Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn did have some hopeful news about his offensive line on Monday.
After flying back from London following the 30-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, Quinn was back Monday afternoon, meeting with the press before meetings he said he had Monday night at the Commanders facility in Ashburn.
A reporter asked Quinn whether he thought the offensive line had the depth it needs this season in the interior (center/guards). Without hesitating, he replied, “Yep, and we’re hopeful Sam (Cosmi) is going to be back into the fold this week. He’ll likely rejoin practice in his return to play. So that definitely helps.”
Cosmi, the starting right guard, suffered a concussion and jaw injury late in the Week 2 loss in Dallas. So
he missed the last two games (Seahawks, Colts). Against the Seahawks, the Commanders went with Nick Allegretti for 100 percent of the snaps at center and Lucas Pastrick for 94 percent of the snaps at right guard. Chris Paul over at left guard held down all of the snaps.
Quinn said Sunday in the postgame press conference that Allegretti had been injured in the Seattle game, which necessitated altering the normal interior rotation. Sunday, against the Colts, Patrick took all the snaps at center, and rookie Matt Gulbin played all the snaps at right guard.
“So I thought between Sam (Cosmi), Nick (Allegretti) and Matt (Gulbin) on the interior as that settles in, because I thought Lucas has done some nice things inside. It will be good to get Sam back in. We love Nick and Matt, what they can do, but we’re still tweaking it to find the right combination for sure.”
Washington really struggled running the ball against the Colts on Sunday. Quarterback Marcus Mariota ran a zone-read keeper for 35 yards. Otherwise, the Commanders generated only one carry for at least 10 yards (Austin Ekeler). Aside from the Mariota 35-yard keeper, Washington produced only 65 rushing yards on 21 attempts.
If Cosmi does return, the Commanders would not necessarily need to make a roster adjustment because Cosmi never went to the injured reserve. Cosmi would start at right guard again, and the Commanders would then need to decide whether Patrick or Allegretti would play center. Sunday, vs. the Colts, Allegretti saw action on only three snaps, all on special teams.
Sunday, the Commanders (1-3) host the NFC East-leading New York Giants, 3-1, and have won their last two games without starting quarterback Jaxson Dart.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders provide optimistic update on RG Sam Cosmi
