Tyler Biadasz didn't interact much with Dan Quinn when they were both with the Dallas Cowboys, but the now head coach of the Washington Commanders was familiar with what the center brought to an offensive line.
In fact, Quinn was so impressed with Biadasz that he gave the player a simple, but effective nickname: "Badass."
"Do you guys like it?" Biadasz asked reporters with a smile on his face. "It's cool with me."
Signing a center is not a sexy move, but it was hard to deny that the Commanders needed one this offseason. Biadasz, a fourth-round pick from 2020, was one of the best on the market, making a Pro Bowl in 2022 with 53 career starts in 61 appearances.
For a quarterback like Jayden Daniels, who is just starting to learn the ropes in the NFL, it's not a bad thing to have a badass snapping him the ball.
"He's doing a great job on his end," Biadasz said of Daniels. "He's one of the first in the building every single day. He's doing a hell of a job, doing extra in walkthroughs with [offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury]. He's always in the film room."
Although Daniels has yet to be named the starter, the No. 2 overall pick is the story of the Commanders' OTAs. As the franchise's quarterback of the future, it's on him to build a relationship with every position group and player. While most of that attention is focused on his chemistry with Terry McLaurin, Zach Ertz and others, how he works with his center -- the only other player who touches the ball every play -- does not get as much scrutiny.
Biadasz and Daniels are taking it seriously, though, and there's only one way to get better: lots of reps.
"You go out on the field and be like, 'Hey, I want to get 20 snaps,'" Biadasz said. "It's that development of a relationship. And it's that brotherhood."
By all accounts, Daniels has handled the extra workload that comes with being a professional player. Biadasz is not the only veteran who has praised Daniels during OTAs, as both Jonathan Allen and Bobby Wagner approved of the way Daniels is working to make sure he's ready for his rookie season.
Biadasz wants Daniels to remember that he needs to keep working hard.
"You're going into a break coming up, but it doesn't stop. You consistently have to keep working at that, because it's a relationship that never ends ... Each and every day you have to keep putting that time in, and it can't get monotonous."
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Let's look at some other observations from Wednesday's practice:
-- The Commanders went through 11-on-11 drills today for the first time in front of reporters, marking the first time we've seen Daniels go against something resembling an NFL style pass-rush. He had to scramble out of the pocket a couple of times, but Daniels remained calm as blitzers closed in around him. He went through his progressions, had impressive footwork and zipped the ball to his targets. It's still just June, but it's a good sign of his development.
-- Aside from Daniels' pocket presence, the most noticeable difference was how loud practice was during 11-on-11 drills. The defense was being vocal, communicating their reads to one another, while the offense was making checks at the line of scrimmage. Clearly, being on the same page has been a focal point for the new coaching staff, and that extra attention is paying off.
-- The Commanders continue to put together their best strategy for the new kickoff rules, and just as Quinn has said for weeks, there was a large group of players taking turns catching kicks. The list included Kazmeir Allen, Emmanuel Forbes Jr., Austin Ekeler, Dax Milne, Tyler Owens, Jahan Dotson, Austin Jones, Davion Davis, Mike Sainristil, Jeremy McNichols, Damiere Byrd and Brian Robinson.
-- The Commanders signed a new kicker after releasing Brandon McManus. Here's what Quinn had to say when asked about the topic:
"Yeah, and I think number one, I think you guys would all understand this is under investigation. So, I can't comment a lot, but what I can say is a little bit about what I told the team and I think like most things, not necessarily related to this, but as a lesson, let's make sure you always let somebody know and tell them. There's usually a whole bunch of people that wanna be part of the solution. And so when you have that, whether that's for this team or any team or a parent, that kind of communication allows you to come up with some solutions. So, like I said, not specific to this, but it was just a good lesson to always have that conversation. It's usually much more difficult in your head than it is really having the actual conversation. And so just wanted to make sure I got a lesson out to the guys as we're going through it. So, we did release [K] Brandon [McManus]. I found out some of the information on May 27 and then we released him on June 3."
-- Daniels is set to throw out the first pitch on Sunday during the Washington Nationals' game against the Atlanta Braves. Quinn said he and Daniels had a "big" discussion about that.
"So all eyes are on that first pitch and I asked if there was gonna be some practice involved going out there. Oh, no doubt about it. So yeah, we're expecting him to rip a strike on that one."
-- After nearly three decades, the Commanders are ripping up the old turf field and replacing it with a fourth grass field. Quinn gave props to Managing Partner Josh Harris for making the investment to help the team with more practice space.
"That's his pact to the guys. And knowing that like, there's a way to dig in to let him know that he's going to turn over every rock, so to speak, to make this experience as strong as it could be. Man, are we appreciative of that. So it'll be another grass field that we'll have here, and hopefully that'll be by the end of training camp. That's the timeline for that as we're going forward. But, it's a pretty cool thing to see that when there's a chance to do it a little better. And obviously you see a lot of construction going on here, and taking that shot to do it, we've got a lot of appreciation for Josh and his team in what they're trying to accomplish here."
