One day after Washington trimmed its roster to 53, Adam Peters and Dan Quinn faced the obvious questions. The Commanders’ injury situation and the offensive line were front and center, and Quinn’s answer on the center spot stood out more than the rest.
The center battle has hovered over Washington since February, when the team surprisingly moved on from two-year starter Tyler Biadasz. The Commanders were also reported to have pursued Tyler Linderbaum in free agency before settling on veteran Nick Allegretti to handle the job.
That plan took a hit on the first day of training camp, when Allegretti left practice injured. From there, Washington leaned on veteran Julian Good-Jones and rookie sixth-round pick Matt Gulbin. Between them, they entered camp with only two career NFL snaps.
The results were predictably rough. Good-Jones struggled in practice, had issues in the joint session with the Baltimore Ravens, and also had a difficult preseason game against Detroit.
So when Quinn was asked why Good-Jones was getting so many reps at center with Jayden Daniels so late in camp, the question landed squarely.
Quinn’s response was:
“Well, first I’d say, Julian definitely deserved the shot to go compete for it. That was, first and foremost of being here, going through it.
And so, although it may not, like Matt got practice reps as well with Jayden. So, we got a chance to see that and evaluate him into that and who he was going against.
I understand your question, but Nick, Julian, Matt, they’re all gonna get their looks at it to go. But you do have to give a shot to go do it too.”
It was a fair question, because Washington’s handling of the position has been questionable all offseason. Once Allegretti got hurt, the Commanders had to wonder how long he’d be out. The answer kept changing - first a week, then two weeks - before he later reaggravated the injury.
Meanwhile, Peters had chances all offseason to add an experienced center and at least create some competition or insurance behind Allegretti. He didn’t do it.
Laremy Tunsil’s torn triceps only made the issue look bigger. Washington knew what it had in Good-Jones, and the setup left both him and Gulbin in a tough spot. If the team was going to stay that committed to avoiding outside help, the argument for giving Gulbin more work with Daniels becomes even stronger.
For Peters and Quinn, the whole thing comes back to Allegretti. If he holds up, the conversation fades fast. If he doesn’t, or if the injury pops up again, Washington will be stuck revisiting the decision to let Biadasz go and pass on veteran help.
And there’s another layer here: Quinn may not be the one driving every one of these calls.
In Other News...
Jayden Daniels Footage Has Commanders Fans Wondering How Good He Really Looks
Jayden Daniels is headed into the 2026 season in a much better place physically than he was a year ago, when injuries interrupted his 2025 campaign and made health part of every conversation around the Washington quarterback. Now fully healthy, Daniels has been back in training camp and working with center Nick Allegretti, part of a summer in which the Commanders have tried to get him ramped up without pushing too hard too soon.
Still, leaked practice footage has given fans a fresh reason to squint at the details, with Daniels body language drawing public scrutiny online. Dan Quinn has said the quarterback has progressed faster than expected in camp, but the team has also been careful about managing his preseason workload, a balancing act that makes every rep feel a little more important than usual as Washington tries to get its franchise passer ready for opening day. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Get Needed Relief As Week 1 Line Concerns Grow
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Nick Allegretti, Ben Sinnott and Daron Payne all returned to practice after dealing with injuries, which gave the staff a little more optimism as Week 1 approaches. Allegrettis situation is one to watch most closely, though the team has remained confident in him even with limited training camp reps, a reminder that the early-season health ledger still has a few important lines left to settle. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Pass Rush Now Rests On One Expensive Gamble
The Commanders are leaning hard into their pass rush this season, and the biggest swing came with Odafe Oweh arriving on a four-year, $96 million deal to help fill the void left by Von Miller. Owehs recent track record has been uneven, but he did finish strongly with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2025, which is part of why theres real optimism around his upside. Some analysts even see him landing among the leagues sack leaders if everything clicks.
Washington did not stop there, either, bringing in KLavon Chaisson to add another edge presence and give the front more ways to chase quarterbacks. It is a setup built on talent and projection, though, and the Commanders are clearly betting that at least one of these additions can turn promise into dependable production when the pressure is on. [Read more 🡒]