Three storylines to watch in the Washington Commanders preseason finale vs the Baltimore Ravens as roster cuts approach
Keep an eye on these storylines for the Commanders’ final preseason game.
Kickoff is coming up for the Washington Commanders’ preseason finale before the Week 1 prep begins, and there are still a lot of moves to be made and performances to be evaluated.
This might seem like a meaningless game for a lot of people with the starters resting, but for a lot of players, this is the last chance to make a lasting impression. There are multiple storylines to watch that can have a lasting effect as the season progresses.
How will the Wide Receiver room shake up?
A hot topic throughout training camp and the first two preseason games has been about the lack of depth in the wide receiver room, with Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown not playing or practicing. The Commanders have some veterans in the room with K.J. Osborn, Michael Gallup, and Chris Moore, but none have really made a strong impression.
The offense is also banking on the youth to come through with Luke McCaffrey entering his second season, and rookies Jaylin Lane and Ja’Corey Brooks having their preseason moments. We don’t know how much any of the wide receivers will play, but somebody needs to make some plays to fight for a roster spot.
Will Washington need to bring in another kicker?
Commanders fans have kicker PTSD and want the position to be figured out this season. There were way too many times last season that the game was decided by one single kick, and the Commanders could’ve won even more games with a better kicker. So far, HC Dan Quinn has said that the team doesn’t need to bring in another kicker to compete with Matt Gay.
The Commanders gave Gay a fully guaranteed one-year, $4.32 million contract this offseason, so the stakes are high for him to succeed this season. A lot of other teams around the league are having kicker competitions leading up to the season, and there will be a good group of kickers to sign if Gay starts missing kicks. He’s 2 for 3 in the preseason and missed his longest attempt from 49 yards out.
Depth players on defense who are fighting for a spot
There are a couple of positions on defense that can get shaken up in the final preseason game, with a lot of the depth players getting a majority of the playing time. One that I’m keeping an eye on is Duke Riley taking Nick Bellore’s spot on the team. Bellore is a top special teams player in the league, but his limited play as a linebacker on defense can really hurt his chances, and Quinn has even pointed it out.
Jordan Magee’s injury history puts stress on the Commanders to have actual linebacker depth, and Kain Medrano can be the next guy up, while Riley brings a veteran presence as a linebacker and special teams player.
Another area to watch is the secondary, and how many corners and safeties they will keep. Will they keep Tyler Owens on the active roster and run with five safeties? If they do, they’ll have to run with either four linebackers or four corners, which would be tough. They have some business decisions to make in the secondary, and putting together an impressive film in the final preseason game can go a long way.
The Commanders have to cut the roster to only 53 players by Tuesday’s deadline, and there will be a lot of tough decisions to make when the clock hits zero after the preseason finale.
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