Washington
Washington Commanders had a remarkable season. Now the offseason work begins.
Niners John Lynch provides update on negotiations with quarterback Brock Purdy
49ers general manager John Lynch reveals at NFL Combine that the team is in negotiations with Purdy’s folks to secure him as their quarterback for the future.
INDIANAPOLIS – One year ago, Adam Peters didn’t have a quarterback as he confronted his first offseason as general manager of the Washington Commanders. He didn’t even know what a “scrum” with the media meant.
At his second scouting combine in the big chair he has discovered both, with Jayden Daniels the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year and Peters participating in his fair share of meetings with the media.
He and head coach Dan Quinn will need answers for a second straight busy offseason, with 28 members of the 2024 roster set to become free agents, an elite wide receiver in Terry McLaurin poised for a contract extension and a defensive-line stalwart in Jonathan Allen given permission to explore a trade.
Still, “it feels a lot better than last year,” Peters said Tuesday.
Peters and Quinn have daily discussions about the best way to improve the team, especially in the wake of a first year that exceeded expectations and the turnaround from 4-13 to a 12-5 campaign, which ended with a loss to the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game.
“It’s going be a challenge every year,” Peters said. “Not just last year, not just this year, but next year’s going to be a new set of challenges.
“There was a lot we had to accomplish and I thought we did a really good job. And this year, I mean, we still have a lot of challenges, so having Jayden is great, obviously, but you still want to build the team the right way with the right type of people.”
Entering this offseason knowing what a ‘Commander’ is
The most important thing Quinn knows now that he didn’t this time in 2024 is “the definition of a Commander.” At its core, that player possesses competitiveness and is a person who loves football and connecting with his teammates.
That makes combine week more purposeful this time around because it’s no longer conjecture – they’ve seen what “a Commander” is in practice.
“We’re looking forward to following up on that this year, especially now that we know who we are even more clearly,” Quinn said Wednesday.
Washington’s 2024 roster had 28 free agents but Quinn said he didn’t have a specific number of how many he wanted to bring back. But in his mind, there are two types of free agents as he considers who will be on his team in 2025 – the ones who were on the Commanders last year, and those on other teams. He said he’s also counting on the 2024 rookie class developing and making big jumps.
Some took on significant roles during their first season – Daniels notwithstanding. Brandon Coleman, a third-round pick, became the starting left tackle and cornerback Mike Sainristil, a second-rounder, was a starter by the end of the season.
To figure out the areas Washington will be active in player acquisition doesn’t require a degree in forensics. Start with the Commanders’ depth chart, Peters said.
“Which, there’s a few places that we don’t (have any players),” he said.
Depth at running back, wide receiver and tight end are all issues on the offensive side of the ball. Defensive line is a big question mark currently, although it is regarded as the strongest position group at the top of the 2025 draft class.
For Peters, the puzzle-solving begins by figuring out which positions may have stronger players available in the draft versus free agency and vice versa.
“Going into the offseason, into March really, just understanding the totality of the classes and understanding where you can best use your assets,” Peters said.
The Jon Allen question
On Tuesday, the team said Allen has been given the opportunity to seek a trade.
“These kinds of decisions and things you have to come up with are always tough, right?” Peters said. “…He’s been a great person for this franchise for a long time.”
The conversations that lead to a player given the chance to explore other employment opportunities can be tough to have, said Peters, “but you always want to have them civilly, and we have.”
If there is no deal to be made, Allen could be a cut candidate. Allen is due $15.5 million this season but that base salary is not guaranteed, according to NFL.com.
This is the time of the sport’s calendar when football and business intersect and that’s reality, Quinn said.
“No team is the same year-to-year,” he said. “We know that.
“That’s not specific to one player. It’s specific to the whole team.”
Defensive line prototypes
One area that’s abundantly clear for addressing is the pass rush, especially if Allen – who missed half of the season with a torn pectoral muscle – is on the move. Veterans Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler, who led the team in sacks last season, followed Quinn from the Dallas Cowboys to the Commanders last offseason, but being younger at the spot would be wise.
The ideal pass rusher in Quinn’s mind is someone with initial quickness and capable of “beating somebody to the punch.”
That sounds similar to Peters’ ideal version of a pass rusher. He wants someone who is physical and relentless, a prospect “who’s got that get-off and, really, to be really good in this league, I think you have to have both speed and power.”
Finding weapons for Jayden Daniels
Part of Daniels’ encore to a sensational rookie season will depend on how the front office supplies him with targets. Veteran tight end Zach Ertz became a trusted target for Daniels down the stretch and is certainly a candidate to be re-signed. Receivers Olamide Zaccheaus and Noah Brown also emerged.
Whether it’s those players back in the burgundy and gold or fresh blood, Quinn said players at skill positions will have one thing in common.
“We want to attack, man. So, however we can find ways to do that, we will,” said Quinn, who noted the Commanders had the most no-huddle snaps outside of running two-minute drills in the NFL. “That’s part of our edge. So finding guys that can play in space, play with quickness, be violent with their cuts.”
What about Bobby Wagner?
Whether linebacker Bobby Wagner, who became a mentor to Daniels last year, will return in 2025 is a question mark, and Quinn said to the reporters gathered they’d have to ask his agent – a tongue-in-cheek comment, of course, because the linebacker represents himself.
But Wagner was still top of mind for Quinn on Wednesday when he was describing the type of players he wants in the building.
“Somewhere – I have not talked to him today – but somewhere Bobby Wagner is getting better,” Quinn said. “I don’t know where it is or what it looks like or how he’s doing it but that’s the type of attitude we want to chase.”
High marks
The Commanders jumped from 32nd to 11th in the NFL Players’ Association’s annual report card, based on more than 1,600 player surveys across the league.
Quinn was happiest about the treatment of families score (B+), saying the families of everyone in the organization make sacrifices so they can do their role with the Commanders.
“So to have that right there – team travel – all those, to me, reflect back to (owner Josh Harris) and the vision of what it can be,” Quinn said. “I couldn’t be more proud to be part of it.”
Quinn himself was the highest-rated coach, and he was still talking about chasing improvement anyway. Play style and identity were his main priorities in year one.
Yet Quinn still wanted proof – results. Hope is one thing, Quinn said, and in the second half of the season, he saw hope turn into belief.
Washington
Washington Watch: CCAMPIS grant competition announced – Community College Daily
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), “on behalf of the Department of Education (ED),” on Monday released a Notice Inviting Grant Applications for the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program. Applications are due by May 29.
Last November, ED announced that it had entered into an interagency agreement with HHS to administer the CCAMPIS program. This is the first CCAMPIS competition conducted under this arrangement.
Approximately $73.5 million will go to institutions of higher education that awarded at least $250,000 in Pell grants to enrolled students in FY 2025. HHS will award about 148 grants, ranging from $150,000 to $1 million.
The terms of the grant competition are not significantly different than prior competitions. As before, there are two absolute grant priorities that every application must address – leveraging non-federal resources and utilizing a sliding-fee scale for low-income parents.
This year’s competition includes only one invitational priority that reflects the Trump administration’s general educational policy. The new priority, entitled “Expanding Education Choice in Early Learning Settings,” encourages applications that “expand access to education choice … including by empowering parents in choosing the early learning setting that best meets their family’s needs.” Flexible childcare programs that include drop-in care and care during nontraditional hours are also encouraged.
One other notable difference from prior competitions is an expanded “Terms and Conditions” section that not only requires compliance with applicable civil rights laws, but also refers to Trump administration Executive Orders and guidance on racial discrimination that clarify “the application of federal antidiscrimination laws to programs or initiatives that may involve discriminatory practices, including those labeled as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”) programs.” This includes any “discriminatory equity ideology [as defined in Executive Order 14190] in violation of a federal antidiscrimination law.”
The exact scope of these terms is unclear because courts have not found many of the practices described in these Executive Orders and guidance documents to be violations of federal law.
Washington
A look at the roots (and routes) of immigration to Washington
The Newsfeed
This week, the team brings you stories about how communities including Filipino immigrants, Sephardic Jews and Somalis arrived in the Pacific Northwest
Each week on The Newsfeed, host Paris Jackson and a team of veteran journalists dive deep into one topic and provide impactful reporting, interviews and community insights from sources you can trust. Each day this week, this post will be updated with a new story from the team.
Group hopes to boost recognition for Seattle’s Filipinotown
By Venice Buhain
The group Filipinotown Seattle hopes to make sure that the legacy of Filipino Americans in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District isn’t forgotten.
One of the group’s current projects is pushing for a Filipinotown placemarking sign in the CID.
“Filipino Americans have had a presence here for over 100 years in Seattle,” said Filipinotown Seattle Executive Director Devin Israel Cabanilla.
He said that the signage is important to remind people that “the International District is not just Chinatown. Japantown. Filipinotown is here as well.”
The group held a poll on what signage might look like and where it might be located. It would be similar to the Chinatown sign on South Jackson Street and Fifth Avenue South, or the Wing Luke Museum
In the early 20th century, the area now known as the CID was a hub full of businesses, entertainment, social groups and housing that served Seattle’s growing immigrant population from Asia and elsewhere. The communities all intermingled throughout the CID.
“This area was a central place for Asian Pacific immigrants simply because of segregation,” Cabanilla said.
Because the Philippines was a U.S. territory from 1898 to 1946, Filipino immigrants were unaffected by laws in the 1920s that restricted immigration from Japan or China. Many Filipinos came to study at the University of Washington or to work in burgeoning industries, like lumber, farming, canneries and factories.
While the physical Filipino presence in terms of buildings and storefronts in the CID dwindled in the later 20th century with redevelopment, Seattle Filipinos and Filipino Americans continued to make impacts locally, regionally and nationally.
“It may not have been in terms of storefronts, but our presence has always existed in terms of politics, culture as well,” Cabanilla said.
The Seattle Department of Transportation said it is aware that the group is working on its signage request, but the Department of Neighborhoods has not yet received a formal request. They are also working to develop a clearer process for this and other similar neighborhood signage proposals.
Filipinotown Seattle said it hopes that the sign helps remind Seattle of the CID’s unique designation as a neighborhood shaped by many immigrants and migrants to Seattle.
“Is it Chinatown? Is it Japantown? Is it Little Saigon? It’s all those things. And I think re cultivating that this is a multicultural district, Filipinotown is helping establish: Yes, it’s more than one thing,” Cabanilla said.

Venice Buhain is a multimedia journalist at Cascade PBS. She previously was the Cascade PBS’s associate news editor and education reporter. Venice has also worked for KING 5, The Seattle Globalist and TVW News.
Venice Buhain is a multimedia journalist at Cascade PBS. She previously was the Cascade PBS’s associate news editor and education reporter. Venice has also worked for KING 5, The Seattle Globalist and TVW News.
Washington
The Church of Jesus Christ has announced its 384th temple
The state of Washington is getting a seventh temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Marysville Washington Temple was announced Sunday night during a devotional in the Marysville Washington Stake by Elder Hugo E. Martinez, a General Authority Seventy in the church’s United States West Area Presidency.
“We are pleased to announce the construction of a temple in Marysville, Washington,” the First Presidency said in a statement. “The specific location and timing of the construction will be announced later. This is a reason for all of us to rejoice and express gratitude for such a significant blessing — one that will allow more frequent access to the ordinances, covenants and power that can only be found in the house of the Lord.”
The other temples in Washington are the Columbia River, Moses Lake, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma and Vancouver temples.
The church has 214 temples in operation. Plans for another 170 temples have been announced; many of those temples are in various stages of planning and construction.
Sunday’s temple announcement follows the new practice of the church’s First Presidency, which determines where temples will be built — and when and how they will be announced.
The First Presidency directed a General Authority Seventy to announce the first temple in Maine at a fireside there in December.
In January, church President Dallin H. Oaks said the Maine announcement set the pattern for future temple announcements.
“The best place to announce a temple is in that temple district,” he told the Deseret News.
The First Presidency will continue to decide where future temples will be built. It then will “assign someone else to make the announcement in the place where the temple will be built,” he said.
This pattern came to him as a strong impression after he assumed leadership of the church in October, following the death of his friend, President Russell M. Nelson.
This came as a strong impression to him shortly after he assumed the leadership of the church, President Oaks said.
The church remains in the midst of an aggressive temple-building era. President Nelson announced 200 new temples from 2018 to 2025. All but one were announced at general conference.
Five dozen temples are now under construction.
President Oaks now has overseen the announcement of two temples, neither at a general conference.
At the October conference he said that “with the large number of temples now in the very earliest phases of planning and construction, it is appropriate that we slow down the announcement of new temples.”
Ten new temples are scheduled to be dedicated in the next six months.
- May 3: Davao Philippines Temple.
- May 3: Lindon Utah Temple.
- May 31: Bacolod Philippines Temple.
- June 7: Yorba Linda California Temple.
- June 7: Willamette Valley Oregon Temple.
- Aug. 16: Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple.
- Aug. 16: Cleveland Ohio Temple.
- Aug. 30: Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple.
- Oct. 11: Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple.
- Oct. 18: Managua Nicaragua Temple.
Two-thirds of the 170 temples still to be built are outside the United States.
Temples are distinct from the meetinghouses where Latter-day Saints worship Jesus Christ each Sunday. Temples are closed on Sundays, but they open during the week as sanctuaries where church members go to find peace, make covenants with God and perform proxy ordinances for deceased relatives.
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