Noah Brown said that injuries, and overcoming them, have been part of his career for a while, and back in June, it looked like he was about to miss more time.

Brown, who missed the final portion of the Commanders regular season and playoff run with a kidney issue, went down on a hit during minicamp and had to be carted off the field. The receiver was visibly frustrated, and while there was no major update from the team on his status, the initial expectation was that he would miss some time.

But Brown was suited up for the Commanders' first training camp practice last week, and he's ready to pick up where he left off.

"Anytime you get banged up, it's not fun," Brown said. "But I was blessed to be OK and be able to get back in time for training camp and work out with the guys and build towards what we're trying to accomplish."

Brown was a late addition to the Commanders' roster but didn't need much time to be a valued member of the offense. He became a legitimate downfield threat for Washington and was on pace to have a career season. Despite missing the final four regular season games, Brown still ranked fourth on the team with 453 receiving yards.

Brown was frustrated when it appeared that he would miss camp but said he is "ready to go." He also wants to make sure he can avoid any serious injuries, like the one he suffered against the Tennessee Titans, in the future, so he worked to "callous the body."

"I'm always working to avoid injuries," he said. "It's a contact sport. Sometimes, things happen."

The Commanders intend to be cautious with Brown as he works back from his injury. Head coach Dan Quinn said the team will "ramp him up," so his workload will be lighter on some days than others. The process will continue over the next week to make sure Brown is hitting "all the strides and the markers."

The Commanders are in need of vertical threats, so they need to make sure Brown is completely healthy before letting him loose.

"We're very excited that he's doing good, but we're not going to miss a step with him," Quinn said.

Here are some more observations from Tuesday's practice.

-- Quinn started his press conference by informing reporters that guard Nate Herbig, who the team signed in the offseason, was placed on the Reserve/Retired list earlier in the day. Herbig (6-4, 334) was a five-year veteran who went undrafted and signed with the Philadelphia Eagles following the 2019 draft. He played in 61 games with 31 starts. Quinn said the decision was a personal one for Herbig.

-- We're starting to get a better idea of who will be the names to watch in the battle to be Washington's punt returner. As expected, rookie Jaylin Lane was the first player up in the rotation, but KJ Osborn, Kazmeir Allen and Demetric Felton also got reps. It's likely that Lane will win the job, but the other three players still want to show their versatility to make the roster.

-- One receiver who stood out on Tuesday was veteran Chris Moore, who could be in position to take one of the final spots in the room. Moore had several impressive catches, including a contested grab in 11-on-11 drills and a one-handed snag deep downfield later in the day.

-- Josh Conerly continues to go through his development and was lined up at right and left tackle today. Although the athleticism is there, he's still raw and may need more time before he is ready to be a starter. He did have a solid rep in the run game during an 11-on-11 period, as he pulled to the right as a left tackle and freed up a lane for Felton to have an explosive gain.

-- The Commanders' offense was trying several deep shots downfield today, and the cornerbacks did a decent job of keeping up with wideouts and providing tight man coverage downfield. There were still a few highlights from the receivers, though, and the one that drew the most excitement from the crowd came from Deebo Samuel, who made a diving catch while working against Mike Sainristil.

-- Here's what Sainristil said about what it's like to compete against Samuel:

"Every rep is to get me better, to get him better. That's what I needed, to have someone like him who's going to push me and help me get better."

-- Two members of the Commanders' rookie class had some standout moments during situational drills near the end of practice. Kain Medrano picked off Sam Hartman, whose target was unclear on the play, and Trey Amos broke up a sideline pass to Luke McCaffrey from Daniels.

-- Today's practice ended on a good note for the offense. With Josh Johnson now in at quarterback, Felton caught a pass down the seam and weaved through defenders on his way to the end zone.