Should Washington Commanders fans be on red alert about the team's offensive line?
With left tackle Laremy Tunsil out for a good while recovering from a torn triceps, Washington signed veteran tackle D.J. Humphries this week to help ease the loss.
However, The Athletic's Commanders reporter Nicki Jhabvala made an incredibly troubling observation about the team's offensive line as a whole during Wednesday's joint practice with the Baltimore Ravens.
"This is the worst I’ve ever seen the Commanders’ offense in years," Jhabvala said in a social media post. "Inoperable offensive line."
"Inoperable" is literally the worst possible word you can say about a football unit, much less the one tasked with protecting the quarterback... a quarterback in Jayden
Daniels with a very recent injury history.
Is Washington's offensive line really THAT bad? Well, Jhabvala clarified in her post that right guard Sam Cosmi did not practice on Wednesday and that the team rotated two players out at center in Matt Gulbin and Julian Good-Jones. Starting center Nick Allgretti is out with a calf injury and has no timetable to return to action right now.
To keep in mind about the offense today: As mentioned earlier, Cosmi was out. Jayden Daniels played with a front five that featured a lot of Matt Gulbin at center, some of Julian Good-Jones at center, and mostly Good-Jones and Tanoa Togiai at right guard. https://t.co/CYPhaGaGoj
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) August 26, 2026
Right now, the team's offensive line features Brandon Coleman at left tackle, Chris Paul at left guard, probably Good-Jones at center, Cosmi at right guard and Josh Conerly Jr. at right tackle.
Depending on what happens at center, that's not the worst-looking unit on paper. Coleman started at left tackle for a bulk of Washington games during the 2024 season, so he's at least got experience. However, Daniels' concerning injury history will necessitate the Commanders taking the most careful approach possible in fielding the best offensive line they can.
If this group is actually "inoperable," even with a couple of reserves in the lineup, the team must look outside the building for more help past Humphries. There's vital context to that "inoperable" comment, but even that doesn't fully keep Washington fans at peace with the possible reality that this offensive line might not be nearly good enough for what's needed this fall.
When do the Commanders open the season?
The team plays at Philadelphia against the Eagles on Sept. 13 at 4:25 p.m. ET on FOX.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Troubling Commanders practice report leaves questions with offensive line
