Commanders 53-man roster projection: Quarterbacks, wide receivers, trenches among biggest question marks

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ASHBURN, Va. -- Washington's most anticipated training camp in decades wrapped up Thursday, fittingly under cloudy, cool conditions that felt much more like football weather than the heat and humidity of the previous few weeks.

The Commanders focused heavily on situational football, sprinkling in two-minute drills, last-second field goal attempts, scenarios with and without timeouts, hurrying up to spike the ball after a completion and much more.

The Commanders thrived in these scenarios last season, winning eight one score games in the regular season (plus in the wild card round against the Buccaneers) and scoring 38 points in the final minute of regulation, most by any team in the NFL since 2012.

"You've heard us talk winning time moments and how we do that," Quinn said. "... Can we even get sharper? It's such a big part of what we do; we have a lot of confidence in those spaces."

It's also coming down to crunch time for the players on the roster bubble. The NFL's 53-man roster deadline is Tuesday, Aug. 26 at 4 p.m. ET. While the roster is "final" in name, it's really a misnomer. Teams will often continue tweaking their squads based on other movement around the league. Last year, Washington signed wide receiver Noah Brown two days after the Texans cut him; Brown finished as Washington's fourth-leading receiver. The Commanders also traded defensive tackle John Ridgeway to the Saints after cut-down day.

Washington figures to have a handful or more of openings left on its 53-man roster, and players can stake their claims Saturday when the Commanders host the Ravens for the third and final preseason game.

Here's our roster projection as training camp came to a close:

Quarterbacks (2)

Starter: Jayden Daniels
Backup: Marcus Mariota

The only question here is whether Washington keeps two or three quarterbacks. Mariota's return to practice, however, leads us to lean toward two. The veteran quarterback had been dealing with Achilles tendonitis but said "the plan" is that he'll be healthy for Week 1.

"I'm kind of in that process to return to play," Mariota said. "Part of that process is to come out here, start doing some individual work and then slowly get acclimated into the team setting, and then once that happens, I should be ready to go by Week 1."

That's a relief for Washington, as both players vying for the potential third quarterback spot have struggled. Both Josh Johnson and Sam Hartman have thrown two interceptions and zero touchdown passes across the first two preseason games. It's a near certainty that if Washington opts to just keep two quarterbacks on the active roster, one of Johnson or Hartman would land on the practice squad.

Running backs (4)

Starter: Austin Ekeler
Backups: Chris Rodriguez Jr., Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Jeremy McNichols

Brian Robinson Jr., last year's leading rusher, has not been with the team for the past several days -- including the Week 2 preseason game against the Bengals -- after news emerged that Washington was shopping him.

That actually clears up the running back picture significantly. Ekeler projects as the top pass catcher, with Rodriguez Jr. and perhaps Croskey-Merritt getting more early-down work and Rodriguez being the goal-line back. Both Croskey-Merritt and Rodriguez impressed in the preseason game against the Bengals.

McNichols is a steady presence as well as a special teams contributor.

Wide receivers (6)

Starters: Terry McLaurin, Deebo Samuel, Noah Brown
Backups: Jaylin Lane, Luke McCaffrey, Chris Moore

McLaurin has gone from hold out to hold in (and placed on he physically unable to perform list) to activated off the physically unable to perform list this training camp. Two things haven't changed: He still hasn't gotten a new contract -- negotiations aren't particularly close -- and he still hasn't practiced. McLaurin did watch practice Thursday, but he wasn't even at the stadium for the second preseason game. Brown has also missed significant time this training camp due to a knee injury; he watched Thursday's practice as well.

That's left Deebo Samuel and a lot of unproven players and journeymen to fill in the snaps remaining. Samuel has impressed, his connection with Daniels clearly growing stronger as time has progressed, and he took a jet sweep 19 yards against Cincinnati. The unproven players and journeymen have mostly looked like, well, unproven players and journeymen.

It appears like Jaylin Lane might be the closest to breaking out of that group. Lane had three catches for 42 yards against Cincinnati, more than the rest of the wide receivers combined. He also worked from the slot and from out wide, a clear indication of opportunities avaialable.

"I thought he's one that I see the ascension taking place," Quinn said. "You can often feel it from the coaching point into the drill, onto the field, he can apply it very quickly."

McCaffrey, a third-round pick in 2024, was always going to be a bit of a project; he switched from quarterback to wide receiver in college, and he's still learning some of the nuances of the position.

When healthy, Moore has seen a decent amount of reps with the starters. Washington also has veterans K.J. Osborn and Michael Gallup in camp. Undrafted rookie Ja'Corey Brooks has had some impressive stretches, but he may be practice squad-bound.

Like last season, they'll likely be scouring the free agent pool after roster cut day for a potential contributor regardless

Tight ends (4)

Starters: Zach Ertz, John Bates
Backups: Ben Sinnott, Colson Yankoff

Ertz remains a very reliable target with Daniels and has right up there with Samuel as Daniels' (unofficial) top two targets throughout training camp.

Ertz has called Bates the league's best blocking tight end, a phrase he repeated Thursday, too.

"Tight ends in general, if we hold our spot at the point of attack, it's typically a win in the NFL," Ertz said. "John Bates is one fo the few that can dominate at the line of scrimmage, move them from one place to another. It's crazy what he can do in the run game, honestly."

Ertz had another revelation Thursday, too: Yankoff is maybe the fastest player on the team, "which is pretty crazy for, being a tight end, how big he is." Ertz said Yankoff hit around 22 miles per hour in the spring. Sinnott, a second-round pick last season, has been more of a blocker as well, though he brings a speed element, too.

Offensive linemen (10)

Starters: LT Laremy Tunsil, LG Brandon Coleman, C Tyler Biadasz, RG Nick Allegretti, RT Andrew Wylie OR Josh Conerly Jr.
Backups: G Sam Cosmi, T George Fant, G Chris Paul, C Michael Deiter

Washington has several decisions to make here, the most important is at right tackle. Wylie and Conerly have both spent time as the first-team right tackle. Wylie is the incumbent, but Conerly has shown rapid improvement over training camp. The first-round pick out of Oregon played left tackle for the Ducks, and the early days of his transition to right tackle had some ups and downs, but he's settling in there well and putting his immense athleticism on display.

"I'm not going to say I was surprised by it, but the run game part of him was even better than I had thought," Quinn said. "Sometimes you think of an athletic tackle and automatically your mind goes to pass protection, but he's a very strong run [blocker]. He can clamp on you, he can move you."

Wylie is extremely versatile; he played guard against Cincinnati with Coleman out.

The second-most important decision is Cosmi. The standout right guard tore his ACL in Washington's divisional round win over the Lions but has "hit all the markers along the way" during his recovery, Quinn said. The Commanders have to decide whether they'll activate Cosmi from the physically unable to perform list on cutdown day. If they do not, he'd miss the first four games.

In this projection, we say Cosmi makes the 53-man roster, even if he may not be ready for Week 1. Washington signed Fant as a backup swing tackle, and Paul and Deiter provide interior depth.

Defensive line/EDGE (9)

Starters: DE Dorance Armstrong, DT Javon Kinlaw, DT Daron Payne, DE Deatrich Wise
Backups: DT Johnny Newton, DT Eddie Goldman, DE Clelin Ferrell, EDGE Von Miller, EDGE Jacob Martin

This unit features four newcomers in Kinlaw -- who has been a camp standout -- and Wise on the line and Miller and Martin as pass rushers. Armstrong has also had a strong camp, and Newton flashed against the Patriots in preseason Week 1.

The question is a potential ninth spot. Does Washington keep a potential interior run plugger like Eddie Goldman? An edge rusher like Javontae Jean-Baptiste or Jalyn Holmes? In Ferrell, they get a bit of both -- a strong run-defending defensive end who can rush the passer if needed -- and in Goldman, they commit one extra body to solving one of last year's biggest defensive weaknesses.

Linebacker (5)

Starters: Bobby Wagner, Frankie Luvu
Backups: Jordan Magee, Kain Medrano, Nick Bellore

Washington would love to get a clearer picture of its depth here after Wagner and Luvu. Magee missed half of last season with a knee injury and has missed a significant chunk of training camp. Medrano, a sixth-round rookie, has shown impressive speed, but leaving two unproven players behind Wagner and Luvu is showing extreme trust that both starters can stay healthy and either youngster can step in if not. Bellore is a special teams ace.

Cornerbacks (5)

Starters: Marshon Lattimore, Trey Amos, Mike Sainristil
Backups: Noah Igbinoghene, Antonio Hamilton Sr.
PUP: Jonathan Jones

Jones' injury looms large here. He has not participated in training camp in several weeks, so for now, his potential to be ready for the start of the regular season is murky at best.

That works to Hamilton's advantage in this exercise. The well-traveled veteran signed with Washington on Aug. 11 and played well against the Bengals.

Undrafted rookie Car'lin Vigers stands out as a name to keep in mind for the practice squad.

Safety (5)

Starters: Quan Martin, Will Harris
Backups: Jeremy Reaves, Percy Butler, Tyler Owens

This is one of Washington's stronger position groups. Martin has stood out not only on the field but off the field in Quinn's eyes.

"He has quietly also become really one of the leaders around here, and you've heard us talk about developing leaders," Quinn said. "I think Quan might be up near the top of that. ... My job is to see the leaders in others, and Quan's somebody that comes to mind in my mind on that. Like he is definitely becoming a voice here that is really strong and very well heard in the locker room."

Harris has fit in well alongside Martin, while Reaves and Butler remain indispensable special teamers; Reaves has impressed on defense as well. Owens is a super athlete whose versatility serves him well in the battle for a roster spot.