Washington must trim its roster to 53 players by Sunday.
The Washington Commanders’ roster is largely set. There aren’t any starting jobs up for grabs, and even most of the backup spots are taken.
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There are a few areas, however, that remain in question. The Commanders have until 4 p.m. Sunday to make those decisions and trim the roster to 53 players.
General Manager Adam Peters and Coach Dan Quinn have a couple major opportunities to help draw conclusions: a joint practice with the Ravens on Wednesday in Baltimore, followed by those teams’ meeting to conclude the preseason Friday.
Here are five roster battles to watch during the final week of training camp:
Julian Good-Jones had this role locked down for most of training camp, but his play has declined sharply. In response, rookie Matt Gulbin will receive more snaps in practice and the game this week.
Starter Nick Allegretti remains sidelined with a calf strain. Given the unclear timeline for his return, the winner of this battle could be the starting center in Week 1.
“With both of them, I feel good [about their] knowledge of the system,” Quinn said Monday. “Julian’s somebody that’s been here to work and put in, so I felt his strength there. I want to see really good protection in the middle of the line, especially blitz stunts, and we’ll get a good look at that.
“Our defense does it. Baltimore does it. So, between Wednesday and Friday, those are two more nice chances to get some good looks. [The] good news for us [is] both of them are heady, smart players.”
Five wide receivers should be considered locks to make the roster: Terry McLaurin, Stefon Diggs, Luke McCaffrey, Antonio Williams and Jaylin Lane. The rest of the group is where it gets interesting.
Treylon Burks and Dyami Brown have frequently gotten reps with the first-team offense while jockeying for positioning on the depth chart. Additionally, rookie Jaden Bradley has impressed with his contested catch ability and special teams play.
Who makes the cut will depend on how many wide receivers the Commanders keep. They will roster at least five and could carry as many as seven.
Rookie Athan Kaliakmanis has been pulling ahead of Sam Hartman recently, but it’s not a done deal. They have been rotating in the preseason thus far, and that will continue against the Ravens. Their performances could decide the outcome here.
Backup quarterback Marcus Mariota is out because of an MCL sprain. The team hopes he will be ready by Week 1, but that’s not a guarantee. If he’s not, the Commanders will have to keep a third quarterback.
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Defensive tackles Javon Kinlaw, Daron Payne and Tim Settle are locks. Jer’Zhan Newton is out for the foreseeable future after undergoing surgery for a torn pectoral last week.
Newton will probably be placed on injured reserve with a designation to return on roster cut day, which would free up a spot. Shy Tuttle, Ricky Barber, Maurice Hurst II and Byron Cowart are in the mix to make the roster.
The Commanders’ top four linebackers are set: Sonny Styles, Frankie Luvu, Leo Chenal and Jordan Magee. Magee is nursing a shoulder injury but is expected to be back by the start of the regular season.
Even with him in tow, however, it could make sense to keep a fifth linebacker for special teams purposes. That appears to be a two-man race between Kain Medrano and Ale Kaho.
“I’m not going to say they’re interchangeable, but on special teams, they kind of play some of the same spots,” Quinn said. “Defensively, we lean more to Kain guarding tight ends, using some of that length, but I’m pleased with both of them.”
The Commanders released safety Will Harris on Tuesday. He entered last season as a starter but missed a significant chunk of the year because of injury and never quite looked the same. In training camp, he’d fallen out of the safety rotation behind Jeremy Reaves, Nick Cross and Quan Martin. Washington also released safety Malik Spencer.
In corresponding moves, the Commanders signed safeties Joshua Bledsoe and Quindell Johnson to compete with Tyler Owens and Percy Butler for roster spots. The team also signed left tackle D.J. Humphries to provide depth behind Brandon Coleman.
Additionally, Washington placed outside linebacker Drake Jackson on season-ending injured reserve with an undisclosed issue and signed Boogie Basham at the position. Basham hasn’t played much the last couple of seasons and is unlikely to make the roster, but he provides some practice depth with Odafe Oweh and K’Lavon Chaisson nursing injuries.
Settle (calf), running back Rachaad White (hamstring) and defensive end Dorance Armstrong (knee) returned to practice Monday. They sat out Saturday’s game against the Detroit Lions.
Mariota (MCL); running backs Jacory Croskey-Merritt (lower body) and Jeremy McNichols (quad); tight end Ben Sinnott (oblique); left tackles Laremy Tunsil (triceps) and Brandon Coleman (undisclosed); Allegretti (calf); defensive ends Jackson (undisclosed) and Deatrich Wise Jr. (quad); Payne (undisclosed) and Newton (pectoral); linebackers Oweh (calf), Chaisson (knee) and Jordan Magee (shoulder); and cornerback Trey Amos (ankle) missed practice Monday and Tuesday.
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