Jayden Daniels’ grip on the starting job in Washington is not up for debate. Marcus Mariota is still the backup. The real quarterback decision for the Commanders is happening much lower on the depth chart, where rookie Athan Kaliakmanis and Sam Hartman are set to fight for survival.
That battle is easy to miss because it sits behind the names that matter most on game day. But Washington made it matter when it used the No. 223 pick in April’s NFL Draft on Kaliakmanis, creating a direct challenge for Hartman and forcing the team to sort out who it wants developing behind Daniels.
Kaliakmanis arrives with a real college résumé. He made 42 starts, threw for 8,604 yards and 55 touchdowns, and finished his final season at Rutgers with career highs in completion percentage, passing yards and touchdowns. Even so, the rookie is still a work in progress, and his draft slot only gives him a shot - it does not hand him the job.
After the draft, Commanders assistant general manager Lance Newmark made it clear Kaliakmanis was not brought in just to be another body in camp.
Hartman has had a longer runway in Washington. The Commanders signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame in 2024, and he has spent the last two seasons as the developmental quarterback in the organization. He knows the building, knows plenty of the staff, and understands what the team expects over the course of an NFL season.
Still, that familiarity has not turned into security. Hartman has bounced through multiple roster moves and ended up back on the practice squad. He also did not lock down the QB3 spot last preseason, when he turned the finale into a rough night with three turnovers before Washington cut both him and Josh Johnson.
So while Hartman enters camp as the incumbent in the loosest possible sense, he is also learning a new system. Kaliakmanis, meanwhile, brings the appeal of a fresh investment and a quarterback with a lot of starting experience who could be developed without being rushed.
During minicamp, Hartman and Kaliakmanis split the depth work.
The deciding factor should be simple: who picks up offensive coordinator David Blough’s scheme better and who protects the football. That matters in camp, it matters in preseason, and it will likely decide which quarterback earns the organization’s next developmental slot.
Neither player is likely to make an immediate impact on the 53-man roster, and barring something going badly wrong, neither should see meaningful action this season. But the competition still matters because Washington is choosing who gets the next year of development - and who might be first in line to become Daniels’ long-term backup once Mariota is no longer there.
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For Washington, his departure fits the broader churn at receiver this offseason, with the room getting reshaped by additions such as Dyami Brown, Van Jefferson, Treylon Burks and Antonio Williams. Moore was not brought back after his contract expired, and his path back to Baltimore only underscores how quickly the margins can shift for a player trying to hold onto a spot in a crowded position group. [Read more 🡒]