Luke McCaffrey’s path with the Washington Commanders is looking shakier by the week, and Sunday’s season opener did nothing to steady it.
Washington took the Philadelphia Eagles to the wire on the road, with the game hanging on a botched late two-point conversion attempt. The Commanders had plenty to feel good about from some of their young players, especially third-round rookie Antonio Williams, who led the team with 64 receiving yards and scored the late touchdown that set up the final play.
McCaffrey, meanwhile, was nowhere to be found on game day. He was a healthy scratch.
That’s a rough spot for a player who entered the season with hopes of building on the progress he showed before a broken collarbone cut short his sophomore campaign. McCaffrey had been viewed as a roster lock because of that development and because of what he brings as a kick returner, but Washington went with only five active wide receivers against the Eagles, with Treylon Burks also inactive.
The special teams picture didn’t help his case either. Second-year ace Jaylin Lane handled both punts and kicks, while Dyami Brown is clearly sitting ahead of McCaffrey in the pecking order.
For a player Washington expected to take a real step forward this year, that’s a brutal opening to the season.
When the Commanders picked McCaffrey No. 100 overall in 2024, the message was patience. He had switched from quarterback to receiver only two years earlier, and the expectation was that he would need two to three years to fully settle in. Now, in Year 3, his role has gone the other way.
The arrivals of Williams and Stefon Diggs have pushed him down the depth chart to what looks like sixth or seventh on the receiver list. Unless injuries open a door ahead of him - something no team wants to rely on - McCaffrey is going to have a hard time finding snaps.
That’s why this feels less like a temporary bump and more like a player being squeezed by circumstance. If last season hadn’t ended early because of the collarbone injury, McCaffrey might have entered this year with a firmer grip on a rotational role. Instead, he’s spending the opening stretch on the sideline.
At this point, there are no guarantees he gets another real shot in Washington. And if the right offer comes before the trade deadline, general manager Adam Peters may have to think seriously about it.
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Jayden Daniels helped fuel a late rally that made the finish tense, but Washington could not finish the comeback after the Eagles stuffed the two-point conversion attempt that would have tied it. For the Commanders, the loss still comes with a small bit of encouragement in Owens' hustle play, the kind of snap that can stick with a coaching staff even when the final score does not. [Read more 🡒]
Stefon Diggs First Commanders TD Came With A Costly Twist
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