The Washington Commanders did an about-face in the wrong direction last year. In their second season under General Manager Adam Peters and Coach Dan Quinn, they went from 12-5 to 5-12. All the injuries gave them a baked-in excuse, but an honest assessment revealed major changes were needed to the roster and coaching staff.
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The Commanders accomplished that in the offseason, but now it’s time to see whether they made the right moves. Here are five storylines to watch as Washington prepares to kick off its season against the Eagles on Sunday in Philadelphia.
Daniels missed 10 games last year because of various injuries, with the most significant being a dislocated elbow. While some of the plays where he got hurt were unavoidable, he clearly could have better protected himself. Too often, he attempted to keep a play alive as a passer or fight for extra yards as a runner and exposed himself to unnecessary hits.
“It kind of just left a bitter taste in my mouth,” Daniels said in July when asked about his injuries. “You just attack it with a different mindset, different approach to things.”
It’s always difficult to evaluate how quarterbacks perform in that area during training camp because they aren’t taking hits. And Daniels’s sample size in the preseason was too small — he played just three snaps — to draw conclusions. That will make the season opener the first opportunity to see Daniels’s decision-making with his body.
Even if Daniels is avoiding risky plays, he will be under duress this year if the O-line isn’t up to par. His best blocker — left tackle Laremy Tunsil — will miss most, if not all, of the season with a torn triceps. Daniels is also working with a new center in Nick Allegretti, who sat out most of training camp with a calf strain and doesn’t have much experience at the position. Plus, left guard Chris Paul had a shaky camp. To cap things off, the depth along the interior offensive line is questionable.
All that has made the offensive line a significant concern. Not only did the group struggle badly during Daniels’s brief preseason stint, but he also frequently had to use his legs to escape the pocket and maneuver around pressure during practices. He’s talented enough to make something happen on those plays, but that style is not conducive to him finding consistent success or staying upright. If the offensive line doesn’t improve, Peters may need to add a player or two.
One of the biggest gambles of the offseason for Washington was rolling with two first-time play callers in offensive coordinator David Blough and defensive coordinator Daronte Jones. Players and coaches alike have praised them for their communication and teaching skills.
“It was good to see the systems come to life offensively and defensively,” Quinn said last Monday. “I was very impressed with Daronte and David, their communication with the players. And that may seem simple, but I’m telling you, it’s not. And having the ability to teach, get the information exactly how you want it, and then get to it, it was excellent.”
Ultimately, what matters is how they perform on game days. Blough, 31, and Jones, 47, kept things vanilla from a schematic standpoint in joint practices and preseason games, which made it difficult to evaluate their respective approaches. That may give them a competitive advantage going into Week 1, but teams will eventually pick up on what they’re doing. It will be interesting to see how they handle that process.
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The reliability of the defense’s back end was already a question mark before cornerback Trey Amos was placed on injured reserve because of an ankle sprain. Now, they will have to go without their top corner for at least the first four games. They probably will insert Rasul Douglas, who performed well for the Miami Dolphins last year, into the starting lineup.
Mike Sainristil appears in line to start at nickelback. He began last season in that role but struggled mightily and was eventually moved outside because of a mix of performance and injury reasons. Washington is betting on his play improving within Jones’s scheme, but that’s not a guarantee.
There’s also an ongoing position battle at free safety. Jeremy Reaves was the starter for most of the offseason, but Quan Martin earned more snaps as camp went on. Both players gave up a lot of yardage in coverage last year and need to improve at limiting explosive plays.
When speaking to reporters in March, owner Josh Harris acknowledged that there’s a heightened sense of urgency for the Commanders coming off last season. That said, he reaffirmed his commitment to Peters and Quinn.
“Dan and Adam have my confidence. We’re solidly behind them,” Harris said. “No one was happy with last season, but we immediately got on it.”
There’s value in that, but the fact remains that Harris wants to see significant progress. Harris, who also owns the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils, hasn’t typically been one to make in-season changes at GM and coach as an owner. The only time he has done so came in 2019 with the Devils.
If Washington fails to make strides, however, it will lead to speculation about the job security of Peters and Quinn. It’s worth noting they aren’t necessarily linked: Teams have moved on from a GM while keeping the coach and vice versa. Obviously, the Commanders are hoping they won’t need to have that conversation, but the NFL is a results-based business.
“We had an amazing first year and a tougher second year, but we have a young quarterback that we have a lot of faith in,” Harris said. “Time’s a-wasting, and we got to get on it.”
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