The Washington Commanders have just two weeks left until they kick off their most anticipated season in well over a decade. The Commanders are coming off of a 2024 season in which they shocked the NFL world by making it all the way to the NFC Championship Game, and in which Jayden Daniels put together arguably the most impressive rookie season in league history.
One of the more underrated aspects of what makes a good team in the NFL is having a competent backup quarterback play in the case of injury, and right now, the Commanders' situation is a bit murky in that department.
“If Washington keeps three quarterbacks, Saturday's outing for Sam Hartman did not help him at all. Hartman struggled for a third preseason game. He played the entire first half vs. Baltimore, completing 12 of 17 passes for 114 yards and two interceptions — including a pick-six. Most of his completions were behind the line, and his throws to the outside lacked zip,” reported John Keim of ESPN. “The question becomes whether or not Washington keeps 38-year-old Josh Johnson, who was better than Hartman but also threw three interceptions this summer.”
Keim also noted that “A lot comes down to how the team feels about backup Marcus Mariota's Achilles tendinitis that sidelined him for most of the past three weeks. Mariota returned to practice last week.”
A big decision for the Commanders
Not every team in the NFL keeps three quarterbacks on the active roster, but if Washington does, they don't appear to have a great set of options to take over that third spot on the depth chart.
Conventional wisdom would suggest taking Hartman due to his relative youth and theoretical potential to improve, but he may not provide the best bang for Washington's buck at the current moment.
Of course, the Commanders are hoping that the only time they will see backup quarterbacks this year is when they are blowing teams out by so many points that Daniels is no longer needed, or if they've already secured their seeding for the playoffs and rest the starters.
The Commanders will kick off their 2025 season at home against the New York Giants on September 7 at 1:00 PM ET.
