Commanders’ WR Deebo Samuel has a message for his detractors – Bryan Manning, USA Today

Deebo Samuel, like Washington last year, is out to prove doubters wrong.

In 2021, Deebo Samuel was arguably the NFL’s most dangerous offensive player. The then-third-year wide receiver caught 77 passes for 1,405 yards (18.2 YPC) and six touchdowns. Samuel also rushed for 365 yards and eight touchdowns.

However, since then, Samuel has failed to reach those numbers, with some calling his play disappointing and both he and the 49ers wanting to separate. In March, San Francisco traded Samuel to the Washington Commanders. In Washington, Samuel would reunite with Commanders’ GM Adam Peters, the former 49ers’ assistant GM who played a significant role in the Niners selecting Samuel in the 2019 NFL draft.

Samuel has one season remaining on his contract. The Commanders altered that contract for 2025, making Samuel happy. Samuel, for his part, appears more motivated than ever. Not only does Samuel want to land a second lucrative contract extension, but he also wants to shut down some of the nonsense regarding his play, including his weight and conditioning. The Commanders and Samuel have shared numerous posts on social media showing Samuel looking to be in excellent shape.

The Commanders believe Samuel can thrive in offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury’s offense. While Samuel was on some successful 49ers teams, he’s never played with a quarterback like Daniels and opposite a receiver such as Terry McLaurin.

Bet against Samuel. But don’t be surprised if he proves his doubters wrong and has a big year for the Commanders in 2025.

Top Eagles storylines heading into 2025 OTAs – Dave Zangaro, NBC Sports Philadelphia

Storylines surrounding the defending Super Bowl champions.

The Eagles are reigning Super Bowl champions and they’ll take their first steps to defending that title this week when they kick off their spring practices.

While the Eagles began their offseason workout program back on April 21 and had their rookie minicamp after the draft, OTAs are the beginning of Phase 3 of the NFL’s offseason workout plan, as defined by the collective bargaining agreement.

This isn’t real football yet but it’s close.

The Eagles this year have six days of OTAs scheduled: May 27-28, May 30, June 2-3 and June 5. They also have one day of mandatory minicamp on June 10. The Eagles are expecting to hold their media availability later in the week.

Here are some key storylines this spring:

A new OC

The Eagles are coming off a Super Bowl season but will have a new offensive coordinator after Kellen Moore left for the Saints’ head coaching job. While the Eagles would have obviously preferred to keep Moore — after you win a Super Bowl, you want to run it back — it’s not like the Eagles’ passing offense was spectacular for most of 2024. The passing game was there when the Eagles needed it but they actually finished with the No. 29-ranked passing offense in the NFL (they were No. 2 in rushing) in the 2024 regular season. Remember when A.J. Brown had his infamous “passing” line about what needed to improve with the offense? That came in December.

Dealing with the target

The Eagles will have super high expectations going into the 2025 season. Even after losing some key players in free agency, they still have a ton of talent and are the reigning Super Bowl champions. That puts a target on their back.

The good news is that the Eagles still have head coach Nick Sirianni and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio in place as well as a bunch of talent. Even facing a difficult schedule, this team seems poised to compete for another Super Bowl in 2025. In fact, entering the spring, they’re the Super Bowl favorites.

Giants Rookie QB Jaxson Dart Unsuccessful in Obtaining Jersey No. 2 from Teammate – Patricia Traina, Sports Illustrated

The rookie didn’t want his number that badly.

New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxsn Dart, who wore No. 2 at Ole Miss, was unsuccessful in securing the jersey number to wear with the Giants.

That’s because the number, currently held by third-year cornerback Deonte Banks, who earlier this year gave up No. 3 to quarterback Russell Wilson, was going to cost Dart a pretty penny to make the switch.

“Yeah, it’s too much,” Dart told Cllct Media. “Too much.”

Dart, who has yet to sign his rookie contract as of this writing, didn’t say what Banks’s asking price was to surrender the number, but he clearly wasn’t interested in ponying up the cash to get the number previously worn by quarterback Drew Lock last season.

Dart was assigned No. 6 for his current jersey. He told reporters at the rookie minicamp that he would try out the number and see how he looked in pictures wearing it before deciding whether to keep it or seek a new one.

According to Over the Cap, Dart’s four-year rookie deal is projected to be worth $16.977 million, with an $8.987 million signing bonus and an $840,000 base salary.