It's been an offseason of change for the Washington Commanders. Dan Quinn said at the conclusion of the 2025 campaign that he would look at the entire team for areas of improvement, and we've already seen several of those alterations with new schemes on both sides of the ball.
Those modifications have permeated into the Commanders' locker room, and the team is handling how it picks leaders differently from the previous two seasons. Quinn announced that rather than having a rotational list of captains each week, the team would be named season-long captains. The list included Jayden Daniels, Terry McLaurin, Frankie Luvu, Jeremy Reaves and Tress Way along with one open spot for Quinn to still announce a new addition each week.
It's not a method Quinn has used for a while, but he, along with the rest of the team, felt like it was the right time to make the change.
"I'd follow these five guys anywhere," Quinn said. "I thought, 'What a great representation of the captains on who we are and where we are.' Just has a great vibe to it, and [I'm] excited to get rolling with 2026 with them."
There was some logic behind Quinn's original decision to name individual game captains. He first learned it from former head coach Bill Walsh, and he thought it was a good way to recognize players for the work they put in during the week. He felt the roster was full of leaders during the 2024 season, and he wanted to give other players who might not have traditional roles the chance to be in the spotlight.
"Not everybody leads in the same way," Quinn said ahead of the 2024 season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "So, there could be some guys that are in the weight room that man, if you want to go train, this is who you go with. In the meeting rooms, somebody's more engaging than others ... And then there's out on the field or in the locker room, so the different voices of how you do it."
The wealth of leaders was the same thing that prompted Quinn to go with season-long captains this time around. It was a chance for a group of players to be "an extension of the team" on important issues. It wasn't based on talent, Quinn said; rather, he wanted to see the group represent "the standard of what we wanna be about."
"There are a lot of guys that got votes on this year's team, and I think it kind of speaks to the trust that their teammates have in these five and the work that they've put in," Quinn said.
Quinn wasn't surprised by the players who received the most votes. Each player exemplifies the hard work and competitiveness that the Commanders want to build their culture upon. Players like Daniels, McLaurin and Luvu are not only among the biggest catalysts for their units but also the loudest voices younger players listen to for mentorship. Players like Reaves and Way are two of the longest tenured players on the roster and have fine-tuned their craft over the years.
Quinn said each player deserves the honor.
"For a guy like Jeremy, he has been an absolute legitimate leader for a while," Quinn said. "And so, to see that paid forward, I wasn't surprised one bit. Same thing for Jayden to see all the stuff he went through and put the work in to know that...people see that."
It might not have been Quinn's normal method, but Quinn is thrilled to see how this year's captains will lead the roster in a season with high expectations. What's more, the players having the qualities the franchise prizes makes the decision to institute the change much easier.
"I think there's always something that's rewarding about that, especially for the guys that were selected," Quinn said. "That's a big deal, and [I'm] certainly proud of them. This is a group that, like I said, I'd follow them anywhere."
