Commanders updated depth chart ahead of the final preseason game versus New England

Since |A| last weeks preseason road |B| loss against the Dolphins, |C| there have been many |D| changes to the roster

|E| dir="ltr">Additions

• DE Justin Hollins |F| signed

• LB Chappelle |G| Russell signed

• DE |H| Kendrell Brooks signed

• |J| dir="ltr">S Sheldrick Redwine signed

• |K| dir="ltr">

  K Cade York |L| acquired in trade

• |M| dir="ltr">C Cameron Tom signed

|O| dir="ltr">Subtractions

• WR Jahan |P| Dotson traded to Eagles

• |Q| dir="ltr">

  LB Bo Bauer |R| released (injury settlement)

• |S| dir="ltr">LB Keandre Jones waived

• |U| dir="ltr">

  S Ben Nikkel |V| waived

• K Riley |Y| Patterson waived

• C |Z| J.C. Hassenauer released

UPDATED |A| DEPTH CHART

The numbers |B| that appear beside some |C| players names are 2024 |D| cap hits per Over |E| the Cap.

Please note |F| that assigned positions and |G| color coding are my |H| own personal opinions. They |J| do not necessarily represent |K| the thinking of Washingtons |L| coaches or front office, |M| nor are they necessarily |O| consistent with fan consensus. |P| This chart represents my |Q| personal interpretation, and may |R| not reflect the thoughts |S| of other writers on |U| Hogs Haven. Finally, when |V| it comes to backup |Y| players, I dont put |Z| much effort into making |A| sure that they are |B| on the right or |C| left or behind the |D| specific player that they |E| backup. I mostly just |F| try to fit everyone |G| on the chart efficiently.

|H| dir="ltr">The Commanders currently have |J| 91 players on the |K| roster (including one International |L| Pathway Player who is |M| exempt from the usual |O| 90-man limit). Going into |P| the second preseason game, |Q| the team has 43 |R| offensive players, 45 defensive |S| players, and 3 specialists |U| (K, P, LS).

Some |V| notes on players/positions

WR |Y| Jahan Dotson

The biggest |Z| Commanders roster news of |A| the week was the |B| trade of Jahan Dotson |C| + a 5th -round |D| pick to the Eagles |E| for a 3rd + |F| a pair of 7th-rounders. |G| A Dotson trade had |H| felt increasingly inevitable throughout |J| training camp, with reports |K| that Dotson didnt seem |L| to be fitting in |M| very comfortably. Washingtons front |O| office gets some return |P| of draft capital from |Q| a situation that seemed |R| to be deteriorating.

Related

|S| dir="ltr">The Washington Commanders trade |U| Jahan Dotson to the |V| Philadelphia Eagles

Ive always |Y| liked Dotson and would |Z| like to wish him |A| good luck, but...Philly.

Heres |B| how Bleeding Green Nation |C| assessed the trade:

[T]he |D| Eagles seem to think |E| that theyre buying low |F| on Dotson and that |G| he can be better |H| than he was last |J| season. He arrives in |K| Philly with lower expectations |L| than he had in |M| Washington by virtue of |O| being a first-round pick. |P| The Eagles are realistically |Q| hoping hell be a |R| solid contributor to pair |S| with their two top-notch |U| receivers in A.J. Brown |V| and DeVonta Smith. Its |Y| also worth noting that |Z| he has two years |A| left on his rookie |B| contract, plus a potential |C| fifth-year option for 2026.

|D| dir="ltr">LB Jordan Magee

Magee |E| suffered a meniscus tear |F| and underwent surgical repair |G| recently (head coach Dan |H| Quinn initially and mistakenly |J| said it was an |K| MCL tear). This will |L| likely keep Magee out |M| for several weeks, meaning |O| that he should miss |P| the start of the |Q| season.

In prior years, |R| this would have been |S| more problematic. Under last |U| years rules, for example, |V| if the team had |Y| placed him on IR |Z| at any time up |A| to and including cutdown |B| to 53 players, then |C| Magee would have been |D| out for the entire |E| season. A rule change |F| this year allows each |G| NFL team to assign |H| up to two players |J| to IR at the |K| time of the cutdown |L| to 53 players and |M| designate them for return |O| during the season.

There |P| is a limit of |Q| 8 activations from IR |R| for each team during |S| the regular season, and |U| each of these designations |V| counts as one of |Y| those activations whether the |Z| player returns or not.

|A| dir="ltr">I expect the team |B| to use one of |C| these designations on Jordan |D| Magee. If this happens, |E| then Magee will not |F| be eligible to be |G| activated until Week 5 |H| at the earliest.

DE |J| Efe Obada

Because Efe |K| Obada was designated as |L| Physically Unable to Perform |M| (PUP) at the start |O| of training camp, he |P| can be assigned to |Q| the Injured Reserve (IR) |R| list when the roster |S| is trimmed to 53 |U| players, and he will |V| still be eligible for |Y| activation during the regular |Z| season. Like Magee, he |A| would have to miss |B| at least the first |C| 4 games of the |D| season. I dont believe |E| any other Commanders players |F| are in the same |G| situation.

Brandon Coleman and |H| Johnny Newton

These two |J| players have not been |K| practicing recently. Coleman entered |L| camp healthy, but has |M| since injured his pectoral. |O| The injury seems to |P| be relatively mild (no |Q| report of surgery required). |R| Johnny Newton had surgery |S| on a Jones fracture |U| that was discovered post-draft, |V| and has been recovering. |Y| He was on the |Z| PUP list on the |A| day he reported to |B| training camp, but was |C| cleared to practice the |D| following day. Im tempted |E| to say that he |F| seems to have suffered |G| a bit of a |H| setback but Dan Quinn |J| would take exception to |K| that. In fact, Quinn |L| indicated that Newtons issue |M| is not with his |O| surgery, and that both |P| players might be playing |Q| if this were the |R| regular season:

Not a |S| setback because it wasnt |U| related to where his |V| injury was, but just |Y| a soft tissue part |Z| that just wasnt quite |A| right. And so for |B| he and for Brandon |C| and others, were just |D| gonna make sure theyre |E| really right to go. |F| I think both of |G| them would say, Ill |H| go tomorrow, so thats |J| the attitude that you |K| want, but its not |L| the best thing to |M| say, Hey, how do |O| we get them ready |P| for the whole thing, |Q| knowing that were still |R| in the preseason, so |S| when they do get |U| back out there to |V| play that theres no |Y| reservations whatsoever.

Later, Quinn |Z| clarified Newtons situation even |A| more:

He [is] dealing |B| with like a soft |C| tissue injury on his |D| foot not related to |E| his surgery, and so |F| hes off to the |G| side doing work and |H| were fortunate that the, |J| Im going to call |K| it a preseason bye |L| [week] here because were |M| going to try to |O| ramp him up towards |P| the end of this |Q| week and hopefully into |R| the practice for next |S| week. So, hes hit |U| all the marks that |V| were wanting him to, |Y| but were just trying |Z| to make sure there |A| are no setbacks. He |B| worked so hard, so |C| I want to make |D| sure like we just |E| dont miss one thing.

|F| dir="ltr">Its possible — DQ |G| makes it sound likely |H| — that either or |J| both of these players |K| could be ready and |L| available for the start |M| of the season. As |O| recently as Monday, Dan |P| Quinn was discussing the |Q| possibility of either or |R| both playing in the |S| final preseason game against |U| the Patriots this Sunday:

|V| dir="ltr">Brandons a little bit |Y| further along than Johnny, |Z| but not by tons |A| —both of them I |B| see on the way |C| up. As far as |D| getting them to the |E| [Patriots] game, Ill have |F| a better sense for |G| that as we get |H| to the end of |J| the week.

Well see |K| Brandon more this week |L| really ramp up the |M| contact and that kind |O| of stuff up, youll |P| see more running with |Q| Johnny. Those are two |R| guys that are [improving |S| physically], but I dont |U| have an official...timeline for |V| them yet.

Quinn later |Y| referenced this weeks final |Z| preseason game against the |A| Patriots as something of |B| a “bye week” for |C| Newton, who will not |D| play. This indirectly indicates |E| that Quinn is aiming |F| for the player to |G| be ready for the |H| Week 1 contest in |J| Tampa Bay. Still, it |K| seems possible that one |L| of these two drafted |M| rookies (Coleman or Newton) |O| could be assigned to |P| IR when the initial |Q| 53-man roster is formed.

|R| dir="ltr">If so, Johnny Newton |S| seems the one most |U| likely to go to |V| IR, based partly on |Y| Dan Quinns characterization of |Z| Coleman as being “further |A| along” and partly on |B| the relative depth of |C| the defensive line (deep) |D| and offensive line (not |E| so much). There is |F| really no urgency to |G| get Newton on the |H| field with Allen, Payne, |J| Ridgeway, Mathis, Potoae and |K| others healthy and ready |L| to play. Taking Quinn |M| at face value, however, |O| would indicate that Newton |P| will be rested for |Q| the final preseason game, |R| but ready to play |S| against Tampa Bay.

Jeremy |U| Reaves

I saw a |V| lot of comments last |Y| week about Jeremy Reaves |Z| possibly losing his roster |A| spot because he missed |B| some tackles on defense |C| against the Dolphins. Anyone |D| who thinks that may |E| want to look closely |F| at what Dan Quinn |G| had to say this |H| week when asked about |J| the role of special |K| teams in roster decisions.

|L| dir="ltr">Therell be some players |M| that will have a |O| featured role mostly on |P| special teams. Now that |Q| could be one or |R| two offensive players or |S| defensive players where they |U| may not have a |V| leading role on offense |Y| or defense. Then, theres |Z| the player that has |A| roles on both. I |B| may be a backup |C| or a complimentary starter. |D| Im playing 50% of |E| the plays. And then |F| you may hear a |G| guy, well play them |H| on two of the |J| four. I can play |K| them on punt and |L| kickoff return. So, first |M| level is the Jeremy |O| Reaves of the world |P| — Special teams value |Q| impacting plays. Then it |R| gets into the player |S| thats the complimentary starter |U| that plays quite a |V| bit but still has |Y| room for at least |Z| two phases.The fun part, |A| whats going to happen |B| in 2024 is [that |C| kickoffs and kickoff returns] |D| are growing again and |E| its really cool to |F| see. Its still work |G| in progress I would |H| say, and I think |J| it will be a |K| little bit fluid as |L| it goes into the |M| beginning part of the |O| season. But I am |P| excited to see it |Q| and I think its |R| really good for not |S| just the Jeremy Reeves |U| of the world who |V| make their mark on |Y| special teams, but also |Z| just for the energy |A| of the game, the |B| players, how we do |C| things.Im really pumped about |D| it.

I dont know |E| about you, but that |F| just doesnt sound to |G| me like a coach |H| whos thinking about cutting |J| his special teams ace.

|K| dir="ltr">Kicker

Dan Quinn said |L| on Monday about the |M| kicker position:

The competition |O| for us at that |P| spot is not settled |Q| by any stretch, along |R| with some other positions. |S| But as far as |U| heading into the game, |V| [weve made] no decisions |Y| [to add] anybody else |Z| to the roster.

That |A| changed on Thursday, when |B| Albert Breer broke the |C| news that Washington had |D| traded for kicker Cade |E| York, acquiring him from |F| the Browns for a |G| conditional 7th round pick. |H| The team later officially |J| announced the move.

Related

|K| dir="ltr">The Washington Commanders have |L| traded for a kicker!

|M| dir="ltr">The fact that the |O| draft pick is conditional |P| — its been reported |Q| that the condition is |R| for York to be |S| on the roster for |U| 2 games — hints |V| that Washington may not |Y| be 100% sure that |Z| York will be the |A| kicker that actually ends |B| up on the team |C| in the regular season.

|D| dir="ltr">A quick reminder

Every |E| NFL team needs to |F| reduce its roster to |G| a maximum of 53 |H| players by 4pm ET |J| on Tuesday, August 27th.

|K| dir="ltr">The roster that the |L| team forms is called |M| the “initial” 53-man roster |O| for a reason — |P| it is almost never |Q| the “final” roster that |R| the team will take |S| into its opening week |U| game.

The front office |V| may choose to move |Y| one or more players |Z| to IR after Tuesday; |A| they may, of course, |B| claim a young player |C| off of the waiver |D| wire, or sign a |E| vested veteran who is |F| released from another team. |G| We may not know |H| until Friday the 30th |J| (or even the beginning |K| of September) the exact |L| makeup of the roster |M| that will travel to |O| Tampa Bay to open |P| the season.

Preseason Games

|Q| dir="ltr">The Commanders opened the |R| 2024 preseason with a |S| 20-17 loss to the |U| NY Jets on Saturday, |V| August 10th.

The second |Y| preseason game at Miami |Z| on the 17th of |A| August resulted in a |B| 13-6 Commanders loss.

Washington |C| goes into its final |D| 2024 preseason game at |E| home against the Patriots |F| at 8:00 p.m. on |G| Sunday, August 25th with |H| an 0-2 record.

|J|