4 Commanders players who could be benched in Week 16 at the NY Jets
By Dean Jones
Commanders could bench Casey Toohill
After impressing considerably earlier in the campaign from a rotational role, Casey Toohill got a huge opportunity to showcase his talents as a starting defensive end. This came after the Washington Commanders sensationally traded Montez Sweat and Chase Young before the deadline.
Toohill surged up the depth chart as a result of the two former first-round picks departing. While he's flashed some promise, there's been almost no consistent pass-rush from the player now teams have plenty of film on how he's deployed by the Commanders.
The former seventh-round selection has one sack in the last six games. Toohill is also failing to establish himself on running downs. That's a dangerous combination for someone heading for free agency next spring.
Washington could take this chance over the final three games to get an extended look at Andre Jones Jr. Although a little undersized for the edge currently, there is plenty of energy and penetration being generated by the Louisiana product. This is more than deserving of additional involvement with nothing much to play for other than pride.
Some players are best suited to being complementary pieces. That seems to be the case with Toohill. But that's not to say he cannot carve out a successful career for himself in this capacity.
Whether that's with the Commanders or elsewhere has yet to be determined.