The Commanders’ 53-man roster is taking shape as training camp winds down. The team released safety Will Harris on Tuesday morning, ending one of the tightest competitions of Washington’s offseason.
Harris started 9 games last season, missing a chunk of the campaign due to a fractured fibula.
The first-team reps in training camp have belonged to the newly signed Nick Cross and special teams stalwart Jeremy Reaves.
Fellow safety Quan Martin battled with Harris throughout the offseason for the third safety spot in new defensive coordinator Daronte Jones’s versatile defense.
Martin won the battle.
“I’ve just felt an intensity and an urgency about him,” Commanders coach Dan Quinn said of Martin Tuesday morning, minutes before the team announced Harris’ release. “He’s one that jumps out to me; man, he’s throwing a really good camp and I feel it. I feel it in play and confidence and moving forward.”
Harris, 30, failed to flash throughout the offseason program. A crucial mistake in Saturday’s preseason game against the Detroit Lions might’ve been the nail in the coffin.
The Lions ran a simple read-option, where quarterback Josh Dobbs had the option to hand the ball to the running back inside or keep it himself on the boundary.
Harris guessed that it was a handoff. He guessed wrong. The veteran safety crashed the line, leaving the defense without its safety net as Dobbs scampered into the end zone for a 50-yard score.
Meanwhile, Martin has made splash plays throughout the preseason. The fourth-year defender is the only player in the league with interceptions in each of the two exhibitions.
“That’s all we’ve been preaching since the start of [organized team activities]. The ball is life,” Martin said. “So I’ll just continue to bring the ball to life, whether it’s punching it out, taking it out of the air, however we can get it.”
He’s made himself valuable with his willingness to do the dirty work too, accepting special teams responsibilities.
“I’ve really felt the energy from Quan Martin,” Quinn said. “From the practice, from the games, from the way he’s played on special teams.”
Martin was benched near the end of last season after lapses in coverage — Washington’s defense ranked among the worst in the NFL.
The benching, along with competition from Cross and Harris, lit a fire under the 26-year-old.
“It’s a little different hunger. The competitor has always been there, but considering the circumstances, I’m continuing to work hard,” said Martin, who referenced “outside noise creeping in” following last year’s disappointment. “Just show up every day and put my best foot forward.”
Special teams versatility often acts as a tiebreaker for training camp competitions that are too close to call. Defensive backs, linebackers and receivers — with their particular blend of size and speed — are often called on to help out on coverage and return units.
It’s been a focus for the crowded linebacker and receiver rooms.
Treylon Burks and Dyami Brown, pass-catchers with different skill sets, are dueling to be the sixth receiver on the depth chart. Burks has been working as a returner, while Brown — who returned to Washington after a single season with the Jacksonville Jaguars — has taken on coverage responsibilities.
“I’ve been on special teams before. That’s just me doing my job,” Brown said. “Whatever they need me to do, I’ll do it.”
Brown, Burks and the other players on the bubble are running out of time to impress Quinn and the coaching staff. Wednesday’s joint practice with the Baltimore Ravens is the final tune-up of training camp before Friday’s preseason finale.
“I’m trying to show it more than say it,” undrafted rookie Jaden Bradley, who has impressed throughout camp, said Tuesday. “Whatever you see is what I’m about.”
On Sunday, 37 of Washington’s 90 players will learn that they didn’t make the Week 1 roster. For them, the final practices and preseason games have added weight as they look to prove that they belong on an NFL squad.
“At the end of the day, you put tape out there for all 32 teams, not just one team,” Brown said. “So, you just go out there and do what you do.”
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