The Washington Commanders are heading into Sunday’s NFC East showdown with the Dallas Cowboys missing one of the new pieces they expected to lean on early.
Tight end Chig Okonkwo has been ruled out with a hamstring injury, a setback that leaves Jayden Daniels without one of his offseason additions as Washington tries to respond to its Week 1 loss to Philadelphia.
Okonkwo picked up the injury in Washington’s 24-22 defeat to the Eagles and never made it back onto the field after leaving in the third quarter. He finished with two catches for 16 yards on three targets.
The absence stings even more because of what the Commanders had planned for him. Washington signed Okonkwo to a three-year, $27 million deal in the offseason and put him in position as the starting tight end, expecting him to become a meaningful part of Daniels’ passing game.
His availability faded quickly during the week. Okonkwo did not practice Wednesday or Thursday, then sat out Friday as well before head coach Dan Quinn confirmed he would not play against Dallas.
With Okonkwo out, John Bates and Ben Sinnott are expected to pick up more of the workload at tight end.
The matchup itself makes the loss harder to absorb. Dallas was exposed by tight ends in Week 1, with New York’s Isaiah Likely catching all eight of his targets for 78 yards and two touchdowns in the Giants’ 28-20 win. Likely was a major factor in the Cowboys’ trouble slowing down the passing game, especially near the goal line.
Washington still has Terry McLaurin, Stefon Diggs and other weapons for Daniels to work with, but losing the starting tight end takes away another option that could have stressed the Dallas defense.
For a Commanders team trying to avoid an 0-2 start, Okonkwo’s absence is a real hit entering a divisional game where every chance figures to matter.
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