the dialogue really ramps up as you get into those couple of days prior to cutdown. I guess it probably slows down to some degree, but I think you're always — you don't close up shop. You're always open, and dialogue is pretty constant. I would say that it does, in those three or four days prior to cutdown, really ramp up. We had tremendous dialogue around the league and a lot of really substantive conversations. But to answer your question, it probably does taper off a little bit once the dust settles on cutdown. But you're always kind of, you always have feelers out, and you're always kind of having those conversations year-round.”

When did Tanoa Togiai show you that he could make an immediate impact and earn a spot on the 53-man roster?

Lance Newmark: “I guess probably over the course of August. We were excited about what we were seeing from him over the summer, but I just felt like really in August, when he got the pads on and we started really hitting people and playing games, that his size and physicality and what he brings to the field really started to come to light even more than maybe he does in summertime when you're doing Phase 2, Phase 3 and not a lot of — sometimes size doesn't show up as much in those events. So, I would say over the course of August, during the preseason, he really started to show us a lot of positives.”

How much does implementing David Blough's scheme affect how the front office evaluates offensive linemen and their fit?

Lance Newmark: “I think it's certainly a consideration always. You want to get players that are going to have the best ability, the best chance to succeed in what you're doing. So, yeah, I think it's always on our mind. Is this guy going to be able to reach his maximum potential with what we do? So, it's always a consideration.”

How much can you evaluate a practice-squad player's development during the season and determine whether he's ready for meaningful snaps?

Lance Newmark: “I think you can get a practical, a good sense of what the future might hold for that player and what maybe he can contribute in the near term as well. Those guys get good work during the season, and they're an important part of what we do. And I feel like you see guys over the course of 17, 18 weeks, 20 weeks, whatever, really start to develop, really start to get comfortable, really start to mature as players. So, I think over the course of a year, especially when you spend a lot of time with a guy, if you have him the whole year or you have a long-term relationship with him in that role, I do see guys develop, and I think we do get a good sense of where they are in their trajectory.”

Does signing two tight ends indicate concern about Ben Sinnott or the four tight ends on the 53-man roster?

Lance Newmark: “No. Just players that we had interest in and wanted to work with. It really had nothing to do with the four guys on our 53. Really just guys that we liked on film that we wanted to spend some time with.”

How do injuries affect whether you address a need internally or look outside the organization for help?

Lance Newmark: “Whenever you encounter an injury, I think the first thing you do is assess where we are internally. Like, what do we have? What are our external options? Do they make sense to see if that can help us? And sometimes you feel like we're okay, and sometimes you feel like, hey, we probably do need to go out and see if this guy can make us better, or let's bring this group in and see if we feel like this group can help us. Again, every situation. Some rooms are really deep, and some rooms you feel like you need to maybe see if there's more out there. But every situation is a little bit different, and you just kind of take them day by day.”

How do you weigh practice, joint-practice and preseason-game performances when evaluating players?

Lance Newmark: “I think it all is — I wouldn't say it's equally balanced, but I think every day, depending on what you're doing, there are sometimes where we have a really spirited practice where it's ones versus ones, and some of those joint practices were really important to see new matchups. So, I think it's hard to be more important than a game, obviously, but I think every day is really important in the big picture. I wouldn't say that one is way different than another. I think they're all really strongly considered and weighed.”

Below is everything Newmark said during Monday's press conference.

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