Young standout players for the Washington Commanders continue to miss valuable time, and it could heavily impact their seasons
The Commanders need these young players to get healthy
The season is right around the corner for the Washington Commanders, and they’re dealing with a couple of injuries that have been a big inconvenience for some younger players who have stood out this offseason to HC Dan Quinn.
The Commanders need their recent draft picks to hit, and a majority of them could have bigger roles this season, or work towards more snaps than expected. These guys need all the in-game reps they can get, and they’re all three out of the second preseason game once again.
Jordan Magee
Jordan Magee has all the makings of an all-around pro LB in the NFL, but injuries have been the headline of his young career. He only saw the field on 16 defensive snaps in his rookie season with a handful of injuries, and he’s been battling another in training camp for a few weeks now. He recently started working on the side field at practice, but not in the team drills.
He missed time in Week 1 of the preseason and didn’t travel with the team for the joint practice or the game. The coaching staff has loved what they’ve seen from Magee going into his second season, and he’s poised to be LB3 behind Frankie Luvu and Bobby Wagner, but it won’t matter if he doesn’t see the field.
Magee needs to come back as soon as possible, and at least get a few snaps in with the defense against the Baltimore Ravens, or we may not know when we could see him getting vital snaps with Kain Medrano and Duke Riley getting reps over him.
Brandon Coleman
Second-year offensive lineman Brandon Coleman made the move to left guard after playing left tackle his rookie season, which fits more of his mold and offers a higher ceiling, but he’s also missing time gelling with the rest of the line.
Coleman is probably the safest to miss time simply because he did play last season, but even Quinn said it himself that there’s concern with offensive linemen missing time. Not having that report with Laremy Tunsil to his left and center Tyler Biadasz to his right can still really hurt how the line performs in Week 1 if that’s the first in-game reps he gets at left guard.
He’s the only player projected to start among the young players missing time, but he also has the most importance for the 2025 season. Veteran Andrew Wylie has been filling in for Coleman’s absence, and might be the starter against the Giants if Coleman doesn’t heal up.
Javontae Jean-Baptiste
Jean-Baptiste is another player Quinn has praised when he’s talked about second-year players developing, but we haven’t been able to see it on the field yet, with him missing the first two preseason games. There’s been a window of opportunity for him to have a role this season, but it could be closed with guys like Von Miller and Jacob Martin producing this season.
I’ve been high on Jean-Baptiste’s traits in his limited snaps, and it would help the future of the Commanders if he can be a key rotational piece on the edge.
These preseason games are important for younger players to emerge in bigger roles or get valuable reps to prepare for the season, but these three players could suffer setbacks if they don’t return from injuries sooner rather than later.
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