Best of Tuesday at NFL training camps: Carson Wentz, Maxx Crosby, shine as practice intensity amps up

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3:00 PM ET

  • ESPN staff

The NFL’s 2022 training camp will hit top speed this week with a full slate of preseason games, and the intensity is ramping up in practices around the league. Tuesday was highlighted by promising performances from Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby and Washington Commanders quarterback Carson Wentz, who showed better timing with his receivers.

Philadelphia Eagles receiver Quez Watkins also had a good day as he works to solidify a role on a deep unit, but second-year New York Giants receiver Kadarius Toney had another tough day in what has been an up-and-down camp.

The preseason schedule includes two games on Thursday, five on Friday, eight on Saturday and one on Sunday.

Here’s what you need to know from camps across the league.

Jump to: News | Photos and videos What our reporters saw

What our NFL Nation reporters saw Tuesday

Washington Commanders: Quarterback Carson Wentz and the passing game have been inconsistent this summer as the Commanders work on their timing. Sometimes Wentz misfires; other times receivers run improper routes leading to off-target throws. But, on Tuesday, that group had one of its best days in camp.

Wentz was more on point with some of his throws, zipping one in to Terry McLaurin on an out route against tight coverage. Wentz threw more in rhythm during team drills, compared to past practices and capped one drive by connecting with receiver Dax Milne for a 20-yard touchdown in which he hit him in stride as he ran across to the corner of the end zone. Wentz also hit rookie Jahan Dotson for about 30 yards on a perfect throw down the right side. The passing game needs to keep progressing after an often bumpy start, but Tuesday was a good step. — John Keim

Las Vegas Raiders: Maxx Crosby dominated the Raiders’ fully-padded practice on Tuesday, much to the chagrin of the offensive line and to the delight of the assembled fans. Because when the Pro Bowl defensive end wasn’t blowing by or simply bull-rushing right tackle Alex Leatherwood in one-on-one-drills, he was still making quarterback Derek Carr uncomfortable in the pocket.

Crosby, who signed a four-year, $99 million extension this offseason, was also involved in the first fight of camp, mixing it up with rookie offensive lineman Dylan Parham in 11-on-11s. The two threw punches and Parham lost his helmet as a pile ensued and fellow edge rusher Chandler Jones played peacemaker. Hey, it’s already Week 3 of camp for Las Vegas, which reported earlier than every other team, so tempers are going to rise. — Paul Gutierrez

New York Giants: The Giants held a really light practice Tuesday in the intense heat and humidity. Still, wide receiver Kadarius Toney didn’t make it through the whole workout. He appeared to grab at his hamstring after running a route and later had his right leg worked on by a trainer on the sideline.

It’s troubling, because Toney struggled throughout his rookie season with various injuries (hamstring, ankle, quad, oblique, finger and shoulder) and missed the spring following a knee procedure. He’s already had several maintenance days this summer when he did not participate in live drills. The enigmatic receiver has experienced an up-and-down start to training camp that included an incredible leaping touchdown grab on Day 1 and three drops at Monday’s practice. — Jordan Raanan

San Francisco 49ers: After QB Trey Lance had, perhaps, his worst practice of camp on Sunday, even coach Kyle Shanahan said he was eager to see how Lance bounced back in Tuesday’s session. The answer? Lance had one of his better performances. Unofficially, he was 12-of-17 in team drills, leading a long drive in the two-minute drill in which his only incompletion on six attempts was a spike to stop the clock.

Lance also had some success on the ground, including a keeper on a fake handoff that went for about 25 yards and nearly went for a 65-yard touchdown (he was ruled just out of bounds). It helped that Lance was finally able to work behind his starting offensive line and the defense was missing its top two corners, but it was a good day for Lance, nonetheless. Shanahan said Lance will play a little in the first preseason game Friday and then in the third for a little longer. — Nick Wagoner

Carolina Panthers: It’s starting to feel like Baker Mayfield is pulling away from Sam Darnold in the quarterback competition because of the way he’s mastering the offense. For the second straight day the word “impressive” was used to describe how far Mayfield has come since training camp began. First it was coach Matt Rhule on Monday. Then coordinator Ben McAdoo on Tuesday. Then there’s Mayfield’s fiery attitude, that cornerback Donte Jackson summed up best.

“He’s an intense guy. Every day you just want to go out there and pick him off 12 times just to shut him up. He’s a competitor.” — David Newton

Detroit Lions: The Lions will be making their debut on “Hard Knocks” on Tuesday, but quarterback Jared Goff says he won’t be tuning in because of it airing so late (10 p.m. ET, HBO).

“I’ll see clips,” he said. “Those guys will tell me if I do something stupid … You guys will make fun of me on Twitter.”

Said coach Dan Campbell: “Honestly, I’m not even worried about it. … I’m not worried about winning ‘Hard Knocks.’ I’m just worried about trying to get this team better and see if we can win some games.” — Eric Woodyard

Philadelphia Eagles: With DeVonta Smith out with a groin injury, it’s mostly been the Jalen Hurts/A.J. Brown show at camp of late. But receiver Quez Watkins is a name to keep in mind. Hurts was firing his way Tuesday, including on a pass down the left side that Watkins made a diving catch on. It’s no secret that coach Nick Sirianni plans to run the offense through Brown, Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert, but Watkins will be in the mix.

“We know how vital Quez Watkins is to this offense and the speed that he brings to this offense,” Sirianni said. “That’s been an emphasis the last couple days in practice, making sure we are getting Quez going and seeing him with the ball in his hands.” — Tim McManus

Green Bay Packers: After the first practice of training camp, Aaron Rodgers had a message for the defense: “I told those chumps [the score is] 1-0 offense.” The offense hasn’t added many winning days to that tally. To be sure, the Packers might have their best defense in coach Matt LaFleur’s four seasons, but Tuesday was another rough day for the offense.

While Rodgers, who got a day off on Tuesday, has made his usual array of impressive throws throughout camp and Jordan Love has shown significant improvement on a daily basis, shoddy offensive line play has generally allowed the defense to have its way. The defense won almost every end-of-game scenario on Tuesday. Asked when the offense will turn the tables, Rodgers said: “I don’t know if we’re going to. I mean, they’re a talented bunch.” — Rob Demovsky

New England Patriots: One day after the offense had an extended post-practice huddle on the field, with captain David Andrews addressing the unit after a subpar practice, the attack looked better on Tuesday. I think we’re close on a lot of things,” QB Mac Jones said. “It’s just that 2% we need to fix.” A practice fight between Andrews and second-year defensive tackle Christian Barmore was among the other notable developments at Tuesday’s practice.— Mike Reiss

New York Jets: Rough day for the offensive line. First, they heard the news that tackle Mekhi Becton (knee) is likely finished for the season. Then, in practice, the line performed horribly, allowing eight sacks with Zach Wilson at quarterback. We’re talking eight sacks in 22 dropbacks. It was the kind of day you’d expect in the first practice, not the 11th. Chuma Edoga (12 starts) replaced Becton at right tackle, though he might be just a placeholder. (Duane Brown, anyone?) Rookie Max Mitchell also saw some action, as the Jets tried different post-Becton experiments. Day 1 was a failure. — Rich Cimini

Pittsburgh Steelers: For the second day in a row, severe weather impacted the Steelers’ practice plans. With rain in the forecast for the afternoon, coach Mike Tomlin moved practice to 10:30 a.m. Working his way back from a minor shoulder injury suffered in the early days of camp, receiver Chase Claypool had a standout day beginning when he caught a fade from Mitch Trubisky in the back of the end zone and got both feet down. The offense won 7 shots — a signature Steelers’ drill repping two-point conversions, 5-2 — marking back-to-back wins for the offense. — Brooke Pryor

New Orleans Saints: Quarterback Andy Dalton took over the first-team reps with Jameis Winston recovering from a sprained foot. Dalton and receiver Michael Thomas had a productive day, with Thomas’ target share clearly increasing over the past few days. Thomas was Dalton’s favorite target in 7-on-7 drills and he caught three of Dalton’s five pass attempts in that session. Thomas also kicked off team drills with a reception from Dalton. Thomas is clearly confident in his repaired ankle and has had no problem making contested catches or going to the ground during a play.

The Saints also saw increased action from tight end Taysom Hill, who has returned from his rib injury at the start of camp, and defensive end Marcus Davenport, who came off the physically unable to perform list on Tuesday and will be worked back into practice. — Katherine Terrell

Baltimore Ravens: Lamar Jackson had one of his most inaccurate days of training camp, but he was at his best in the red zone. His best throw was a 20-yard touchdown toss to Rashod Bateman that dropped over the helmet of cornerback Kyle Fuller. Jackson is looking to continue his strong play inside the 20-yard line. Last season, he ranked eighth in red zone QBR (72.8) with 12 touchdowns and two interceptions. — Jamison Hensley

Cleveland Browns: Cleveland’s beleaguered receiver corps just took a major hit, as Jakeem Grant had to be carted off the field with what the Browns fear is an Achilles tear, according to a league source. Anthony Schwartz (knee) and David Bell (foot) have also been battling injuries this camp. Rookie receiver Michael Woods II is now out with a hamstring injury. The bigger hit, however, could come in the return game, where special teams coordinator Mike Priefer said this week that Grant would “transform” Cleveland’s return units. That onus will likely now fall on Demetric Felton — Jake Trotter

Los Angeles Chargers: Chargers coach Brandon Staley was absent from practice because of a family situation; his son was undergoing surgery for a fracture and possible infection in his toe. Wide receiver DeAndre Carter said the team was able to maintain focus despite their coach being away. “We have a lot of veteran leadership on our team that we can handle situations like this,” Carter said.

All-Pro safety Derwin James‘ hold in continues, now into practice No. 11, as he awaits an agreement on a contract extension. — Lindsey Thiry

Seattle Seahawks: Pete Carroll confirmed on Tuesday what the rep distribution in the Seahawks’ last two practices indicated: that Geno Smith is still ahead of Drew Lock and will start in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. While it wasn’t enough to change the pecking order in Seattle’s quarterback competition, Lock’s performance in last weekend’s mock game impressed Carroll. In his first real comments about what he saw at Lumen Field (after which Carroll deferred any assessment of individual performances until he could review the film), the coach called it Lock’s most solid performance of camp. He liked how Lock got rid of the ball on time, made good decisions, showed poise in the pocket and handled the line of scrimmage. Despite Lock outperforming him in the mock game, Smith continued to take almost all of the first-team reps in Sunday’s walk-through and again in Tuesday’s practice.

“Geno played well too and was really solid,” Carroll said of the mock game. “He really started well. He had a couple great drives off the bat, took us down the field and all. Second half, we weren’t quite as clean with the stuff we were doing, a little raggedy at the line of scrimmage and it showed a little bit. But he had a really good start and a good showing.” — Brady Henderson

Top NFL news of the day

Roquan Smith requests trade from Chicago Bears: Linebacker Roquan Smith said in a written statement that he has requested a trade after contract negotiations between himself and the organization reached an impasse. Smith wrote in a statement that was posted to social media by NFL Network that the “new front office regime doesn’t value me here,” after Smith said he had been trying to work on an extension since April.

New York Jets say Mekhi Becton’s season likely over because of knee injury: Starting right tackle Mekhi Becton’s season is “more than likely” over because of a knee injury, which he suffered in Monday’s practice, coach Robert Saleh said. The coach said he feels “sick” for Becton, who has a chip fracture to his right knee. He also defended Becton against the “shade” he has received on social media.

“His story’s not over. He’s got full support of this organization,” Saleh said.

Becton is scheduled to get a second opinion on Wednesday.

Washington Commanders fire DL coach Sam Mills: The Commanders fired defensive line coach Sam Mills, with coach Ron Rivera citing a “difference of philosophy.” Mills had been with Rivera since he was hired as Carolina’s head coach in 2011.

Jeff Zgonina, who played one season with Mills’ father in the NFL, will replace him. Zgonina served as Mills’ assistant the past two seasons. Rivera didn’t elaborate on what he meant by a philosophical difference, but said it was “just some observations. I just felt it was a change I needed to make.”

Philadelphia Eagles’ Jason Kelce has ‘routine’ elbow surgery: Veteran center Jason Kelce had elbow surgery as part of a “routine cleanout,” the team announced. Kelce decided to have the procedure after trying to work through some lingering discomfort. There is no official timetable for his return to play, though a league source indicated it was realistic that he will be ready for the season opener against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 11.

The 34-year-old Kelce has started 122 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NFL among centers. Rookie Cam Jurgens, a second-round pick out of Nebraska, has been getting second-team reps during training camp and is listed as the backup on the unofficial depth chart.

Cincinnati Bengals rename home Paycor Stadium: The facility formerly known as Paul Brown Stadium will now be called Paycor Stadium, the team announced Tuesday. The Bengals sold the stadium naming rights to Cincinnati-based Paycor, a company that specializes in human resources software. The agreement is for 16 years. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Best NFL photos, videos from camp

This article was originally published by Espn.com. Read the original article here.
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