A recent move by the Commanders may confirm a suspicion on what to expect on game day from a player dealing with an injury
The Commanders make one last move before game day.
The Washington Commanders will kick off the regular season tomorrow at home when they host the New York Giants in an NFC East showdown.
The team started to get healthy at the right time, and everyone is set to play on Sunday, but maybe not to the full extent we hoped. The injury report is clean, but the Commanders made a move on Saturday that could signal that one key weapon on offense might be limited.
The Commanders announced they’re elevating two players from the practice squad to the active roster, with offensive lineman Michael Deiter and wide receiver Chris Moore getting called up. This might signal what to expect from wide receiver Noah Brown, who has been dealing with a knee injury.
Will Noah Brown be limited?
Teams are allowed to call up two players from the practice squad on game day, which is why Deiter and Moore could join the active roster. We expected a wide receiver to be one of the two players called up with only five on the active roster, but maybe Brown isn’t ready for a full workload yet.
Brown was limited in practice all week and was held out of practice on Friday, so he could have a rest day for his knee injury.
Head Coach Dan Quinn said Brown will, in fact, play, but it might not be worth risking an injury setback in the first game of the season. Terry McLaurin and Brown are the only real wide receivers who produced last season with quarterback Jayden Daniels, who will need Brown to stay healthy.
Brown had the fourth most receiving yards last season, was a late addition to the team, and missed six games as well. Of course, Deebo Samuel and Jaylin Lane are big additions for Daniels, but having that reliable safety blanket always helps, especially if there’s another Hail Mary (kidding).
The backup plan
Speaking of Samuel and Lane, if Brown is on a snap count to be safe, expect an increased workload from those two. Brown plays primarily on the outside, and luckily, Samuel and Lane can both play in the slot and on the outside as well, so you can continue to rotate players around and not have to change your game plan much. I wouldn’t actually expect Moore to play much unless it’s an emergency, since he didn’t have a good preseason at all.
There’s no guarantee on how much Brown will play, but calling up Moore as a filler for a roster spot in the wide receiver room could signal that Brown may not play a full game. The team should protect him from any kind of long-term injury, and ride with more Samuel and Lane.
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