Commanders HC Dan Quinn and GM Adam Peters discussed Nick Allegretti, Trey Amos and more in a key press conference
The Commanders formally set their initial 53-man roster on Sunday and then made some tweaks to it. Expect that pattern to continue over the next two weeks, as Washington prepares to play the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 13 in the regular-season opener.
Monday afternoon marked the first time head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters spoke publicly since the weekend’s roster cuts, and they explained why actions were taken and how this team was formed.
Here are some key takeaways from that session with on-site reporters:
Commanders confidence in Nick Allegretti
The Commanders have been stress-tested at the center spot. Nick Allegretti suffered a calf strain in Washington’s first training-camp practice and aggravated it two practices into his return.
Julian Good-Jones and rookie Matt Gulbin proved to be insufficient backups – Good-Jones was since released and is on the practice squad – at that position, which the Commanders did not address via waiver claims or a free-agent signing.
That has led to major concerns, considering the value placed on centers as a cerebral hub within coordinator David Blough’s system.
Quinn delivered some positive news on Monday, relaying to reporters that Allegretti returned to practice.
There’s also a great deal of internal confidence in the veteran despite a lack of preseason or camp. If Allegretti validates such faith and is available all season, all this center talk will be rendered moot.
“Not having Nick for most of camp was something we had to work through, but we have a ton of confidence in him,” Peters said. “He has played 3,000-some-odd-snaps in this league, and he has played good football for us before. He went through the whole offseason, so we’re really confident.
“He’s not a guy who needs a ton of reps, especially from a mental standpoint.”
While Quinn stated that the Commanders are still working through the center situation and are not afraid to add to it, they also believe that Gulbin can step into a game and play.
“I feel the strength with him in the pocket,” Quinn said. “He’s not someone who repeats a lot of mistakes. Is he going to make some? Hell, yeah. That’s part of training camp and learning from them. ...To see him not repeat those, that’s a sign of mature player who is making a lot of progress.”
Jayden Daniels’ heavy workload
Jayden Daniels played just three snaps during the Commanders preseason slate, but the third-year quarterback still got tons of work in over the summer.
His accuracy, leadership and poise were lauded by many throughout the course of camp, and the Commanders believe he’s all set to have a huge year following a 2025 campaign plagued by injury. He’s healthy now and ready to go.
“I love Jayden’s readiness,” Quinn said. “He took over 500 snaps this training camp. That’s almost like a half season’s worth of reps. His timing with Stef (Diggs) and Terry (McLaurin) is invaluable. With a new system, to put that kind of work in – he’s elite with the ball in his hands. He’s decisive in this system.”
Why Trey Amos went on IR
The Commanders consider Trey Amos their top cornerback. The second-year pro hasn’t practiced but twice since fracturing his fibula last year, with soft-tissue soreness and then an ankle sprain preventing his return to regular action.
Washington placed him on injured reserve with a designation to return on Sunday, meaning he’ll miss the first four games at least. After all that time missed, the Commanders want to be cautious about his return to prominence.
“Not having Trey, he hasn’t played since midseason last year, so we want to take it slow with him,” Peters said. “That’s why we put him on IR. Could he have come back in a few weeks? Maybe. But, with the advances in sports science and what it will take for him to get ready to play after not having played since midseason last year, we wanted to take that a little bit slower. We’re confident he’ll be ready when it’s time for him to come out.”
The Commanders are happy with the Rasul Douglas and Fabian Moreau additions to this point, which will help the team survive until Amos’ return.
Seven receivers, Adam?
The Commanders went heavy on receivers Sunday, keeping seven of them on their 53-man roster. That’s an unorthodox number to be sure, but Washington didn’t want to let several of them go in what might be the deepest position group on the team.
“It ended up being a really deep room,” Peters said. “All of those guys have a little bit different skill set and different ways they can help our team. Some of them are better on special teams. Some of them are better inside or outside.
“We wanted to keep a mix of all those guys, and we thought more than who we kept are NFL players, and so we wanted to keep all the guys thought could help us this year. Seven is probably — you usually keep maybe six; five, six or seven, you can keep any of those numbers — whatever you do you’re taking away from another position. You try to balance that out to get the best 53 you can get. We certainly felt we had seven really capable NFL players at that position.”
Better news on the injury front
Quinn and Peters announced some positive news regarding Washington’s difficult bout with injuries over the second half of training camp, with Allegretti, defensive lineman Daron Payne, quarterback Marcus Mariota, tight end Ben Sinnott and linebacker Jordan Magee all returning to practice.
There’s also optimism, per ESPN reporter John Keim, that running back Bill Croskey-Merritt and edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson (knee) will be able to return next week. The outlook on top pass rusher Odafe Oweh is murkier, with his availability for the season opener in minor doubt.