Washington Commanders: Overreactions to the preseason

The injury bug never seems to leave Ashburn.

Year after year, it seems like Washington has dealt with injuries to key contributors. Despite having a new head trainer, the team has once again had multiple players miss time with soft tissue injuries this offseason.

Yes, it’s nice to see Curtis Samuel back on the field going through the program the team has outlined, and having Logan Thomas return.

But having the top four tight ends and top three guards missing at points throughout the pre-season has definitely not made it easy for the offense to be on the same page.

The injuries are clearly frustrating to coach Rivera as he snarkily replied to a reporter asking about the status of Wes Schweitzer and Andrew Norwell

Just guys taking care of themselves. I don’t have to give you an injury report, so I’m just telling you, they’re just guys taking care of themselves

[Norwell] is working through it and when he’s healthy and ready to roll and everything is ok and fine, we’ll get guys out there on the football field.

In 2020, Washington had the 9th highest adjusted games lost, a value that estimates the impact of injuries on teams, per Football Outsiders. In 2021, that increases to 7th highest in the league. Only two of the ten teams with the highest adjusted games lost in 2021 made the playoffs (San Francisco and Las Vegas).

With John Bates and Cole Turner expected back soon, and Thomas working his way back from injury, Washington is getting healthier in time for the season. It’ll be interesting to watch if injuries will continue to be an Achilles heel for the Commanders this season.