The 2026 Free Agency Thread

[SkinsNumberOne]

What these guys say in Press Conferences really doesn't matter. First of all, it does no one any good to trash your own roster in public, even if they have concerns. It is also counter-productive to telegraph your plans or intentions. As fans, we want coaches and front office people to ease our concerns and anxiety, but that's not really their job.

I generally hate Press Conferences of any kind. Rarely do they provide any real information, and especially with guys like Peters and Quinn, the constant cliches really grate for me. If I have to hear Dan Quinn talk about 'spaces' one more time, it will be one time too many. Reminds me of Rivera talking about 'learning and growing' constantly. Good lord.

You are right in general, but there are coaches who while they don’t reveal much specifically, the way they talk analytically still conveys the intelligence they bring to the game.

Rivera… DQ… not so much.

I have watched some of Macdonald’s pressers and read his quotes. There has been more meat there.

So there is differerentiation.

Also in 2024 and 2025, DQ and KK did telegraph their differences in pressers. Interestingly, Rivera had similar differences with his coordinators (also obvious in pressers, and then postseason wrap interviews), but waited a lot longer to make moves. We will see how it works out for DQ.

 

[Discobob]

What these guys say in Press Conferences really doesn't matter. First of all, it does no one any good to trash your own roster in public, even if they have concerns. It is also counter-productive to telegraph your plans or intentions. As fans, we want coaches and front office people to ease our concerns and anxiety, but that's not really their job.

I generally hate Press Conferences of any kind. Rarely do they provide any real information, and especially with guys like Peters and Quinn, the constant cliches really grate for me. If I have to hear Dan Quinn talk about 'spaces' one more time, it will be one time too many. Reminds me of Rivera talking about 'learning and growing' constantly. Good lord.

Point #1 - This is why I don't do press conferences

Point #2 - I do NOT miss ole "position flex" Ron with his blank stares on the sidelines LOL

 

[CapsCommies]

What these guys say in Press Conferences really doesn't matter. First of all, it does no one any good to trash your own roster in public, even if they have concerns. It is also counter-productive to telegraph your plans or intentions. As fans, we want coaches and front office people to ease our concerns and anxiety, but that's not really their job.

I generally hate Press Conferences of any kind. Rarely do they provide any real information, and especially with guys like Peters and Quinn, the constant cliches really grate for me. If I have to hear Dan Quinn talk about 'spaces' one more time, it will be one time too many. Reminds me of Rivera talking about 'learning and growing' constantly. Good lord.

"in that space" "to go"

 

[CapsCommies]

I guess the best news is that tomorrow is Sept.1 and we're not still waiting to see if BA shows up at the 9ers camp.

Don't be so hasty, now... can he play center? 👀

 

[skinsinparadise]

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

Point #1 - This is why I don't do press conferences

Point #2 - I do NOT miss ole "position flex" Ron with his blank stares on the sidelines LOL

Well, as I mentioned earlier, DQ is not actually good in pressers for the team, but for the press and fans who want to know things, he is unfortunately not bad. AP has balance - quintessential GM, smooth at the pressers and I think reveals almost exactly what he wants to. Which isn't nothing! Also isn't anything super substantial. Very smooth.

The pressers signaled disconnects between KK and DQ specifically all the way back to 2024. There was even one week where reporters asked both the exact same question and got almost exactly opposite answers, where KK referenced their YPC was high so he was happy with their rushing attack (indicating more carries were unimportant, high YPC would be put at risk, targeted rushing was important where the D wasn't expecting it), and DQ's answer was they needed to run way more, needed to pound it, 1-yard, 2-yards, make the defense hesitate. These two answers were in the same week, to the same question, and were exact opposites.

So no, if you pay close attention, you can get good information from pressers. Of course, it takes a lot of patience because yes, there's a lot of nothing in many aspects as well.

Here's an interesting analysis of one (as I mentioned before, DQ tends to reveal far too much):

Dan Quinn’s alarming confession makes Commanders debacle even harder to dismiss

There are warning signs building.

riggosrag.com

 

[skinsinparadise]

 

[CapsCommies]

We reportedly signed Yiadom in 2024 before he headfaked us and went to SF instead - 2.5 years later we finally get our guy! Lol

 

[Anselmheifer]

Joey Porter Jr.: I don't know if I'll play Week One without a new contract

“I don’t know. I would have to talk to the guys upstairs and my agents about that one," Porter said.

www.nbcsports.com

Give me this and a center.

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

Joey Porter Jr.: I don't know if I'll play Week One without a new contract

“I don’t know. I would have to talk to the guys upstairs and my agents about that one," Porter said.

www.nbcsports.com

Give me this and a center.

He would cost so much. I think he's a special talent, and I would probably do it, but still. Expensive to trade for.

 

[CapsCommies]

He would cost so much. I think he's a special talent, and I would probably do it, but still. Expensive to trade for.

On a team lacking blue-chip players, you should endeavor to get them however you can IMO. Especially at a position of need like CB. It's not like our drafts have been out of this world, anyway...

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

On a team lacking blue-chip players, you should endeavor to get them however you can IMO. Especially at a position of need like CB. It's not like our drafts have been out of this world, anyway...

Agreed.

Devils advocate moment though. Supposedly the Flores scheme does not need premier talent at corner. It prioritizes specific corner attributes which are a little less sought after and deprioritizes the sticky man coverage back to the QB type. So they don't need to pay top dollar for it in free agency. That said we don't know how much of that was Flores and how much was the GM's beliefs (who has now been fired).

I think because of lacking top end talent, any top tier talent even at a position of theoretical not top priority would benefit us no matter what.

 

[CapsCommies]

Agreed.

Devils advocate moment though. Supposedly the Flores scheme does not need premier talent at corner. It prioritizes specific corner attributes which are a little less sought after and deprioritizes the sticky man coverage back to the QB type. So they don't need to pay top dollar for it in free agency. That said we don't know how much of that was Flores and how much was the GM's beliefs (who has now been fired).

I think because of lacking top end talent, any top tier talent even at a position of theoretical not top priority would benefit us no matter what.

Ah, interesting. I was under the impression corners were important in a Flores system that involved a lot of Cover 0 blitzing and other exotic looks that put CBs on islands

 

[DWinzit]

Joey Porter Jr.: I don't know if I'll play Week One without a new contract

“I don’t know. I would have to talk to the guys upstairs and my agents about that one," Porter said.

www.nbcsports.com

Give me this and a center.

And to think he went just 16 spots after our leaderships choice of the Forbes
Or we could have just taken Gonzo like we should have done

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

Ah, interesting. I was under the impression corners were important in a Flores system that involved a lot of Cover 0 blitzing and other exotic looks that put CBs on islands

It's far more Zone than people realize. So they want the CBs to have eyes on QB. (It's why I think Sainristil will thrive)

It's a lot of fire zone blitzes. Less cover 0 with 0 help defense. There are extra blitzers but there are still helpers in sections with more traditional zone principles. Like you align and leverage to help defense over on this side, and then on the other you kind of overplay to parts of the route. Like if it's a hot route, you bite early especially if the QB is looking.

The Flores principal is all about pressure, and getting the pass blocking to guess wrong where pressure is coming from. Getting the QB to look to the part where the more traditional zone coverages are.

But if the pressure isn't being felt...?

We really need Oweh, Chaisson, Luvu, Sonny, etc etc to, well, be who we think they could be. Otherwise we're in trouble.

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

And to think he went just 16 spots after our leaderships choice of the Forbes
Or we could have just taken Gonzo like we should have done

I had Porter as the rare Top 10 CB (along with Witherspoon), half a tier ahead of Gonzo. I had Forbes as a Day 3 guy.

I'm not infallible, I've had corner draft evaluations that are rough. But that's one draft class I got really close to nailing (I should have rated Gonzo higher).

I don't understand how Rivera & Co valued him where they did. I'm not sure if they watched the tape or just highlight reels. I don't understand it.

 

[Primus Porcus]

I had Porter as the rare Top 10 CB (along with Witherspoon), half a tier ahead of Gonzo. I had Forbes as a Day 3 guy.

I'm not infallible, I've had corner draft evaluations that are rough. But that's one draft class I got really close to nailing (I should have rated Gonzo higher).

I don't understand how Rivera & Co valued him where they did. I'm not sure if they watched the tape or just highlight reels. I don't understand it.

because he was bad at player eval... ?

 

[DWinzit]

I had Porter as the rare Top 10 CB (along with Witherspoon), half a tier ahead of Gonzo. I had Forbes as a Day 3 guy.

I'm not infallible, I've had corner draft evaluations that are rough. But that's one draft class I got really close to nailing (I should have rated Gonzo higher).

I don't understand how Rivera & Co valued him where they did. I'm not sure if they watched the tape or just highlight reels. I don't understand it.

I was so certain I was going to hear Gonzo's name announced at the podium, I was rooting for him to slip to us for 4 picks and was shocked he reached us. So similar to 2021 when Darrisaw shockingly slid to us.... JDR seems to have been infatuated with Forbes interceptions Now we see if Quan can pull his stuff together as the sole survivor of Rivera's final draft

Yeah, Primus Porcus has it right, Rivera sucked at player evals....and a few more things!!!!

 

[Always Commander Never Captain]

because he was bad at player eval... ?

It has to be more than that, just gross incompetence and lack of effort.

 

[HTTR]

And there’s the rub. Us fans tend to have that fantasy football mindset where we’ve scanned the waiver wire and this guy is the best player available at the position of need so why wouldn’t we just scoop him up? But it’s clearly a lot more complicated than that. Maybe he is fact only looking for a starting gig. Or maybe at his age he just doesn’t want to come back unless it’s with a sure fire contender. Or maybe he just doesn’t like Washington DC. Could be all kinds of things. We really have no idea if the guy is truly even interested in coming here.

As for them saying they like the guys they have… this is pure “coach speak“ type language that they’re going to say regardless of how they feel about the players in question. Not sure why anybody expects anything differently and I totally agree with those of you saying it makes no sense for fans to get upset hearing it.

None of this is directed at you SIP, just responding to the tweets you posted.