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Commanders QB Jayden Daniels Leaves Game With Hamstring Injury

October 19th, 2025 at 8:25pm CST by Ely Allen

The Commanders were just beginning to enjoy the return of quarterback Jayden Daniels after a two-week absence earlier in the season, but they may be looking at another absence in Daniels’ sophomore campaign. Daniels was knocked out of today’s game in Dallas with a hamstring injury, and there’s a chance the injury could affect him long term.

After playing through fractured ribs in his rookie season, Daniels has spent quite a bit of his sophomore campaign working to get healthy. He first appeared on the injury report in Week 2 with a reported injury to the wrist on his throwing hand. He would play in that game, but he would come away from it with a knee sprain that would cause him to miss the next two games. Daniels was eventually able to return to the field, though, and continued to look like his usual, mobile self.

Things took a turn in today’s loss to the Cowboys, though, when linebacker Shemar James strip-sacked him, and Daniels was left on the ground grabbing at the back of his leg. The team took Daniels straight to the blue medical tent to be evaluated, and he was eventually seen jogging to the locker room. While seeing him put active weight on his leg seemed a good sign, he was soon diagnosed with a hamstring injury and listed as questionable to return, getting ruled out for the rest of the game 30 minutes later.

There may be nothing to fret about yet, but the team has scheduled an MRI for Monday in order to determine the severity of Daniels’ injury, per JP Finlay of NBC Sports. The fact that they find an MRI necessary at all could be cause for concern. If bad enough, hamstring injuries can easily require multi-week recoveries, which means Daniels could be in danger of missing even more time this year.

If the MRI brings back unfortunate results, Washington does employ one of the league’s more formidable backup quarterbacks. By the time Marcus Mariota entered today’s game, a 41-15 deficit was too much to overcome. Earlier in the season, though, Mariota split his two spot starts, winning big against the Raiders at home but losing by a touchdown in Atlanta. In those two starts, he completed just under 65 percent of his pass attempts for three touchdowns and an interception. He added another touchdown on the ground, along with 60 yards on eight carries.

Washington will hope for the best news to come out of tomorrow’s MRI, but either way, they will have a quarterback who can give them a chance to win games. With a 3-4 record and a daunting three-game stretch on the horizon, there’s very little room for error if the Commanders want to make the playoffs. We’ll likely find out over the next couple of days whether or not it will be Daniels behind center for a Monday night trip to Kansas City followed by back-to-back home games against the Seahawks and Lions.

Bengals Considered Long List Of QBs Before Joe Flacco Trade

October 18th, 2025 at 11:06pm CST by Connor Byrne

After a Week 5 loss to the Lions, their third straight lopsided defeat under backup signal-caller Jake Browning, the Bengals aggressively began searching for a different Joe Burrow fill-in. Led by director of player personnel Duke Tobin, the Bengals put together an extensive list of potential upgrades over Browning, Albert Breer of SI.com details.

Before swinging a trade with the division-rival Browns for Joe Flacco, the Bengals considered Anthony Richardson (Colts); Kirk Cousins (Falcons); the Giants’ backup duo of Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston; the Rams’ Jimmy Garoppolo and Stetson Bennett; Tanner McKee (Eagles); and Josh Johnson (Commanders). They joined the previously reported Derek Carr (Saints), Sam Howell (Eagles), Drew Lock (Seahawks), and Davis Mills (Texans) in Cincinnati’s exhaustive search.

The Bengals narrowed the list down to five before choosing Flacco as the best option, according to Breer. It’s unclear who joined the 40-year-old in the group of finalists or whether the Bengals even made calls on all of those QBs.

In the end, Flacco won out as a result of a few factors. Flacco is affordable ($1.26MM base salary) and only cost a fifth-round pick. The well-traveled Super Bowl XLVII MVP also has plenty of AFC North experience, and coordinator Dan Pitcher identified him as a clear fit based on similarities between Cincinnati’s offense and Cleveland’s in terms of “spacing the field and progressing pass concepts,” Breer writes.

Two weeks into what will be a short-lived run as the Bengals’ starter, Flacco has looked like a shrewd acquisition. The Bengals lost his first start to the Packers, but they bounced back with an upset over the division-rival Steelers on Thursday.

Flacco outdueled fellow 40-something Aaron Rodgers in Week 7, going 31 for 47 for 342 yards and three touchdowns in a 33-31 thriller. He made superstar wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase the focal point of the offense, targeting him on a jaw-dropping 23 throws and hitting him 16 times for 161 yards and a score. Chase has already hauled in 26 passes and two of Flacco’s five TDs as a Bengal. Flacco has yet to throw a pick with the team after tossing six in four games with the Browns.

The goal in acquiring Flacco was to hang around long enough to make a potential Burrow return worthwhile in 2025. Burrow, who underwent toe surgery on Sept. 19, is expected to miss at least three months. That means the Bengals will have to stay in the race into December under Flacco. At 3-4, they trail the division-leading Steelers (4-2) and sit in ninth place in the AFC. While the Bengals are still facing an uphill climb, Flacco has at least given them a more credible option than Browning under center.

Commanders Without Top Three WRs In Week 7

October 18th, 2025 at 4:56pm CST by Ely Allen

The Commanders will face some unfortunate challenges as they head to the Lone Star State for a matchup with the division-rival Cowboys. After placing Noah Brown on injured reserve this week, there was still hope that wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel could be available for the trip. Unfortunately, Jayden Daniels will be without all three pass catchers Sunday afternoon as Samuel stays in Washington with a heel injury, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

The Commanders have experience working without Brown, who started the first two games of the year before a groin injury held him out for the last four. After missing that much time, it’s clear that Washington should’ve put him on IR sooner. Doing so at this point only ensures his already extended absence will now be at least half the season.

The team is likely used to being without McLaurin, as well, considering he’s only played one more game than Brown. McLaurin suffered a knee sprain that held him out of the team’s Week 4 game, but Washington opted not to place him on IR, since he didn’t require surgery. It’s since been categorized as a quad injury that held him out two more weeks and will now do as much damage as if he had been placed on IR.

This week, McLaurin will be the second wide receiver taking up a spot on Washington’s 53-man roster for four weeks, when the Commanders could’ve supplemented their roster with more bodies by placing them on IR. It’s a tough line to toe, determining whether or not a player will be able return to the field within four weeks, but between Brown and McLaurin, it’s hit Washington twice this year as they’ve essentially played three weeks with a self-imposed 51-man roster.

Samuel’s been dealing with his heel issue for the past three weeks, but before this week, any absences at practice were categorized as “NIR(Rest)/Heel,” indicating non-injury related rest while still acknowledging some issue with his heel. The injury never held him out, though. The offseason trade acquisition has been Daniels’ most reliable target as he leads the team in every receiving category.

In the absence of Brown and McLaurin, it’s been veteran Chris Moore, last year’s third-round pick Luke McCaffrey, and rookie fourth-rounder Jaylin Lane stepping up in Washington. With Samuel out this week, as well, all three will need to step up even more moving forward. In the winning trip to Los Angeles, Samuel saw 11 targets, and no one else saw more than two. Last week, things were a bit more spread out as Samuel and Moore saw five targets apiece and Ertz saw six.

Daniels has done his best to spread out the ball and keep everyone incorporated in the offense so as not to become one-note. While doing so, though, the team’s 2-1 start has been offset by a 1-2 record without McLaurin. Daniels, in his second year of NFL play, has been dealt an ugly hand early in his career, but Washington will count on the roster they’ve built to support him.

It was almost guaranteed that at least one team’s two standard gameday practice squad elevations would be a wide receiver. Among the options were the team’s most recent signee, Treylon Burks, veteran Robbie Chosen, and undrafted rookie Ja’Corey Brooks, who was called up last week. The Commanders landed on Chosen with one elevation, but the other will be used to bring up defensive tackle Sheldon Day. Luckily, it may be a soft test for the youthful offensive crew as they face a Dallas defense that is giving up the most passing yards per game in the NFL.

Commanders G Sam Cosmi To Make 2025 Debut

October 18th, 2025 at 3:07pm CST by Ely Allen

The Commanders have added a major asset to their offense today, announcing that guard Sam Cosmi has finally been activated of the reserve/physically unable to perform list. He’ll be joined by cornerback Jonathan Jones, who is being activated off injured reserve.

Last year, the Commanders had one of the more consistent offensive line configurations in the NFL. Between left tackle Brandon Coleman, left guard Nick Allegretti, center Tyler Biadasz, Cosmi, and right tackle Andrew Wylie, no one player missed more than three games between Week 1 and the NFC Championship game. This year’s line has seen similar consistency with Biadasz and new tackles Laremy Tunsil and Josh Conerly, but the guard spots have seen change early on.

With Cosmi on the PUP list, the team started with Coleman shifting inside to left guard and Allegretti moving over to the right side. By Week 3, Chris Paul had stepped into the left guard spot, and Wylie returned to the starting lineup after shifting inside to right guard. Paul and Wylie have manned those starting roles for the last four weeks.

Cosmi was the starting lineman in Washington last year to miss more than two games, and it came at the worst possible moment. After tearing his ACL in the team’s regular season finale, Cosmi missed the Commanders’ entire playoff run. There were hopes in training camp that Cosmi may be able to work his way back for the start of the regular season, but ultimately, he was placed on the PUP list at the roster cut deadline and expectations soon dropped as he was deemed unlikely to even be able return after the mandatory four-week absence.

Ultimately, it wasn’t until October that Cosmi was finally able to return to practice, and with only three days remaining in his 21-day practice window, he’ll finally be able to return to the active roster. It’s unclear if Cosmi will be injected into the starting lineup right away. He’s been a full participant in practice all week, but they may want to ease him in. They also may not put him back at right guard but instead determine which spot needs him most.

Originally brought in to compete for a starting job across from Marshon Lattimore, Jones was beat out by rookie second-rounder Trey Amos. As a result, Jones was seeing his lowest snap shares since his rookie campaign in New England to start this year before getting placed on IR with a hamstring injury. Coming off of IR, Jones will get a chance to earn more opportunities while adding depth to the secondary. Washington released defensive end Jalyn Holmes to make room on the 53-man roster.

Commanders Sign WR Treylon Burks To Practice Squad

October 17th, 2025 at 8:53am CST by Ben Levine

OCTOBER 17: The Burks deal is now official, per a team announcement. In a corresponding move, Martin has been released from Washington’s practice squad. It will be interesting to see if Burks is elevated to the gameday roster in time for Sunday.

OCTOBER 16: As the Commanders navigate a number of injuries to their receivers corps, the team is set to add a former first-round pick. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the team is expected to sign Treylon Burks to their practice squad.

Per Rapoport, Burks shouldn’t last long on the taxi squad, as the team intends to add him to the active roster as soon as possible. However, it seems unlikely that the player will make his team debut as soon as this Sunday.

Star wideout Terry McLaurin hasn’t played since Week 3 while dealing with a quad injury, and after being downgraded to a non-participant during today’s practice, it seems like he’s facing an uphill battle to play in Week 7. Noah Brown is currently sitting on IR with a groin injury, while Deebo Samuel seems unlikely to play this weekend as he nurses a heel issue.

Thanks to the injuries, the Commanders currently have three healthy receivers on their active roster in Chris Moore, Luke McCaffrey, and fourth-round rookie Jaylin Lane. The team will surely dip into their practice squad options for this weekend, with that grouping featuring Jacoby Jones, Robbie Chosen, Ja’Corey Brooks, and Tay Martin.

While Burks probably won’t be an option for Week 7, he’ll likely soon find himself on the active roster, especially if McLaurin or Samuel still aren’t ready for Week 8. Burks struggled to live up to his first-round billing in Tennessee, as the wideout collected only 765 yards from scrimmage in three years with the organization. He had four catches in five appearances in 2024 before suffering an ACL injury that ended his season.

Burks was back at training camp with the Titans this past summer, but a fractured collarbone resulted in him being waived/injured. He subsequently landed on season-ending IR, but the team cut him earlier this month, allowing him to play elsewhere in 2025. The 25-year-old had an audition with the Broncos before landing in Washington.

Commanders Place DE Drake Jackson On IR

October 16th, 2025 at 10:33am CST by Adam La Rose

Drake Jackson‘s Commanders debut will not come any time soon. The recently-signed defensive end was placed on injured reserve Thursday, per a team announcement.

As a result of the move, Jackson will be sidelined for at the least the next four games. Today’s decision does not come as a surprise, however. As ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports, the Commanders always planned on moving Jackson to IR upon signing him. Per NFL rules, those two transactions cannot take place on the same day.

With Jackson being added earlier this week, a brief delay was required before this IR placement. Now that it has taken place, the 24-year-old will be able to continue recovering from his torn patellar tendon. That injury limited Jackson to eight games in 2023 and he missed all of last season while continuing his rehab.

The former second-rounder posted three sacks as a rookie with the 49ers and duplicated that total in eight games in 2023. San Francisco moved on in May, leaving Jackson on the open market for several months. A number of visits were lined up, and the USC product ultimately chose to sign with Washington. That move allowed for a reunion between Jackson and Commanders general manager Adam Peters, who worked in the 49ers’ front office when he was drafted.

Jackson’s pact is no doubt a one-year deal at or near the league minimum given his missed time. His market value this spring will thus be determined by his performance when healthy as he takes on a depth pass-rushing role for the Commanders. Given the fact Jackson will make his season debut no early than Week 11, however, he will only have a small window of opportunity to carve out a notable workload and make an impact on his new team.

Commanders Designate CB Jonathan Jones To Return From IR

October 15th, 2025 at 7:59pm CST by Ely Allen

The Commanders are looking to return some significant depth to their secondary soon after designating veteran cornerback Jonathan Jones to return from injured reserve today, per ESPN’s John Keim. This gives Jones three weeks to either work his way back to the active roster or remain on IR for the remainder of the season.

After a nine-year start to his career in New England, Jones signed a one-year deal to come to Washington as a free agent. Always a strong contributor, Jones didn’t earn a full-time starting role with the Patriots until his seventh season of NFL play, which oddly enough came on the heels of a season in which he missed all but six games with a shoulder injury. He served as a full-time starter for three years in New England before the team allowed him to walk after a middling year of play last season.

The Commanders brought Jones in as part of a two-pronged approach at replacing Benjamin St-Juste and Emmanuel Forbes and upgrade the secondary. The other part of that approach came out of the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Ole Miss rookie Trey Amos ended up beating out Jones for the starting job across from Marshon Lattimore as second-year corner Mike Sainristil shifted inside to nickelback.

Jones was playing some of the lowest snap shares since his rookie campaign in New England to open the season, and any momentum building him towards a bigger workload went out the window when the team placed him on IR because of a hamstring injury. Washington’s newish-look secondary has struggled thus far in the season, currently ranking as the 24th-best pass defense in the NFL. If Jones can get back to the field, he may find a larger snap share waiting for him as the team does what it can to slow down opponents’ passing games.

The Commanders may also be looking to add a name at wide receiver as Noah Brown, Terry McLaurin, and Deebo Samuel all deal with their injuries. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, former Titans first-round wide receiver Treylon Burks will visit Washington tomorrow. Burks is expected to entertain interest from several teams, but it looks like the Commanders will be his second visit after he started off in Denver today.

Commanders Place Noah Brown On IR

October 15th, 2025 at 11:53am CST by Connor Byrne

The Commanders have already gone most of the season without wide receiver Noah Brown, who has been dealing with a groin injury. Brown’s absence will extend for at least four more games, as the team placed him on IR on Wednesday. He’ll be eligible to return in Week 11.

Brown, who last played in a Week 2 loss to the Packers, has caught three of seven targets for 36 yards this season. The 29-year-old appeared to be making progress when he returned to practice last week, but head coach Dan Quinn said his injury “didn’t respond” (via Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic). Quinn added that Brown will not require surgery (via John Keim of ESPN.com).

Without Brown and fellow injured receiver Terry McLaurin (quad), the Commanders fell to 3-3 with a loss to the Bears in Week 6. Quinn said McLaurin will practice this week, meaning he could play against the division-rival Cowboys on Sunday.

With only two appearances from Brown and three from McLaurin this season, the Commanders and second-year quarterback Jayden Daniels have had to count on Luke McCaffrey, Chris Moore, and Jaylin Lane to step up as targets alongside Deebo Samuel and Zach Ertz. Despite the injuries, Washington’s offense still ranks seventh in the NFL in points per game and 12th in total yards.

Along with placing Brown on IR on Wednesday, the Commanders announced the signing of defensive end Drake Jackson and signed guard Julian Good-Jones to their practice squad. Good-Jones had been a free agent since the Commanders released him with an injury designation on Aug. 20. The 28-year-old made his lone regular-season appearance in the NFL with Washington in 2023.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/14/25

October 14th, 2025 at 7:55pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

  • Signed: G Karsen Barnhart, LB Garrett Nelson

Green Bay Packers

  • Released: K Mark McNamee

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: OT Bayron Matos, QB Brett Rypien
  • Released: OT Marcellus Johnson

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

  • Signed: TE Marshall Lang
  • Released: DB Tyron Herring, TE Gee Scott Jr.

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

  • Released: G Tyler Cooper

With Anthony Richardson heading to injured reserve with an eye injury, the Colts are set to add some QB depth in veteran Brett Rypien, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. The 29-year-old brings four games of starting experience to Indy, with his most recent start coming with the Rams in 2023. In total, Rypien has completed 58.3 percent of his career passes for 950 yards, four touchdowns, and nine interceptions. Riley Leonard will temporarily be the QB2 behind Daniel Jones, but there’s a chance Rypien eventually works his way up to the active roster.

The Chargers moved on from a notable edge defender today in Clelin Ferrell. The former Raiders first-round pick started all 17 games for the 49ers just two years ago, with the edge rusher finishing that campaign with 3.5 sacks and 13 QB hits. He started 10 of his 14 appearances with the Commanders in 2024, adding another 3.5 sacks to his resume. After being among Washington’s final preseason cuts, Ferrell caught on with the Chargers practice squad and ended up getting into one game with the big-league club.

The Eagles moved on from a pair of skill players today. Audric Estime was a fifth-round pick by the Broncos last year, with the running back compiling 337 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns on 81 touches. He was waived by Denver back in August and landed on Philly’s practice squad. Javon Baker was a fourth-round pick by the Patriots in last year’s draft, but he was limited to a single catch in 11 games.

OL Charles Leno Announces Retirement

October 14th, 2025 at 5:15pm CST by Connor Byrne

After 10 seasons in the NFL, offensive tackle Charles Leno is hanging up his cleats. In an Instagram post that’s worth reading in full, Leno announced his retirement on Wednesday, exactly two years after he and his wife lost their daughter on Oct. 14, 2023.

Leno entered the NFL as a seventh-round pick from Boise State in 2014 and went on to enjoy a quality career. He spent his first seven seasons in Chicago, where he started in 94 of 102 regular-season appearances. Leno earned the lone Pro Bowl nod of his career with the Bears in 2018.

While Leno inked a four-year, $38MM extension with the Bears in 2017, he didn’t see the whole deal through. Chicago released Leno in a cap-shedding move in May 2021. That came after Leno started 93 consecutive games at left tackle with the team.

After his time with the Bears ended, Leno landed in Washington on a one-year, $5MM pact. The club was so impressed with Leno’s work during a 17-start 2021 campaign that it re-signed him to a three-year, $37.5MM deal. Leno notched another 17-start season in 2022, but a calf injury limited him to 13 games (all starts) in 2023. With Leno set to undergo hip surgery in 2024, the Commanders released him after a 47-start tenure. He didn’t catch on anywhere else after that.

Leno’s career will officially end with 149 regular-season games, 141 starts, and over $61MM in career earnings. He also received recognition for his off-field work, earning a Walter Payton Man of the Year nomination, among other accolades.

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