Biggest winner and loser from Day 1 of Commanders training camp

Washington Commanders training camp is officially underway in Ashburn. Day 1 of practice took place on Wednesday and Ron Rivera kept it relatively light. Fans can expect the intensity to ramp up as the days goes by. No sense risking injury by having players hit the ground running after they had a month off.

Despite that, there were plenty of reasons to get excited. Carson Wentz and Terry McLaurin connected on the field for the first time (in a legit setting) as teammates. Though injured, it was nice to see Chase Young after he spent most of the offseason rehabbing his surgically-repaired knee.

In a vacuum, Ron Rivera was pleased with the team’s performance. Positivity reigns supreme on Day 1 of camp, but there were unfortunately some players who didn’t cover themselves in glory in the practice open to the media.

With that in mind, let’s highlight the biggest winner and loser from Wednesday’s session. Important to note this isn’t an overreaction or indictment on these players. We’re merely making observations after Day 1.

1 winner and 1 loser from Day 1 of Commanders training camp

Biggest winner: Brian Robinson Jr. 

With Antonio Gibson relegated to the side field as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury that limited him in minicamp, Robinson worked exclusively with the first-team and took full  advantage of the opportunity.

The third-round pick of out of Alabama ripped off some impressive runs and will seemingly only get better as his confidence grows with more reps … and the early indicators are Rivera has no intention of putting Gibson in harm’s way.

Speaking of Rivera, the Commanders’ head coach spoke glowingly of Robinson’s first day of practice while addressing the media.

"“He’s a big, strong, powerful downhill runner, more so than anything else,” Rivera said of Robinson. “He does have a little bit shake to him. … Antonio is a little more elusive guy more off the edge, where with Brian, we can take it inside, or we can take it off the edge.”"

It was indeed a big day for the Commanders rookie.

Honorable mentions: Montez Sweat and Benjamin St-Juste

Biggest loser: Cam Sims

No, this isn’t to say Sims’ roster spot is in jeopardy, but the 26-year-old receiver endured a rough start to camp on Wednesday.

Essentially, Sims was the target of two passes that were broken up by defenders. The first came at the hands of St-Juste, who dislodged the ball from Sims‘ grasp just as the wideout was about to step out of bounds to complete the play.

The second came at the hands of Darrick Forrest, who stuck with Sims on a deep ball from Taylor Heinicke and forced an incompletion.

Were these great plays from St-Juste and Forrest? No doubt, but they were just as disappointing from Sims, who needs to be more sure-handed moving forward if he wants to convince the staff his roster spot is secure. Luckily for the fifth-year pro, there’s plenty of time for that to be accomplished.