With the regular season just 10 days away, the Commanders are getting healthier at the right time - even if the roster still isn’t fully whole.
Washington opens the 2026 NFL season on the road against NFC East opponents Philadelphia and Dallas, a brutal way to start. That makes the health of the lineup especially important, and the biggest blow remains clear: left tackle Laremy Tunsil is out with a torn triceps, while defensive tackle Johnny Newton is sidelined with a torn pec.
Tunsil’s absence is the one Washington can’t really patch over. He’s one of the NFL’s best at his spot and, as the source noted, a Hall-of-Fame talent.
The Commanders do have a fallback plan in Brandon Coleman, though. Losing Tunsil moves Coleman off left guard, but the third-year lineman has already handled left tackle duties before.
He started there during Washington’s 12-5 2024 season and also made three starts in Philadelphia - two as a rookie and one more last season.
Beyond those injuries, the trend has been encouraging. Over the last few days, several players have worked back into practice, including Daron Payne, Marcus Mariota, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, K’Lavon Chaisson and others. Croskey-Merritt and Chaisson were both back for the past two days, and Dan Quinn offered a positive read on where they stand before the team headed into a long weekend.
“They can get ready, and you do a lot of conditioning, you know, as part of the return to play,” Quinn said. “Is it the same as football play?
No. So that’s why, even in limited work, sometimes a guy may take limited reps and individual work, part of that practice hard.
And that was the case with KC [Chaisson] and with Bill [RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt]. I like where they’re at heading into next week.”
That’s also encouraging for Washington’s top offseason addition, edge rusher Odafe Oweh. He’s been dealing with a calf injury that has kept him off the practice field at times over the last couple of weeks, but Quinn sounded optimistic about the progress.
“And so same with Oweh, he made good progress. He’ll be back into the fold with us next week, reps in practice and all that.
He hit all the markers we wanted to hit. So, I’m excited for the group to get together.
It’s challenging, for sure, because there’s timing that goes with it. There’s movements, but it’s nice to see that.”
Quinn was more cautious when asked whether Oweh will be ready for the Eagles in Week 1.
“I’ll take it when I get through. I’d rather comment on that after he goes through some of the practices.”
Washington now has four days off before returning to Ashburn for a normal regular-season practice week, giving Oweh more time to rest and rehab. With two division games waiting right out of the gate, the Commanders need as many players available as possible to avoid a sluggish start.
In Other News...
Commanders Kicking Battle Just Brought A Tough Roster Decision
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Moody has since landed on the Baltimore Ravens practice squad, while Stevens is left to savor a path that once began as a preferred walk-on in college. For a young specialist, making an NFL roster is a hard climb under any circumstances, and Stevens described the moment as a chance he is grateful to have, even as the real test of his NFL future is only beginning. [Read more 🡒]
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What makes the evaluation interesting is that this does not look like a class destined for one simple label. Some of the rookies appear better suited to immediate contributions, while others may need more time before they fit into the regular-season plan, and those distinctions can shift quickly once the games start counting. For Washington, the Week 1 picture is still taking shape, and the rookies are pushing to make it a tougher decision than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Already Face A Week 1 Overreaction Nobody Needed
With Week 1 still ahead of them, the Commanders are already getting hit with the kind of sweeping judgments that can make an entire season feel decided before it starts. Several national voices have penciled Washington in last place in the NFC East for 2026, leaning on worries about left tackle Laremy Tunsils injury and questions about both lines, while also pointing to a defense that has yet to prove itself in its new form.
It is a little early for verdicts on a unit that added real resources on defense and brought in coordinator Daronte Jones to reshape that side of the ball. The offensive line has new pieces and needs time to come together, and the pressure only grows from there because head coach Dan Quinn is being viewed through the lens of a fast start or a fast decline, which makes every early prediction feel a lot louder than it should be. [Read more 🡒]