Commanders’ Jahan Dotson, Sam Cosmi set to miss time with injuries
By Jerry Trotta
The Washington Commanders season is spiraling out of control after three straight losses. They’re 0-2 in the division, were uncompetitive against the Eagles and the offense is stuck in neutral due to poor offensive line and quarterback play.
One of the few positives from Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys was rookie receiver Jahan Dotson. With Carson Wentz refusing to throw to Terry McLaurin, Dotson led the team in receiving with 43 yards and a pretty-looking touchdown in the second quarter.
Dotson was unable to finish the game, however, due to hamstring tightness.
The first-round pick felt tightness in his hamstring and missed the Commanders’ last few offensive possessions. The hope is Dotson caught the injury before it became something serious, but he’s expected to miss a week or two, per Ron Rivera.
To make matters worse, Sam Cosmi suffered a hand injury in the game. According to The Athletic’s Ben Standig, there’s concern the right tackle could miss multiple games. He’ll be evaluated Tuesday to determine the extent of the injury.
More injury news for the Commanders: RT Sam Cosmi suffered a hand injury in Sunday’s loss at Dallas, per sources. The 2021 second-round pick will be evaluated tomorrow, but there’s a concern he could miss multiple games.
— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) October 4, 2022
Commanders receiver Jahan Dotson (hamstring) and right tackle Sam Cosmi (hand) are set to miss time with injuries.
Talk about terrible timing.
Trying to fight back from a 1-3 record is already challenging given the difficulty of the NFL. Doing so without one of your top offensive weapons and a few starting offensive linemen — center Chase Roullier could miss the rest of the season with a knee injury and right guard Trai Turner was benched vs the Cowboys and is dealing with a quad issue — makes the climb all the more daunting.
Cosmi’s taken his lumps in pass-protection this season, but he’s been a force blocking for the running game, which has been a bright spot the last two weeks. Saahdiq Charles stepped in for Turner on Sunday, but he has experience at right tackle. If the Commanders want to keep Charles at RG, they could bring swing tackle Cornelius Lucas off the bench to fill the void for Cosmi.
Washington re-signed Lucas this offseason for moments like this. The veteran can play either tackle position in a pinch. He might be more adept at left tackle, but he played 580 snaps at right tackle last season filling in for the injured Cosmi and finished with run- and pass-blocking grades north of 70.0, per PFF.
Rivera said WR Jahan Dotson is dealing with a hamstring injury. He saw him grab his leg during the holding penalty (called on Dallas). Sat him out of caution. "We're hoping it will settle down in time and won't be anything major that lasts longer than a week or two," he said.
— John Keim (@john_keim) October 3, 2022
Losing Dotson is another killer blow. We’re relieved it’s only a week-to-week injury, but Dotson’s been Washington’s most viable red zone weapon. His four touchdowns are tied with Bills star Stefon Diggs for the most in the NFL and his 152 receiving yards are third on the team behind Terry McLaurin and Curtis Samuel.
The Commanders’ star trio has carried the load at receiver this year.
While JD McKissic, Logan Thomas, Antonio Gibson and John Bates have played a role in the passing game, the next-most productive receiver behind them is Dax Milne’s two catches for 18 yards. Look for some combination of Milne, Dyami Brown (one catch for six yards) and Cam Sims (zero catches) to fill in for Dotson.
On the bright side, Brian Robinson could return this week.
Next. Commanders to activate Brian Robinson off the NFI List. dark