BGO Blind Pig: Washington Commanders 2026 Training Camp

[Boone]

The Pigs talk Day 1 of 2026 Washington Commanders Training Camp, review some roster moves, and discuss a promising RB room!

 

[burgold]

Nice pod.

Perspective is a funny thing.. For me, Bill's been the forgotten guy on this board and in general. So much of the running back talk I read is about White and Allen. So, it's less fanboying than it is a call not to forget about a guy who showed some real potential in their rookie season. Now, part of the White and Allen love (honestly, we hear even less about Ford and McNichols) may be that it's more fun to talk about the new toys and the unopened gifts than Woody or Buzz. It may also be that the best part of Bill's season and the period when he wowed the league (and us) was a long time ago. Bill was great in the first half of the season. Worse, for Bill, the second half of 2025 was when he had his problems. Now, that may have been due to Bill's shortcomings, Kliff's shortcomings, how defenses stacked the line and disrespected us as a passing team, or likely all of the above but regardless, from my perspective, Bill's been the odd man out in most of our discussions.

In fairness, the team must agree somewhat because boy have they spent energy in rebuilding the running back room, but maybe that explains the fervency when his name does come up. It feels to me like his story should not be done. It certainly feels unfair to think of him as a finished product who can't improve after only one year. So, here's to talking about more than Bill's deficiencies and including him in our running back discussions.

 

[Conn]

In fairness, the team must agree somewhat because boy have they spent energy in rebuilding the running back room

I don’t really get this. We brought in a 6th round rookie, a vet min Ford, and a 1 yr/$2M Rachaad White who wanted to be here more than elsewhere due to Jayden. $400k guaranteed for him.

Those are very minor additions that most teams make each offseason to their RB room at a minimum.

Don’t get me wrong, they all can probably combine to create a productive RBBC, and they each have their strengths, but the very fact that these sorts of low-value additions are a threat to JCM shows how much he needs to keep rounding out his game

Because very little value (draft capital and cap space) went into the RB room this offseason and we still don’t know how many snaps JCM can expect.

 

[burgold]

I don’t really get this. We brought in a 6th round rookie, a vet min Ford, and a 1 yr/$2M Rachaad White who wanted to be here more than elsewhere due to Jayden. $400k guaranteed for him.

Those are very minor additions that most teams make each offseason to their RB room at a minimum.

Don’t get me wrong, they all can probably combine to create a productive RBBC, and they each have their strengths, but the very fact that these sorts of low-value additions are a threat to JCM shows how much he needs to keep rounding out his game

Because very little value (draft capital and cap space) went into the RB room this offseason and we still don’t know how many snaps JCM can expect.

They may be MINOR additions, but they are A LOT of additions. Teams rarely spend big on running backs these days in the draft or free agency (with the exception of a few remarkable years or players)

Brining in two free agents and with a very limited number of draft picks, using one on a running back is actually devoting a lot of energy on the running back position.

 

[Conn]

They may be MINOR additions, but they are A LOT of additions. Teams rarely spend big on running backs these days in the draft or free agency (with the exception of a few remarkable years or players)

Brining in two free agents and with a very limited number of draft picks, using one on a running back is actually devoting a lot of energy on the running back position.

Not really, none of those guys have to make the team (though most will, obviously) based on resources expended. You need bodies at RB for training camp and preseason, and we likely need to roster 3-4, and only JCM was still under contract. We added what we needed to add at almost the absolute lowest cost possible, so it almost feels like the exact opposite of what you’re describing.

It only seems like such a wide spread of additions and a lot of bodies because again, we needed the bodies…and because we don’t obviously have a starting RB who makes the JAG’s look enough like JAG’s from an aerial view when you zoom out on the roster. So then all of a sudden it feels like a logjam of similar talents. Which it sort of is. But they’re all cheap.

We had one RB on the roster. We needed at least 4 just for training camp, with probably 2-3 of them making the roster when it’s all said and done. I’ll repeat, you almost couldn’t describe a cheaper way to backfill that position than what we did.

 

[SkinsFTW]

I’ll repeat, you almost couldn’t describe a cheaper way to backfill that position than what we did.

AP is much more proficient at digging in the dumpster than BA and RR were though 😂

 

[Mickalino]

AP is much more proficient at digging in the dumpster than BA and RR were though 😂

Vinnie Cerrato feels left out