The Washington Commanders’ move to bench Nick Allegretti in Week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts was not just a lineup tweak. It was the clearest possible sign that their offseason plan up front had gone sideways, and general manager Adam Peters is the one left holding it.
Washington bet heavily on Allegretti, and that gamble has already unraveled. The Commanders did not have to release starting center Tyler Biadasz.
They did not have to stand pat after missing on prized free agent Tyler Linderbaum. They did not have to wait until the sixth round of the NFL Draft to address center.
And they certainly did not need to hand Allegretti a contract extension before any of it played out.
Peters did all of that anyway.
The result has been ugly. Washington opened the London game with Lucas Patrick at center and Matt Gulbin at right guard, and the first-year pro had the expected rough patches before settling in some.
Even so, the protection issues kept coming. Marcus Mariota was injured, and seventh-round pick Athan Kaliakmanis took several hard shots in his NFL debut.
That is not a workable setup, even if injuries to left tackle Laremy Tunsil and right guard Sam Cosmi explain part of the mess. The larger problem is that Washington did not do enough to fortify the offensive line, and that failure now sits squarely with Peters.
The warning signs were there. Allegretti missed the entire summer with a calf strain, but Peters still stayed the course.
He acted as if everything was fine. It wasn’t.
Signing Patrick shortly after that was the clearest hint that Peters had begun to rethink things, and pulling Allegretti out of the mix made the miscalculation impossible to ignore.
Allegretti is also under contract for one more season, which only adds to the sting.
When Cosmi returns - and the hope is that it happens sooner rather than later - Patrick should stay at center, Gulbin should slide back into a reserve role, and Allegretti should remain on the margins. That may help steady the unit, but it does not erase the poor process that got Washington here.
The belief that Allegretti could suddenly become a reliable lineman never made much sense. The Illinois product struggled in his first two seasons with Washington, had an uneven 2024 at left guard, and then was benched two games into the 2025 season after faltering at right guard. Peters still viewed him as the answer at center.
He wasn’t.
Washington moved on from him quickly enough to avoid dragging the mistake out, and the fact that the Commanders felt more comfortable throwing Gulbin into the fire against DeForest Buckner than trusting the veteran said plenty. This was a personnel miss, plain and simple, and it has already helped put two quarterbacks in harm’s way.
It also exposed the lack of a real backup plan after Biadasz was released and Linderbaum was missed.
If Peters gets another offseason in charge, and that appears likely, the pressure on him to fix the line in front of Jayden Daniels will be enormous. His job depends on it.
In Other News...
Commanders Got Pulled Into Jason Kelces Latest On-Air Awkward Moment
Jason Kelce found himself in another clumsy on-air moment during the NFL International Series game between the Commanders and the Colts, when he slipped and used Washingtons former team name. Dave Pasch quickly corrected him on the broadcast, keeping the moment from lingering too long, but it was the kind of live-TV stumble that instantly stands out when the whole audience catches it in real time.
Kelce has already had a few of these awkward broadcast miscues lately, including a separate slip on Monday Night Football when he referred to the Eagles as "we." For Washington fans, it was another reminder that even in a game with an overseas spotlight, the conversation can drift away from the action on the field and into the broadcast booth. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders London Game Suddenly Feels Very Different Before Colts Matchup
The Commanders trip to London just picked up a different kind of weight. What was already an unusual early kickoff against the Colts on Oct. 4 now has a new quarterback storyline attached to it, with Jayden Daniels sidelined and Marcus Mariota set to make the start. Washington is also carrying a mixed injury picture into the game, with Sam Cosmi and Nick Cross ruled out while Frankie Luvu and Chig Okonkwo are back in the fold.
For a team trying to keep its footing on an international stage, the ripple effects are hard to ignore. A morning kickoff alone can alter the feel of a game, but losing Daniels changes the way Washington will have to approach everything from protection to tempo against Indianapolis, even as a few injured pieces return to help stabilize the roster. The matchup still has plenty of intrigue, but it now looks like a very different kind of test for the Commanders. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Now Face A Brutal Problem Heading Into Division Games
The Commanders left London not just with a loss to the Colts, but with a deeper sense of urgency heading into the division stretch. Playing with third-string quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis after injuries sidelined Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota, Washington was already operating under difficult conditions before Indianapolis pulled away for a 30-13 win. Jonathan Taylor powered the Colts with two rushing touchdowns, and Daniel Jones added another on the ground even while his passing day never quite got going.
For Washington, the bigger concern is how thin the offense looked by the end of the trip. Wide receiver Jaylin Lane also exited with an ankle injury, adding another health issue to a unit that is suddenly scrambling for answers. With division games up next, the Commanders are facing a stretch where every missing piece matters, and the margin for error already looks painfully small. [Read more 🡒]