The Washington Commanders have an offensive line problem. That shouldn’t have been the case entering the season, but a triceps injury to star left tackle Laremy Tunsilchanged everything. While Brandon Coleman is a capable replacement for Tunsil, the Commanders were forced to remove Coleman from the left guard competition, making Chris Paul the starter.
One injury impacted two positions. Then, there is the center position. We’ve mentioned numerous times how GM Adam Peters may have overplayed his hand by releasing center Tyler Biadasz in February. The Commanders made a bid for Tyler Linderbaum, but dropped out when the Raiders overpaid. Washington turned to veteran Nick Allegretti.
While there are questions about Allegretti at center, Peters’ big
mistake was not signing a capable backup in case of injury or if he struggled to acclimate to center full-time. On the first day of training camp, Allegretti strained his calf. He missed three weeks, returned for a couple of days, and was out again. That left Washington with Julian Good-Jones and rookie Matt Gulbin at center. The duo has a combined two career NFL snaps.
So, more specifically, the Commanders have a center problem. Head coach Dan Quinn acknowledged as much after Saturday’s 17-13 preseason loss to the Detroit Lions.
“So, we got work to do to figure out where we want to get to at center,” Quinn said. That’s as close as you’ll ever hear Quinn come to calling out a player or position.
The Commanders believe Allegretti will be ready for Week 1. But that’s not good enough. Peters should be looking at other rosters and attempting to swing a deal for a backup center with NFL experience. Or, perhaps, make a call to a free-agent center who has still not retired: Graham Glasgow.
Glasgow, 34, is a 10-year NFL veteran with 147 regular-season games — and 136 starts — on his resume. He’s played plenty of guard and center. The Lions moved on from Glasgow earlier this year in what was believed to be a cost-cutting move. Maybe Glasgow would only play for a team if he was guaranteed a starting spot. That guarantee is unlikely in Washington, but you have to make the call.
After Saturday, the pressure is on Peters to fix a mess he created.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders could turn to former Lions' starter to help fix OL mess
