Is there any way this season can simply end?
No, there is not. The Washington Commanders will need to find a way to get through the final two games and see if they can get some players back healthy.
Quarterback Marcus Mariota is battling with an injured quad and hand. Head coach Dan Quinn told the media on Sunday that they may even need to sign a quarterback to help them finish the season.
Advertisement
“It was [a] cleat that got to his hand on the top,” Quinn said. “But I don’t know yet. It’s swollen. I’d say we’re going to, you know, call it day-to-day right now, of where it’s at both with the hand and with the quad. And so, let’s see what tomorrow is, and the following day. Then I’d say by two days from now, we’ll have a very good estimate of where he is.”
Though Quinn didn’t rule out needing to sign another quarterback, he did go ahead and rule out playing Jayden Daniels, the team’s starting quarterback, in either of the final two games (Dallas, at Philadelphia). “We would not consider playing Jayden. So, the first two options are the ones you were leading into of [QB] Josh [Johnson] and [QB] Sam [Hartman]. Would we consider somebody else coming in if he’s not able to? Yeah, all those are on the table. That’s something that [General Manager] Adam [Peters] and I are discussing tonight, and we did today. But yeah, option A and B, as you had said, but not C.”
Johnson is simply way beyond his best years, and Hartman? Did you see him in the preseason games? Yet, the Commanders chose to keep Hartman instead of looking elsewhere all season.
Quinn certainly doesn’t want to go out and sign a quarterback, bring him to Ashburn, and have him learn to play, if needed, in these final two weeks. You talk about difficult. It’s difficult enough to find anyone who can play any position, but you actually think you might consider it for the final two weeks of an NFL regular season? Remember, this is a short week for Washington, which plays the Dallas Cowboys on Christmas Day [Thursday].
Advertisement
“I think it’d be difficult at any spot, but I think we’re looking, let’s see where Marcus is, where are we looking for the next two games too. So, that was really kind of our thought behind the discussions of where we are. I would say difficult, not impossible, but definitely difficult. I think we just saw somebody do it last week or two weeks ago pretty quickly. Not on our team [laughs], but I did see it happening. I was pretty impressed by it.”
Yes, this is an NFL season many a Commanders fan might simply wish they could wake up and find this season had all been a bad dream… a really bad dream.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Who will start at quarterback on Christmas Day?