Dan Quinn said it best about the Washington Commanders' long-awaited bye week. The players and coaches are despondent regarding a campaign that promised the world and has delivered almost nothing. Everyone needs a break, and it's come at the perfect time.
The Commanders are 3-8 after their lackluster international defeat to the Miami Dolphins in Spain. It was another game that was there for the taking, but Washington made too many sloppy mistakes. That's been the story of the season, and any slim hopes of making the playoffs have completely disintegrated.
There are still six contests left to navigate, but fans are already turning their attention to what promises to be a franchise-altering offseason for general manager Adam Peters. He's got a lot of hard work ahead, and perhaps not every problem is going to be solved in one fell swoop.
Washington's roster is full of glaring holes. Injuries haven't helped, of course, but Peters needs to make some difficult decisions. That starts by assessing where this squad stands and which players will be part of the team's long-term plans beyond 2025.
Not everyone is going to come along for the ride; make no mistake about that. On this topic, here are seven Commanders players whose roster futures are hanging precariously at the bye week.
Commanders players whose roster futures are falling apart at the bye week
Tyler Owens - Commanders S
Tyler Owens has all the athleticism in the world. He's a physical force with the size, length, and athleticism typically associated with productive defensive backs in Dan Quinn's defensive scheme. Injuries have stunted his development, but the Washington Commanders made no secret of their stance regarding the young safety in Week 11 against the Miami Dolphins.
Quinn took over defensive play-calling from Joe Whitt Jr., and there were improvements. It didn't affect the overall outcome, but Owens not logging a single defensive snap was a damning indictment of how his progress is being perceived by the head coach.
This is a bitter blow for Owens. He was expected to play more, not less, as the Commanders aim to get younger. That wasn't the case, and one has to wonder if the former Texas Tech standout will be on the 53-man roster when the 2026 campaign arrives.
That's not a guarantee by any stretch of the imagination. Owens' dynamic traits have never matched his production on the field, even in college. Unless significant development occurs after the bye week, a situation could emerge in which the Commanders are forced to go in a different direction.