There was talk in the preseason that the Washington Commanders might keep only two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster to keep an extra player at another position of need. However, rookie quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis made it difficult for Washington, playing well in all three preseason games to earn a spot on the main roster.
The seventh-round pick out of Rutgers played with poise in every game. He didn’t lack confidence and kept attacking downfield. While some rookies play it safe in the preseason because they’re afraid of making mistakes, that wasn’t Kaliakmanis. And he didn’t turn the ball over either.
That approach made him Washington’s No. 3 QB as a rookie, behind Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota.
This week, general manager Adam Peters and
head coach Dan Quinn met with the media to discuss the roster and upcoming season, and Peters couldn’t hide his praise for the rookie signal-caller.
“We really just loved his arm talent, his moxie, his competitiveness,” Peters said. "That’s what we saw on tape. And those are a lot of things that you saw on the preseason tape and just the way he could extend plays and made some plays under pressure. Also, standing in the pocket and making big-time throws. He made a lot of really big-time throws in the preseason, and that was something that we were really pleased to see. And he’s not afraid to rip it, you know? And a lot of times you see that in the preseason, where guys get in the game and go straight to their checkdown because that’s more comfortable and you can get an easy completion. But he wasn’t afraid to make mistakes. He wasn’t afraid to rip it. And certainly, it wasn’t all perfect. There’s a lot of different things that he’s got a lot of room to grow in a lot of different ways, but really liked his progress, and he’s a guy we definitely wanna work with in the future.”
Mariota could be entering his final year in Washington. While the Commanders love Mariota, as does Daniels, and Mariota likes being there, Daniels is about to become more expensive. So, having a backup on a rookie deal would be the best situation for the Commanders.
It’s also worth noting that new offensive coordinator David Blough’s offense is much different from the one Kliff Kingsbury ran the past two years. Mariota was a perfect fit in that offense, while Kaliakmanis looks like an ideal fit in the type of offense Blough plans to run.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders 'love' rookie quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis
