The second week of training camps for all 32 NFL teams is upon the football world. The first week is for shaking off the summer rust, but Week 2 typically involves the notable ramp up of padded, contact practices taking place.
That’s where crucial growth and chemistry can be built, which is why a number of NFL teams took major steps to end holdouts as well as extend key players on Sunday. In addition to major contracts being inked, a few quarterback battles around the league are starting to shift. With that in mind, let’s examine some of the most critical happenings from training camps in our Sunday edition of training camp takeaways.
Washington Commanders Pro Bowl wide receiver Terry McLaurin’s holdout from training camp is now over. McLaurin opted to take a yoga class away from the team facility Wednesday instead of participating in practice while vying for a new contract, but on Sunday he did report to camp, even without a new deal.
The 29-year-old, who turns 30 on Sept. 15, seized the Commanders’ single-season record for receiving touchdowns with 13 in 2024. That ranked as the second-most in the NFL behind triple crown winner Ja’Marr Chase’s 17. McLaurin is set to enter the final season of a three-year, $68.4 million extension, so he’s looking for security following Washington’s run to the NFC Championship in 2024. He spent the first five years of his career with a revolving door at quarterback, and now he’s aiming to be locked in with reigning Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels for the foreseeable future.
Commanders training camp news: Terry McLaurin reports; rookie WR delivers highlight reel play for Washington
Zachary Pereles
“I’m really pumped that he’s here, man,” Commanders coach Dan Quinn said. “He’s such an awesome competitor. We had a chance to spend some time together [Saturday]. It was great to see him. … On the business side, [GM Adam Peters] and the guys are still working hard with Terry and his reps. While on PUP, it’s just like we do with other guys: work with the trainers to get back as soon as he can.”
McLaurin’s hold-in starts now.
“It feels good to be around my teammates and around the fans,” McLaurin said via ESPN. “I can’t beat that at all. They showed me a lot of love and support. You lose sight of some things when the business gets involved, but I never lost sight of the way they supported me. It’s business, but it has nothing to do with them.”
At every stop of Jim Harbaugh’s coaching career, he has prioritized physicality and running the football. That’s why it’s not surprising that Harbaugh’s Los Angeles Chargers made two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Rashawn Slater the highest-paid offensive lineman in football. Slater agreed to terms on a four-year, $114 million contract extension with $92 million guaranteed. His new $28.5 million average per year salary tops Tampa Bay Buccaneers four-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tristan Wirfs’ $28.1 million APY on his five-year, $140.6 million deal.
Pro Football Focus graded the 26-year-old as its second-highest graded offensive tackle in 2024, and now Slater will be protecting Justin Herbert’s blindside at a high level for the foreseeable future. This deal will certainly be enough to end the left tackle’s absence at training camp.
The Dallas Cowboys are seemingly open for business
The Dallas Cowboys bucked a longstanding trend of waiting until the last possible moment to extend a player they value when they re-signed tight end Jake Ferguson on Sunday. Dallas inked their 2022 fourth-round pick to a four-year, $52 million with $30 million in total guarantees.
“Any time you get a guy done, which there’s a number of guys we’re working to get done, you’re excited for him [Ferguson],” Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said on Sunday.
All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons is the big one, but left guard Tyler Smith, cornerback DaRon Bland, kicker Brandon Aubrey and wide receiver George Pickens are also entering contract years in 2025. Despite Parsons taking the initiative to kick off contract talks in January, he remains unsigned because he and the front office remain at odds over his value.
“We want to pay Micah, too. He has to want to be paid,” Cowboys COO Stephen Jones said Sunday, via The Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The Cowboys feeling like they have leverage with Parsons and his demands to be paid top of the market money are intriguing. Parsons, 26, is the first player to register 12 or more sacks in each of his first four seasons since sacks became tracked as an individual statistic in 1982. Parsons’ 330 quarterback pressures since entering the NFL in 2021 are tied for the most in the league with Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders, according to TruMedia.
The Cleveland Browns’ four-man quarterback competition between 40-year-old Joe Flacco, former first-round pick journeyman Kenny Pickett, third-round pick Dillon Gabriel and fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders got shaken up on Sunday.
Pickett, who Browns quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave labeled “excellent” through the first two training camp practices, suffered a hamstring injury on Saturday and will be re-evaluated next week, per ESPN. Now, there is much more opportunity for Gabriel and Sanders to factor into Cleveland’s quarterback battle with Flacco, the presumed frontrunner. It made headlines on Friday that Sanders had yet to receive any snaps with the first-team offense in camp, but that could now change with Pickett sidelined.
New York Giants first-round rookies locked in
New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, the 25th pick in the 2025 Draft, struggled out of the gate at training camp. However, according to The Athletic, Dart turned it around on Sunday in a major way. He hit on his first 10 throws and completed 11 of his 13 passes on the day. That included a big gain to undrafted rookie Beaux Collins in the video footage below.
Abdul Carter, the third pick, appears as advertised early on. Carter, No. 51, absolutely cooked starting right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor multiple times, including with the spin move captured below. Between Carter, Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux coming off the edge and defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, the Giants could have one of the best defensive lines in football in 2025.
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