Changes are coming to the Washington Commanders’ defensive line.
Monday, head coach Dan Quinn was asked about how the Commanders can fill the void left due to the season-ending injury to DE Deatrich Wise, suffered Thursday at Green Bay.
The Commanders were excited about the size and experience Wise was going to bring to their run defense. After all, they had to play Saquon Barkley and the Eagles three times last season. Wise was one of their key defensive acquisition in the offseason. So, what will they do?
Quinn didn’t hesitate in saying, “Yeah, we’ll have to adjust for sure, and the size and the strength that Deatrich plays with on the edge, that’s a real thing, and so we’ll mix it around.”
In other words, they don’t have a player with the size and mobility as good as Wise, so they are going to have to move some guys around. “Fortunately for the roster, we’ve got some guys with some size that we can put into some different locations without giving away too much, but we’ll have to do that some just because of the importance of that.”
Last season, when the defensive coaches grew frustrated with the run defense giving up too much yardage, they experimented with moving Daron Payne to the outside, hoping he could seal the edge and still generate pressure on passing plays. Therefore, might Quinn be thinking of Payne again as an option to help outside?
The Commanders, on Monday, brought up defensive lineman Jalyn Holmes from the practice squad. Holmes was released by the Jets after five games in 2024. Washington signed Holmes, and though he did not start a game, Holmes did appear in 11 games last season.
“We’ll also see how we can develop Jalyn Holmes, he’s somebody that’s been here. We’ve got a lot of faith in him as well, and we’re still looking to see what we’d add and how that would look as well.”
Dorance Armstrong most likely will start on the opposite defensive end. Javontae-Jean Baptiste and Jacob Martin are available ends, but they are much smaller than Wise. One other thought, defensive tackle Johnny Newton has not flourished inside at tackle, posting one tackle for a loss, one QB hit, and two solo tackles for the first two games. Might Newton, at 295 pounds, be an option for the Commanders on the edge, where Wise was to bring his size to defend the run?
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