The Washington Commanders are only weeks away from playing meaningful football games, and the season ahead will be absolutely critical in determining the long-term fates of several key figures involved in Josh Harris's club.
Right now, it's looking pretty bleak.
Injuries have ravaged the Commanders throughout training camp. The offensive line in particular has been a disaster without center Nick Allegretti and, more importantly, star left tackle Laremy Tunsil.
Commanders' fortunes this season won't be decided by what happened in August
Trey Amos, Odafe Oweh, K'Lavon Chaisson, and Jacory Croskey-Merritt are among the other key starters Washington is currently forced to operate without. Not exactly what head coach Dan Quinn hoped for, but excuses are not an option.
It's not great. But let's all take a breather and remind ourselves where we are in the season.
Just two weeks ago, life was sunshine and rainbows in Ashburn. Washington had signed wide receiver Stefon Diggs. New offensive coordinator David Blough's offense was humming, with quarterback Jayden Daniels looking sharp again after missing the majority of last season due to injuries.
Daronte Jones' new defense has been making plays everywhere. In two preseason games, the unit has forced five turnovers. Joshua Josephs looks like an absolute steal in the fifth round. Oft-criticized safety Quan Martin has picked off a pair of passes, and the Commanders' infusion of youth has had them playing quicker and hungrier.
It's always easy to overreact to promising offseason developments. But it's just as easy to hyper-fixate on the red flags in a way that's just not healthy.
Commanders have problems, but they are not alone in that regard
The Commanders' offensive line is bad. That's a given right now, and the team must act quickly to rectify it.
During Wednesday's disaster of a joint practice session, it looked especially terrible because it was missing Sam Cosmi due to illness in addition to Allegretti and Tunsil. The standout right guard will be back soon, as will ideally some help at center.
The bottom line is that the Commanders' season can still go in several directions.
Life comes at you fast in the NFL. When momentum shifts one way, it can shift back just as quickly. Quinn and general manager Adam Peters have some answers to figure out, but so does every other team in the league.
There's not a single NFL team that's the same right now as it will be in November and December. As hard as it might be to stay optimistic, any sense of defeat is inconsiderate of the hard work Washington's players and coaches pour into every single day.
There are still 17 regular-season games of football to play. And regardless of what the Commanders do with them, it's not going to be determined by anything that happened in August.
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