Ahead of the Washington Commanders and Baltimore Ravens preseason matchup on Friday, the two teams held a joint practice on Wednesday. There were plenty of reports coming out of camp about various things, most of them surrounding the Commanders’ offensive line, and it remains clear that the Commanders still have work to do before the season starts in two weeks.
CBS Sports’ senior writer Zachary Pereles described several different takeaways from Thursday’s joint practice, naming each takeaway as fact or fiction. The takeaway we want to focus on today is this: Commanders are already doomed: Fiction. Pereles writes, in part:
The season is by no means over. To say that would be ridiculous. But the past week -- the awful cameo against the Lions and
the rough extended performance today -- shows Adam Peters and Dan Quinn that they desperately need to add up front. They've added five journeyman veterans since training camp opened, but much more significant work needs to be done. They are behind the eight ball, but they're not doomed to stay there.
The goal is for new offensive coordinator David Blough's schematic changes to make the sum greater than its parts. It will all be for naught, though, if the offensive line gives him no chance to do so. Here's one example: Blough drew up a beautiful play-action look for Daniels against the Lions, but John Bates -- a good blocking tight end who had missed significant time earlier in training camp -- got beat. Does Washington have the players to execute what could be a promising scheme?
If one were to look on the bright side, they'd see that Daniels himself has been terrific throughout training camp. Allegretti has been a quality backup (and sometimes starter) throughout his career, and the Commanders are bullish on what he provides at center, even though he has made only two starts there in his career. Cosmi is an excellent tackle, and while the falloff from him shouldn't be as steep as it is, this was a one-day absence for him. Coleman has looked mostly solid taking over for Tunsil at left tackle, though he, like most Commanders, was none too happy.
The Commanders’ offensive line definitely needs some help; there is no question about that. Brandon Coleman played left tackle his entire rookie season, but moved back inside to his comfort zone until Tunsil missed the final three games of the 2025 season with an oblique injury. Sam Cosmi is undeniably the Commanders’ best offensive lineman with Tunsil out, and there are definite concerns about Nick Allegretti at center.
Given those questions, though, the Commanders’ season is definitely not doomed before it begins. It’s way too early to jump to that conclusion, especially since every team still has to make roster cuts by Sunday. You never know who will get waived, released, or cut, and one man’s trash can be another man’s treasure. Let’s reserve judgment on this team until we see them play at least four regular-season games. Cool? Cool.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Is the Commanders' season already doomed? One NFL analyst weighs in
