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3 Commanders who have everything to play for in preseason finale

By Jerry Trotta

LANDOVER, MD - AUGUST 13: Kyric McGowan #83 of the Washington Commanders celebrates with Kelvin Harmon #13 and Sam Howell #14 after scoring a two point conversion against the Carolina Panthers during the second half of the preseason game at FedExField on August 13, 2022 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - AUGUST 13: Kyric McGowan #83 of the Washington Commanders celebrates with Kelvin Harmon #13 and Sam Howell #14 after scoring a two point conversion against the Carolina Panthers during the second half of the preseason game at FedExField on August 13, 2022 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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The Washington Commanders are 0-2 entering the final week of preseason. That normally wouldn’t be a big deal, but their performances have left a lot of fans questioning what their true ceiling is this season as some of their biggest pitfalls from 2021 (third-down defense chief among them) are resurfacing.

It won’t get any easier for the Commanders this weekend, when they’ll lock horns with the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Stadium. This past weekend, the Ravens knocked off the Cardinals to extend their NFL record for consecutive preseason wins to 22 games.

In other words, the Ravens treat preseason more serious than most teams, so Washington will get its doors blown off if they don’t come ready to play. With the starters unlikely to play any snaps, young players and roster bubble players have an excellent opportunity to stake their claim for a roster spot.

While these specific Commanders were lucky to make it beyond the 80-man deadline, rosters drop to 53 players after this weekend’s slate so they’ll have everything to play for against Baltimore as far as making the final roster.

3 Commanders with everything to play for in preseason finale

(Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
(Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

3. Alex Erickson, WR/KR

Erickson has admittedly performed well in the preseason, but his odds of making the roster are contingent on whether he sticks as the return specialist … and he hasn’t covered himself in glory in that department in preseason.

Erickson’s lone kickoff return Saturday vs Kansas City went just 17 yards. In Week 1 against Carolina, his return went just 19 yards. His average yards per kickoff is less than undrafted free agent Kyric McGowan’s 18.25 and is a far cry from DeAndre Carter’s 25.11 that ranked third in the league last season.

I haven’t seen anything from Erickson that suggests he deserves a 53-man roster spot. If Dax Milne and Jahan Dotson split punt return duties, Washington could seemingly get by appointing someone else to return kickoffs, especially if Erickson’s spot prevents another deserving receiver from making the team.

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