Washington Commanders' Ron Rivera Non-Committal on Emmanuel Forbes' Week 6 Role

Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera discussed the recent struggles of rookie cornerback Emmanuel Forbes.

In consecutive weeks, Washington Commanders rookie cornerback Emmanuel Forbes has struggled mightily when asked to cover two of the league's elite receivers, A.J. Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4 and D.J. Moore of the Chicago Bears in Week 5. 

As quarterback Justin Fields and the Bears carved up Washington's secondary on Thursday Night Football last week, Forbes was eventually benched. That's led to questions about whether he'll see a reduced role from the jump as the Commanders take on the Atlanta Falcons in Week 6. 

“We’ll see," coach Ron Rivera said Wednesday. "How he handles this situation and circumstances is important for him. It's important for us to see and see how he handles a lot of things. We'll continue to work, he'll work, as will the rest of the DB’s and we'll see how things go.”

Through the first five weeks of the season, Forbes has earned a 37.0 grade from Pro Football Focus. That's the lowest mark among the 31 players selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and the third-worst grade for a starting cornerback in the league. 

Emmanuel Forbes of the Washington Commanders has struggled to begin his NFL career.  / USA Today

But as Rivera and defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio weigh how to proceed with the struggling rookie, there were some positive signs at practice Wednesday. 

“He looked good," Rivera said of Forbes. "There were some things obviously that you could see he was really focusing on. You could see the work during the individual drills. A couple things that he did off to the side with one of the coaches. Then on the actual practice field, when he got his opportunities, there were some things that you could see he was focusing on.”

There's something to be said sometimes for giving a young player going through struggles a chance to reset and catch his breath before being thrown back into the fire. One would think there's a temptation in Washington to ease Forbes back in, rather than just lining him up as a starter again in Week 6. 

At the same time, Rivera and general manager Martin Mayhew are in the process of trying to assure that they remain employed under new owner Josh Harris. If Forbes were to be inactive or have a lesser role in Week 6 against quarterback Desmond Ridder and the Atlanta Falcons, it probably wouldn't speak very well about the regime who just used the No. 16 overall pick on the cornerback.