If Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters plans to stash rookie quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis onto the practice squad, he'll be running a big risk.
Kaliakmanis pulled himself well clear of Sam Hartman in the QB3 race this summer. His preseason finale against the Baltimore Ravens didn't go well, but it was hard to look good behind an offensive line unfit for purpose.
What the Commanders must decide is whether to take three quarterbacks onto the squad.
Comnmanders shouldn't overcomplicate things with Athan Kaliakmanis
With Marcus Mariota missing most of the preseason, that seems feasible. If not, the Commanders run the risk of losing Kaliakmanis to the waiver wire, and his potential presence on it may not go unnoticed by others who've examined his tape more closely throughout Washington's warm-up slate.
NFL teams got to see firsthand what Kaliakmanis could become with some extra development. The Rutgers product carved up the Miami Dolphins and had a decent performance against the Detroit Lions. Even though it was against second- and third-string players, it was still positive.
Aside from the debacle in Baltimore, it's a trend that continued over the summer. Kaliakmanis got more work than expected with Mariota nursing a sprained MCL, and he took full advantage. The seventh-round rookie looked poised, has decent arm strength, and boasts enough mobility to make things happen out of structure.
Is he the finished article? Absolutely not, but the Commanders didn't see him as anything other than a development project, to begin with.
With Mariota on the shelf and Jayden Daniels' injury problems last season well documented, having another contingency plan is a must. With Kaliakmanis' status, Peters cannot leave anything to chance.
The Commanders raised a few eyebrows by taking Kaliakmanis at No. 223 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. Peters isn't known for giving up on draft picks easily, and one could argue the signal-caller has done more than enough to book his place on the squad.
Teams are always looking for ways to improve their roster. Kaliakmanis' encouraging preseason trajectory makes cutting him before bringing him back seem like tempting fate. But Mariota's absence always made waiving him a risky proposition.
Peters doesn't need to overcomplicate this. Kaliakmanis has some intriguing traits that could be molded into something more over time. And if he makes the required progress, he may even become a useful trade chip later into his rookie contract.
Cutting him to bring him back doesn't make much sense if you read between the lines. And certainly not after displaying so much warm-up promise when he got the opportunity.
But time will tell, I guess...
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