Commanders 'Back It Off' at Training Camp Practice Following First Big Injury

After suffering the first significant injury of training camp on Wednesday the Washington Commanders came back with a lighter practice on Thursday.

ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Commanders took a little bit of a lighter pace at practice on Thursday, but they got important work done as they begin getting into game preparations in training camp. 

Unfortunately, the Commanders also got some bad news to start our notebook for Day 8 at training camp.

BAD NEWS BADA

Washington coach Ron Rivera revealed Thursday after practice that defensive lineman David Bada suffered a torn triceps muscle on Wednesday and will be evaluated to determine the extent of the injury and projected time missed.

It's the first significant injury of training camp and will cause Bada to miss time depending on the severity of it. 

A partially torn triceps muscle is significantly better to recover from than a full tear, so the upcoming diagnosis will be important to determine just how long Bada will be out.

LIGHT WORK

The Commanders had what we would describe as a 'jog through' on Thursday and while some onlookers may have felt the activity was a little less exciting than they'd like, there was certainly a method to the day's approach.

"We had a really good week last week, and then coming into this week (had) three hard days in a row and we thought we'd back it off a little bit today," Rivera said. "We'll have the pads back on tomorrow (and) we expect them to come back with a little bit more energy and a higher tempo practice for sure."

HOWELL WATCH DAY 8

While the work was a bit lighter on the player's bodies that doesn't mean it was easy on the mind. 

Coach Rivera also told us that new coordinator Eric Bieniemy has thrown a lot at the players to start camp and is happy to see the team adapting quickly to what he's brought in.

"He's not piecemealing it and he's not starting from the bottom - no, we're learning and we're learning quickly," Rivera said about his new coach and offense. "A big part of it is what we accomplished during OTAs and minicamp...Now coming into (training camp) the biggest thing was pick up where we left off, was the retention (and) they did a nice job coming back and practicing and playing at full speed."

Tight end Logan Thomas added after practice that the team got a good amount of work done today on concepts and plays they'll actually use in game situations, adding to the value of giving players' bodies a small reprieve during the grueling training camp run. 

We've got one more practice this week before a day off and then Washington will be into their first game-week schedule of camp. 

All leading up to the Commanders' first preseason contest next Friday against the Cleveland Browns.

Find David Harrison on the Locked On Commanders podcast or text him directly at (202) 760-2188.

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