3 dark horses to make the Commanders’ 53-man roster

Our boss Jerry had an article up recently about three longshots who might make the final roster. I was thinking about doing a similar piece, and I was happy to see that his three and my three did not repeat. Just gives us more things to argue about. And isn’t that what we’re all here for? So here is my companion piece – three dark horses who might make the Washington Commanders final 53.

3 dark horses who could make the Commanders’ final roster

Aaron Monteiro, OL

I would love to see Monteiro make the team, especially because he appears to have initially been an afterthought. Back in mid-May, the Washington Commanders signed a young mammoth offensive tackle named Drew Himmelman, supposedly to provide some deep depth on the offensive line. But Himmelman did not pass his physical and was released a few days later.

Then, Washington moved on to Monteiro. Monteiro had been a solid tackle at Boston College, but the biggest accolade he ever received was 3rd Team all-ACC as a senior. He kicked around a few practice squads, and not surprisingly, put in some time with the Carolina Panthers back when Ron Rivera was there.

Monteiro looks a bit like a tweener. He isn’t quite long or athletic enough to play tackle in the NFL, and he may lack the raw strength to play inside. But he’s coming into an interesting situation, and his future largely depends on the projected new left guard, Trai Turner.

Turner, who has a much more extensive history with coach Rivera, was signed this off-season and installed as a starter on the depth chart. But he has not played yet this pre-season, and concerns about his health are growing. Though he played a full season for Pittsburgh in 2021, he was coming off three consecutive seasons in which he was limited due to injury. And despite just being 28 years old and grading out rather well through most metrics, Pittsburgh showed little interest in re-signing him.

No position group requires repetition and cohesion as much as an offensive line. If you knew in advance which teams were going to have an in-tact offensive line throughout the entire season, you could make some serious money in Vegas. So the fact that Turner has not been on the field gets everyone thinking.

Here’s the crux. The Washington Commanders have very good second level depth across the line. Chase Roullier should be fine returning from injury at center. He should be backed up by Wes Schweitzer. Schweitzer can also be a very good fill-in at guard, and Saadhiq Charles is beginning to look way more comfortable playing guard in his third year. The team is set at tackle with three solid players, and Charles (a college tackle) as an emergency back-up.

If Turner is deemed reliable, it allows Schweitzer to be the back-up center, Charles the back-up guard, and Cornelius Lucas the swing tackle. There is probably one, or possibly two slots remaining, and it likely comes down to Keith Ismael, Jon Toth, and Monteiro.

Monteiro was an emergency starter in the second pre-season game and did not look overmatched. He moved pretty well, and he was not overpowered by Kansas City’s starting defensive line. He is not as good as Schweitzer or Charles (who I think may have a breakout year), but with his decent combination of size and agility, he is the kind of lineman that Washington has favored for Scott Turner’s offense. And like Charles, he at least has some experience moving outside if needed.

That’s if Trai Turner is deemed reliable. But if there are questions – not serious enough to land him on IR, but serious enough to require contingency plans, then Schweitzer cannot simply focus on being Rouliier’s back-up. He will need to be in the guard mix as well. And that means that Keith Ismael (or, when he comes back, Tyler Larsen) may have to remain on the roster to back-up Roullier.

I think Ismael has made modest gains in his two plus years, but the clock may be running out on him. When he was drafted, the hope was that his agility would allow him to become a mobile guard. We haven’t seen that athleticism on the field yet. Whereas Charles is looking far more comfortable entering his third year, Ismael still looks stiff.

I don’t know if Aaron Monteiro is a better player than Keith Ismael (or Jon Toth, for that matter). The Commanders didn’t even seem to want him at first. But when he has been on the field, he has looked like he belongs, and he offers the movement and positional versatility that Washington values. He might sneak onto the final roster.