Time is getting short for the Commanders at center, and the problem is impossible to ignore.
With a road opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, a matchup with the Dallas Cowboys, and then a Week 3 home game against defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle, Washington does not have much room for trial and error. The Seahawks’ defensive line, after all, was dominant enough in last year’s Super Bowl to make the point obvious.
Julian Good-Jones has already had his shot, and the results weren’t encouraging. He has only one regular-season NFL game on his resume at age 29, and the Commanders have seen enough to know he is not the answer at center.
Nick Allegretti’s situation only adds to the urgency. He was hurt on the first day of the 2026 training camp, came back last week, and then couldn’t finish practice after straining the same calf again. At this point, the question is whether Washington should simply keep him off the calf until the week before the opener.
If Allegretti needs that much time to get ready, the Commanders may have to make the call now and move rookie Mat Gulbin into the job. Gulbin, a Michigan State product taken at No. 209, may be a rookie, but the team already knows Good-Jones is not a viable option at center.
That leaves another possibility: releasing Good-Jones and signing a veteran who is still out there and has real experience. Short of that, the work at center should go to Gulbin and Trey Hill, especially in Wednesday’s scrimmage against the Ravens and Friday’s preseason game, also against the Ravens.
Hill is a little more complicated, but his path is clear enough. He did not play in a game in 2025, yet he has been around.
The Bengals drafted him in 2021 at No. 190, he played for them from 2021 to 2023, and by 2024 he was on their practice squad. After being released, he was picked up by the Packers and then let go during the roster cutdown to 53.
The Bears signed him to their practice squad, where he spent the entire 2025 season.
The Titans signed Hill in January and released him in June, and the Commanders added him on August 2. So while he wasn’t on an active roster last season, he has stayed in circulation and working. Washington needs to see what it has in Hill and Gulbin at center.
Daniel Brunskill is also in the mix. He is 32 years old, listed at 260 pounds, and has some center experience.
In Other News...
Commanders Suddenly Have Trade Candidates As Final Cuts Close In
Adam Peters is coming up on one of the busiest stretches of the preseason, with the Commanders needing to trim their roster from 90 players to 53 by the deadline. As Washington sorts through a few crowded position groups, the front office has some tougher calls than usual, and a handful of players who may not fit the final picture are suddenly part of the conversation.
Treylon Burks and Jordan Magee are among the names worth watching as the Commanders weigh whether to keep depth, deal from it or simply move on. In a league where every roster spot matters, Washington appears open to finding value wherever it can before the final cuts hit, which makes these next few days more than just a formality. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Safety Decision Already Looks Worse Than Fans Feared
A preseason miscue was enough to push Will Harris to the edge, and the Commanders ended up cutting ties with the veteran safety after a performance that had already been raising concerns behind the scenes. Washington still has other options in the secondary it believes are better fits, so the move also gives the front office some salary-cap relief while it reshapes the back end of the defense.
Harris had one year left on his contract, which is what makes the decision feel like more than a routine roster churn move. The bigger question now is whether his time in Washington is simply over or whether he can land somewhere else and prove the Commanders moved on faster than they needed to, especially with the starting job conversation already looking shaky before the release. [Read more 🡒]
Jayden Daniels Is Taking Washingtons Offense Into A Dangerous New Phase
The Commanders have spent this preseason pushing their offense into a more demanding and less predictable shape, with Jayden Daniels taking on more control at the line and more responsibility for steering the operation before the snap. The idea is to get beyond a tightly scripted approach and let the quarterback use his football IQ and passing ability to create answers in real time, while the rest of the skill group stays sharp enough to keep pace with what the defense is showing.
It is the kind of shift that can make an offense harder to defend, but only if everyone around Daniels is ready for the same level of detail. Washington is still working through issues up front, and the addition of Stefon Diggs gives the unit another piece to deploy as it tries to become more versatile and more dangerous. For now, the bigger question is how quickly all those moving parts can mesh once the games start to matter. [Read more 🡒]