Commanders quietly send draft pick packing after preseason catastrophe

The Washington Commanders' embarrassing loss to the New England Patriots was always going to come with some collateral damage attached. As it turned out, this was the final straw for general manager Adam Peters to give up on one of his draft selections for the first time. After the Commanders signed Duke Riley, Antonio Hamilton Sr., and Essang Bassey, others had to make way. Lucas Niang went to injured reserve, freeing up a spot. But the team needed two more. Washington confirmed that Dominique Hampton was one of their sacrificial lambs. Last year's fifth-round selection never looked capable of meeting the required standards. And now, the Commanders have thrown in the towel on this experiment way ahead of time. Hampton came into the Commanders as a safety. He played a role in spearheading the Washington Huskies to the college football national championship game in 2023, which was enough for Peters to take the plunge at No. 161 overall selection last spring. It didn't take long to figure out that Hampton wasn