It’s the eve of the Washington Commanders’ season opener, so they have made a roster move.
It’s not unusual for the Commanders, or the other 31 NFL teams, to make a roster move or two the day before a game. As the season progresses, you will notice these are often injury-related, where the Commanders will elevate a player from the practice squad to the active roster to fill in for an injured player who is going to be inactive on game day.
In this case, the Commanders just released offensive tackle D.J. Humphries on Friday. Thus, Washington announced Saturday it is elevating C/G Julian Good-Jones (JGJ) from the practice squad for Sunday's 2026 opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.
We have elevated C/G Julian Good-Jones from the practice squad
pic.twitter.com/JliMtSYdNE
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) September 12, 2026
JGJ was perhaps the most talked-about backup during training camp and the preseason in the DMV. With starting center Nick Allegretti ailing most of training camp, JGJ became a focal point of much radio and podcast analysis, and the references to JGJ were mostly not complimentary and sometimes unnecessarily unkind.
Meanwhile, rookie C/G Matt Gulbin passed over JGJ during training camp and preseason, taking over the second spot in the battle for center. As a result, Gulbin made the 53-man roster last week, and JGJ was waived and then brought back to the Practice Squad.
One final note: the Commanders have only one offensive tackle on their practice squad, Esa Pole. Pole is 25 and has previously played with the Jets and Chiefs. So, despite releasing Humphries, an offensive tackle, the Commanders are choosing to elevate JGJ to C/G rather than Pole, a tackle.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders make roster move on eve of season opener vs Eagles
