Sammis Reyes bought his own this offseason and keeps it in the trunk of his car. Terry McLaurin, Dax Milne and Benjamin St-Juste all visit with it when they want to tune up their hands. And Tress Way both appreciates it, yet is also a tad vindictive towards it.
Though it may not be as omnipresent at Washington Commanders training camp as the club's new helmets, the eight goalposts that reside at the end of the four practice fields or the shrill whistles blown to signal the conclusion of each live play, the JUGS machine is a daily fixture during and after the team's summer practices.
Originally developed in the 1970s to help baseball hitters looking to hone their swing against lifelike pitching — the name, in fact, comes from the phrase "jug-handle curve," as the apparatus was revolutionary for its ability to spit out off-speed pitches in addition to fastballs — the JUGS has since become a staple in football, too.
Multiple Commanders recently described to NBC Sports Washington their typical routines when they deem that it's time to put in work with the quasi-quarterback.
"I try to hit JUGS once a week or when I just feel like I'm really trying to get back into my fundamentals of catching the football, catching the ball with my eyes," McLaurin said. "A lot of the times when you drop a ball, it's because you didn't follow the ball all the way from the catch to the tuck with your eyes. So I'm really just trying to train those mechanics when I'm catching on the JUGS machine."
"It’s usually something I try to do every day, especially on days that I don’t necessarily get a lot of balls during team," Milne said. "I can’t control that, but what I can control is, after practice, I can get as many balls as I want... I like to get back angles, one-handers, stuff that makes it a little more game-like."
"I do different drills than receivers," St-Juste said. "Receivers are standing there and catching it. I try to move and go in and out of breaks because that’s how the football is going to come to me."
It's Reyes, though, who's literally the most invested when it comes to the JUGS, seeing as he purchased one to help him grow as a receiving tight end heading into his second year. It sounds like the two really got to know one another in rapid fashion.
"I probably got over 10,000 catches this offseason, so that was great," he said.
Hall of Fame wideout Cris Carter is credited with being one of the earliest to gel with the JUGS on the NFL side, and nowadays, there are JUGS products to assist in the development of athletes in lacrosse, soccer, field hockey, cricket and pickleball. Multiple football versions are available, with the cheapest currently going for $3,295 online.
Perhaps the best selling point is the simple nature of the machine. As intern Clyde Williams, one of the operators of the franchise's JUGS, explained, there's basically just one rule to follow when behind the wheels.
"Just make sure the ball’s coming out the right away, laces up and that’s really it," Williams said.
With no disrespect to Williams, who made his debut behind the equipment following Saturday's session and immediately gave himself a 10 on a 1-10 performance scale, Reyes has more chemistry with someone else.
"My girlfriend Nicole... she’s the number one JUGS thrower in the country," Reyes said. "She was out there in the heat with me, every day, with bugs and flies going into her face. That’s why I love her because she took the time to do it with me."
The JUGS doesn't just assist pass catchers as well as defenders, however. Washington's special teams' returners can also make use of it as it's able to launch footballs in a manner that replicates a booming kickoff or high-flying punt.
Thanks to that, Tress Way is leery of it, despite his assessment that the JUGS is, at most, 85% as powerful as he is.
"I call it man vs. machine," the Pro Bowl punter said when asked about his relationship with the aid.
Way believes his advantage over the JUGS is that it "lacks the human factor." When it's windy, for example, Way understands how to adjust, whereas his inanimate counterpart "just shoots a ball in a spiral."
But that edge doesn't prevent him from toying with it when special teams coach Nate Kaczor is paying attention to something else.
"If it’s showing me up, I sabotage it just a smidge," Way admitted.
As long as Way doesn't get too destructive, every Commander will continue to have the chance to take their turn with the JUGS, as a couple of them are always rolled out onto the grass when the day's action at the organization's facility wraps up.
The machine may not deliver passes that are exactly like Carson Wentz's and it definitely doesn't scramble around like Taylor Heinicke, but the hope is that it does make Washington's offense better for the regular season, even if only slightly.
"I really try to train," McLaurin said. "So then, when you get into these games... it becomes more like a habit."
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A look at how Commanders players make use of a camp staple: The JUGS machine - NBC Sports
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