ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — The Washington Commanders’ seventh training camp practice, all without hold-in wide receiver Terry McLaurin, occurred during another punishing wave of summer heat.
The kind that can make a day feel much longer.
Jayden Daniels did not appreciate a calendar reality check.
“It’s only been a week?” the quarterback said .
Washington’s fans know all about time moving slowly and the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year’s arrival last season allowed them to quickly re-engage. The Commanders' stunning 2024 season culminated in the franchise’s first NFC championship game appearance since the 1991 season.
One fan brought a handmade sign to Thursday’s practice that summed up the mood shift across the fan base: “Thank you #5 Jayden for making it fun again to be a fan.”
Expectations are high thanks to the electric playmaker. To stay in contention, Daniels needs to build chemistry with a revamped receiver group — especially since McLaurin has yet to practice while in a contract standoff. Later Thursday, two people with knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press that McLaurin had asked the Commanders to trade him.
Deebo Samuel, acquired this offseason for a 2025 fifth-round pick, already looks in sync with Daniels. The veteran receiver has made a big play in nearly every session, whether on a deep shot — such as Thursday’s corner-of-the-end-zone pass — or a crossing route where he turns a short pass into a longer gain.
Film study and practice reps help with timing. But Daniels also values building trust beyond the playbook.
“I try to connect with each and every guy in the locker room,” said Daniels, who has become more vocal entering Year 2. “That’s where it all starts. Once you start with that, then you’re able to move on to the field — get to know how the guy works, what type of person he is.”
Samuel, 29, had 1,405 yards and 77 receptions in 2021. He hasn’t topped 60 catches or 900 yards since, slowed by injuries and inconsistency. But his confidence hasn’t dipped.
“I still got a lot in the tank,” Samuel said.
Having Daniels throwing him the ball helps.
“It’s real fun,” Samuel said. “It’s real fun.”
The admiration runs both ways.
“The guy is a pro, and he works hard,” Daniels said. “I just go out there and try to communicate, ‘This is what I want versus this look, versus this coverage.’ And he goes out there, puts in the work, and understands it.”
Fourth-rounder Jaylin Lane is another wide receiver thriving in camp, and Daniels has maintained his red zone connection with tight end Zach Ertz.
Dan Quinn sees another difference. The second-year Commanders coach praised Daniels for becoming more assertive. Quinn highlighted a post-play conversation with tight end Ben Sinnott after a blitz-beating throw.
“The communication’s the main thing,” Quinn said. “If you see it, say it.”
That communication doesn’t extend to the field with McLaurin at the moment. The veteran wideout reported to camp Sunday after skipping the first four practices and parts of the offseason program. He remains on the physically unable to perform list with an ankle injury.
Speaking before news broke of McLaurin's trade request, Daniels — who formed one of the league’s most successful passing combos with McLaurin last season — wasn’t sweating the timeline.
“I know that time will come,” he said of McLaurin eventually rejoining the offense. “Till then, if that’s us getting in the film room and just talking ... we always talk. We talk ball. We talk life. So nothing’s changed at all.”
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Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin walks across the field after a practice at the team's NFL football training camp, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Ashburn, Va. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin walks across the field after a practice at the team's NFL football training camp, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Ashburn, Va. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) takes a water break during practice at the team's NFL football training camp, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Ashburn, Va. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
NEW YORK (AP) — Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City on Thursday, taking over one of the most unrelenting jobs in American politics with a promise to transform government on behalf of the city's striving, struggling working class.
Mamdani, a Democrat, was sworn in at a decommissioned subway station below City Hall just after midnight, placing his hand on a Quran as he took his oath as the city's first Muslim mayor.
After working part of the night in his new office, Mamdani then returned to City Hall in a taxi cab around midday Thursday for a grander public inauguration where U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of the mayor’s political heroes, administered the oath for a second time.
“Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed, but never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try,” Mamdani told a cheering crowd.
“To those who insist that the era of big government is over, hear me when I say this: No longer will City Hall hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers' lives," he said.
Throngs turned out in the frigid cold for an inauguration viewing party just south of City Hall on a stretch of Broadway known as the “Canyon of Heroes,” famous for its ticker-tape parades.
Throughout the ceremony, speakers hit on the theme that carried Mamdani to victory in the election: Devotion to using government power to lift up the millions of people who struggle with the city's high cost of living.
Sanders insisted that doing so — partly by raising taxes on the rich — wouldn't be radical.
“In the richest country in the history of the world, making sure that people can live in affordable housing is not radical,” he told the crowd. “It is the right and decent thing to do.”
In opening remarks, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Mamdani would be a mayor dedicated to the working class.
“It is the people of New York who have chosen historic, ambitious leadership in response to untenable and unprecedented times. New York, we have chosen courage over fear. We have chosen prosperity for the many over spoils for the few," she said.
Mamdani was accompanied on the stage by his wife, Rama Duwaji. The previous mayor, Eric Adams, was in attendance, sitting near another former mayor, Bill de Blasio.
Actor Mandy Patinkin, who recently hosted Mamdani to celebrate Hannukah, sang “Over the Rainbow” with children from an elementary school chorus. The invocation was given by Imam Khalid Latif, the director of the Islamic Center of New York City. Poet Cornelius Eady read an original poem called “Proof."
In addition to being the city's first Muslim mayor, Mamdani is also its first of South Asian descent and the first to be born in Africa. At 34, Mamdani is also the city’s youngest mayor in generations.
In a campaign that helped make “affordability” a buzzword across the political spectrum, the democratic socialist promised to bring transformative change with policies intended to lower the cost of living in one of the world’s most expensive cities. His platform included free child care, free buses, a rent freeze for about 1 million households, and a pilot of city-run grocery stores.
But he will also have to face other responsibilities: handling trash and snow and rats, while getting blamed for subway delays and potholes.
Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, an academic and author. His family moved to New York City when he was 7, with Mamdani growing up in a post-9/11 city where Muslims didn’t always feel welcome. He became an American citizen in 2018.
He worked on political campaigns for Democratic candidates in the city before he sought public office himself, winning a state Assembly seat in 2020 to represent a section of Queens.
Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, are departing their one-bedroom, rent stabilized apartment in the outer-borough to take up residence in the stately mayoral residence in Manhattan.
Mamdani inherits a city on the upswing, after years of slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Violent crime has dropped to pre-pandemic lows. Tourists are back. Unemployment, which soared during the pandemic years, is also back to pre-COVID levels.
Yet deep concerns remain about high prices and rising rents in the city.
He’ll also have to deal with Republican President Donald Trump.
During the mayoral race, Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from the city if Mamdani won and mused about sending National Guard troops to the city.
But Trump surprised supporters and foes alike by inviting the Democrat to the White House for what ended up being a cordial meeting in November.
“I want him to do a great job and will help him do a great job,” Trump said.
Still, tensions between the two leaders are almost certain to resurface, given their deep policy disagreements, particularly over immigration.
Several speakers at Thursday's inauguration criticized the Trump administration's move to deport more immigrants and expressed hope that Mamdani's City Hall would be an ally to those the president has targeted.
Mamdani also faces skepticism and opposition from some members of the city’s Jewish community over his criticisms of Israel’s government.
The new mayor and his team have spent the weeks since his election victory preparing for the transition, surrounding Mamdani with seasoned hands who have worked inside or alongside city government.
That included persuading the city’s police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, to remain in her position — a move that helped calm fears in the business community that the administration might be planning radical changes in policing strategy.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, center, arrives with his wife Rama Duwaji for a swearing-in ceremony, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in New York. (Amir Hamja/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
People wait in the cold near City Hall before Zohran Mamdani's inauguration as mayor on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
Mayor Zohran Mamdani reacts after arriving for his swearing-in ceremony as Rama Duwaji looks on, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., right, greets New York Attorney General Letitia James before the swearing-in ceremony for Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, left, and his wife Rama Duwaji, arrive for Mamdani's public swearing-in ceremony on the steps of City Hall, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
New York Attorney General Letitia James, left, prepare to administer the oath of office to mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani takes the oath of office during a swearing-in ceremony in the Old City Hall subway station, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Zohran Mamdani reacts after being sworn in as mayor of New York inside the the Old City Hall subway station, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks after taking the oath of office, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Attorney General Letitia James left, prepares to administer the oath of office to mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani as Rama Duwaji, looks on, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, center, arrives with his wife Rama Duwaji for a swearing-in ceremony, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Attorney General Letitia James, left, administers the oath of office to mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, center, as his wife Rama Duwaji looks on, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
