Following the release of Tyler Biadasz, head coach Dan Quinn explains how Brandon Coleman could potentially battle for the starting center job this summer.

PHOENIX — One position we didn’t think the Washington Commanders needed to address entering the offseason was center. One transaction later, the release of Tyler Biadasz ahead of the new league year changed everything.

Biadasz signed a new three-year deal with the Los Angeles Chargers relatively quickly, and the Commanders agreed to a reworked deal with center Nick Allegretti, turning his remaining one year on his 2024 contract with the team into two.


Key Takeaways

Nick Allegretti and Julian Good-Jones are currently positioned to battle for the starting center job as the offseason program begins.Dan Quinn told WUSA9 that third-year lineman Brandon Coleman will start the offseason at guard, but could potentially shift to center during OTAs and training camp.The coaching staff is leaning heavily into intense positional competition to finalize the scheme and build offensive line chemistry for 2026.

And while Allegretti filled in for Biadasz when he was injured at the tail end of 2025 with success, it’s been evident that Washington will not only welcome but actively seek competition at the position.

While no free agent centers were added in free agency, head coach Dan Quinn said this week at the NFL Annual League Meeting that “to start, as we’re hitting here today, Nick and Julian [Good-Jones]  would go to battle” for the job. 

Quinn also left the door open to potential additions in the next month or so, whether via further free-agent moves or the NFL Draft at the end of April.


Brandon Coleman will start offseason at guard, but could potentially enter the center mix

Following up on the topic one-on-one with WUSA9, Quinn is also leaving the door open for third-year lineman Brandon Coleman to find himself in that mix as well.

“There could be. We did some of that last year,” Quinn said when I asked him about a potential path for Coleman to compete at center. “We’ll start him off at the left guard spot. We wanted to leave them there in that space [but] as we get through OTAs and into camp and that type of thing, for sure.”

Coleman was drafted three years ago and was groomed from the beginning to become the team’s starting left tackle out of TCU. He did a solid job, but when the Commanders traded for Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil in 2025, it signaled a shift back inside for Coleman, where he had collegiate experience before entering the NFL.

Early last season, Coleman was beat out for the starting left guard job by Chris Paul, who returned to the team on a new one-year deal this offseason, where the two are expected to compete once again.

Ultimately, however, Quinn tells me it’s not about where they start their respective competitions, but where they finish them. And where they finish is about what’s best for Washington football as a whole.


Intense training camp battles will define the new offensive line chemistry

In another one-on-one with WUSA9, this time with reporter John Doran, Quinn discussed competition across the board, saying, “[Right tackle] Josh [Conerly Jr.] and Laremy obviously outside at tackle, bringing [offensive lineman] Andrew [Wylie] back, that was a big deal for us. [Right guard] Sam [Cosmi] being fully healthy going into the offseason program. And so, adding Chris back, those are things as we’re going into it, the competition will definitely be intense there, and a number of other spots, but that’s where you grow stronger. And that’s where it becomes, the chemistry gets tighter, and everything can get elevated. So we’re pumped to put it in. There’s a lot to do; we’re working hard right now as coaches, finalizing the scheme and how we’re going to teach the players, and then we implement it.”

There appears to be no one answer to who will be the man in the middle of the Commanders’ offensive line in 2026, and to some, that is nerve-racking. In the grand scheme of things, however, there are many different paths the team could go down, and there’s an exciting upside to the possibilities involved in that as well.

Could Washington’s starting center be Nick Allegretti, Julian Good-Jones, Brandon Coleman, or a player we’re not even discussing yet? The answer is simple: Yes.


Sources & Fact-Check Log

Primary Sourcing: Direct one-on-one interviews with Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn by WUSA9 reporters at the 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting.

Roster Context: Verified Tyler Biadasz’s offseason departure to the Chargers and Nick Allegretti’s contract restructure.

Player History: Confirmed Brandon Coleman’s transition from left tackle to interior lineman following the 2025 Laremy Tunsil trade.

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