Commanders 53-Man Roster Projections: Who Makes the Cut?

The Washington Commanders have some tough decisions to make before Tuesday's deadline to trim their roster to 53. Luckily we did some of the heavy lifting for them.

We're still more than a week out from the first NFL regular season game for the Washington Commanders, yet they're busier now than they may have been since just prior to the NFL Draft. 

That's because the Commanders are currently engaged in trimming their roster down to 53 men ahead of Tuesday afternoon's league-wide deadline. 

After making a handful of moves already, there are still plenty more to come, and we're going to tell you who we think lands on the initial 53-man roster with our annual projection project landing today.

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS 53-MAN ROSTER PROJECTION

Offense (Starters in Bold)

Quarterbacks (3): Sam Howell, Jacoby Brissett, Jake Fromm

Running Backs (3): Brian Robinson Jr., Antonio Gibson, *Chris Rodriguez Jr.

Receivers (6): Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, Curtis Samuel, Dyami Brown, Byron Pringle, Dax Milne

Tight Ends (4): Logan Thomas, John Bates, Cole Turner, Alex Armah 

Offensive Line (10): Charles Leno Jr., Saahdiq Charles, Nick Gates, Sam Cosmi, Andrew Wylie, Cornelius Lucas, Chris Paul, Tyler Larsen, *Ricky Stromberg, Trent Scott

The surprise here is the third quarterback that we predict will make the roster for two reasons. 

First, the NFL's new rule for this season is that teams can dress a third emergency quarterback without having him on the gameday active 46 roster and if the need arises for him to play, they'll get to swap him out with one of the injured quarterbacks ahead of him. 

The catch is that quarterback - Jake Fromm - does have to be on the active 53-man roster and cannot be a practice squad call-up.

Given Washington's history with quarterback health and the play of Fromm this preseason, we think there's enough reason to keep him on the active roster.

Defense (Starters in Bold)

Defensive Tackles (5): Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Phidarian Mathis, John Ridgeway, Efe Obada

Defensive Ends (5): Montez Sweat, Chase Young, James Smith-Williams, *KJ Henry, *Andre Jones Jr.

Linebackers (4): Cody Barton, Jamin Davis, David Mayo, Khaleke Hudson

Cornerbacks (6): Kendall Fuller, *Emmanuel Forbes, Benjamin St-Juste, *Quan Martin, Danny Johnson, Christian Holmes

Safeties (4): Kamren Curl, Darrick Forrest, Jeremy Reaves, Percy Butler

Specialists (3): Joey Slye (K), Tress Way (P), Camaron Cheeseman (LS)

The toughest decision here came on the defensive line as we opted to keep both rookies Henry and Jones while leaving veteran Casey Toohill exposed to being poached by another NFL squad. 

It's not that we don't like what Toohill brings to the team, but given Washington's tendency to keep its draft picks on the active roster, we felt putting two on this year's practice squad wasn't likely. 

Practice Squad Potentials

Receivers: *Kazmeir Allen, *Mitchell Tinsley

Offensive Line: *Braeden Daniels, Nolan Laufenberg, Alex Akingbulu

Tight End: Curtis Hodges

Running Backs: Jonathan Williams, Jaret Patterson

Defensive Line: Abdullah Anderson, Casey Toohill, Benning Potoa'e, Will Bradley-King

Linebackers: Milo Eifler, Scoota Harris

Cornerbacks: Rachad Wildgoose, Tariq Castro-Fields

*Rookie

Rookie offensive lineman Braeden Daniels is the only draft pick to land on the practice squad this year in our projection as the Commanders have proven in years past they prefer to keep their picks on the active roster more often than not. 

Beyond Daniels, running back Jaret Patterson was an early release Monday and may find his way to another NFL team. 

If he doesn't, then Washington will likely be more than happy to retain him on it's practice squad with a likelihood he gets called up if injuries impact the running back room during the season.

Find David Harrison on the Locked On Commanders podcast or text him directly at (202) 760-2188.

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