Commanders confirm 2022 preseason schedule after minor tweak

The Washington Commanders are only in their second round of organized team activities, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look ahead to the future.

While OTAs, minicamp and training camp give rookies, undrafted free agents and roster bubble players a fighting chance at making the final roster, their respective fates will largely be determined during the preseason.

Given the preseason has been reduced to three games after a four-game slate was the longtime standard, starters will get significantly less playing time, thus giving more reps to the roster’s younger and unproven commodities.

Up until this week, we didn’t know the specifics of Washington’s preseason schedule; just the opponents. That changed on Thursday, as the team will play host to the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 13 before they finish up with road games against the Kansas City Chiefs on Aug. 20 and Baltimore Ravens on Aug. 27.

All three fixtures will be played on Sundays.

The Commanders announced their 2022 preseason schedule.

This is a pretty attractive slate for a preseason. For starters, Ron Rivera will play against his former team after Washington knocked off Carolina last season. It should make for an interesting affair, even if it lacks first-team players. Single-game tickets at FedEx Field are already on sale and can be found behind this link.

In the final two games, the Commanders will lock horns with two AFC heavyweights in the Chiefs and Ravens. It’s unlikely Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson see any playing time, but these squads own two of the deepest rosters in the NFL and they should be a good litmus test for Washington’s reserve players.

Kickoff for the Ravens game was originally scheduled for 4 p.m. EST, but got moved to 7 p.m. EST for unknown reasons.

Perhaps the contest will be given a primetime slot on national television. After all, Baltimore currently owns an NFL record 20 consecutive wins in the preseason. If the Ravens go 2-0 before Week 3 vs Washington, this could make for an appealing watch, as John Harbaugh and Co. went out of their way to keep the streak alive last year.

This will be the fourth consecutive preseason the Commanders have played Baltimore. Of course, they dropped the previous three contests. Additionally, Washington is 1-4 vs Carolina and 2-4 against KC all-time in the preseason.

Preseason record obviously means nothing in the bigger picture, but it would definitely be nice for Rivera’s group to enter the regular season with some wind in its sails and ending Baltimore’s streak would do just that.