Tight End · Washington Commanders

John Bates

No. 87 · 6th season

John Bates goes down at the first training camp practice open to fans

The Washington Commanders opened training camp to fans for the first time, and the crowd got a reminder that this sport doesn't slow down for occasion. John Bates, the team's tight end, left practice with a hamstring injury. A few weeks on the sideline is the early word.

Bates has been a quiet, reliable piece of what Washington is building at tight end — not a name that draws highlight packages, but the kind of player a coaching staff notices when he's not there. Head coach Dan Quinn addressed the injury after practice, which tells you it wasn't a footnote.

Hamstring injuries have a way of lingering when pushed. A few weeks in training camp is a real chunk of time to miss — not a season, but enough to affect how a player enters the year and how much work they get before the games count.

The fans who made it out to watch got a lot of what training camp promises: competition, energy, a team taking shape. They also got what training camp always delivers eventually. Someone walks off the field and doesn't come back that day.

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