Amid Washington Commanders‘ troubles with Terry McLaurin‘s trade request, the preseason begins for them when they face the New England Patriots. Will Jayden Daniels be suiting up in burgundy to play?
Dan Quinn, the Commanders head coach, has decided to rest much of his starters for the NFL season. Meaning, Jayden Daniels won’t play against the Patriots. Of course, McLaurin won’t play either due to his contractual issues.
Marcus Mariota, who is Daniels‘ backup, is likely to not play either. He is dealing with a lower leg strain so chances are the coaching staff are not going to risk him. As all this shapes up, it seems that the Commanders depth chart will be in full use for this game.
If not Daniels or Mariota, then who?
It all points to former Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman to take the lead against the Patriots. NFL veteran Josh Johnson might also take some snaps as both are in a ‘quarterback battle‘ for QB3.
Sam Hartman of the Washington Commanders looks on before the game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on November 03, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Hartman played six seasons on college and had decent numbers. They were nothing to solidify him as a top-tier prospect, but good enough to get a chance on the Commanders as an undrafted free agent. As per Josh Johnson, he will enter his 10th season in the NFL. He’s played since 2009 but then has been on-and-off the league.
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What can we expect from the Commanders in preseason?
All the lower-end players on the depth chart will try to prove to the coaching staff why they deserve more snaps. Quinn is likely to sit the starters for much -if not all the preseason.
This means that the Commanders are looking to the start of the regular season. They will rest their top players as they don’t want any starters to have injuries by playing on games that don’t count towards the team’s goals.
