Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris attended the NFL Combine for the first time since he became the team's owner last July. But he got a bit more involved than just stopping by. The new owner sat in with meetings that general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn had with six of the 2024 NFL Draft's top quarterbacks.
So that means Harris got to see how Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, J.J. McCarthy, Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. fared in their conversations with the team.
But, according to the Washington Post's Sam Fortier, Harris was there just to observe rather than ask questions and Peters, Quinn and assistant general manager Lance Newmark (among others) led the interviews.
"I am surprised," Kevin Sheehan said to begin the conversation of Harris at the Combine. "I am surprised that if this is an unusual thing – for owners to be in attendance and to be a part of the interview process – I'm surprised Josh Harris is there."
But is it a concern or a red flag?
Harris spoke a lot during his tenure of a collaborative process, but that he would let the football people – who he hired and empowered – make the football decisions for his football team.
"You create the perception that you are hovering by being there," Sheehan said, adding that due to the history of the previous owner, he hopes Harris was at least made aware of the notion that fans would "have flashbacks" to Dan Snyder "being very involved and very meddlesome, intrusive and influencing on decisions."
But, unless we see Harris on the sideline holding a stopwatch, this shouldn't be a huge sign of concern and Sheehan does not view this as a red flag for the new ownership group.
For Sheehan, because this is a huge important pick – the No. 2 overall selection – and the team is likely to take a quarterback – a hugely important position that could have huge ramifications – and a front office that is led by a first-time general manager – "I think I'd be there, too," he said.
Listen to the full conversation from the Kevin Sheehan Show on the audio player above!