Commander Country

Commanders Defensive Line Extremely Thin vs. Eagles; What's The Plan?

The Washington Commanders are dealing with several injuries on the defensive line. Changes will have to be made against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Jeremy Brener

Commanders Defensive Line Extremely Thin vs. Eagles; What's The Plan?
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The Washington Commanders' defensive line has been stung by the injury bug in more ways than one this season. And it's going to affect them tremendously this weekend against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The team announced that Casey Toohill (concussion) and Daniel Wise (ankle) won't play Sunday after not practicing all week. The team could also be without James Smith-Williams (abdomen), who was limited in practice all week. These injuries come on top of Chase Young (torn ACL; PUP List) and Phidarian Mathis (torn meniscus; IR) being out, meaning the Commanders are extremely thin on the defensive line.

"Guys are getting a lot of reps looking at different possibilities and trying to heal up best the guys that are a little nicked up," defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio said. "It's fluid process. I think, really in all the cases. I mean these other than Phil [Phidarian Mathis], these guys are coming back and hopefully soon to full strength. The challenge is as you prepare during the week to get some able bodies out there that are ready to go.”

While these players are coming back "hopefully soon," soon may not be enough for this weekend, meaning the Commanders have to adapt. We'll know more on Saturday when players are officially activated from the practice squad, but there's a decent chance players like defensive end William Bradley-King, and defensive tackles Donovan Jeter and Benning Potoa'e are asked to play Sunday. From the active roster, look for defensive end Shaka Toney and sixth-round rookie defensive tackle John Ridgeway to see an increase in playing time.

The Commanders play the Eagles at 1 p.m. Sunday at FedEx Field.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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