Commanders Fielding 'Makeshift' Secondary With 3 Starters OUT vs. 49ers

The Washington Commanders secondary has gotten abused this season and missing three starters Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers look to be on a path toward another beating.

The ugly truth about the Washington Commanders this season is that the defense has been a complete disaster. But the worst may be yet to come as the secondary will be without three starters on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.

Cornerbacks Kendall Fuller and Benjamin St-Juste and safety Percy Butler will all miss the game for the Commanders leaving the team in a perilous situation facing possibly the most electric offense in the NFL today.

In reality, Butler himself is actually a backup who has started 13 games due in large part to the injury suffered by Darrick Forrest earlier this year. This means Washington is not only having to replace two starting cornerbacks but a safety who was already replacing a full-time starter in the first place.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Johnson (89) scores a touchdown against Washington Commanders cornerback Kendall Fuller (29) and safety Percy Butler (35) as cornerback Benjamin St-Juste (25) looks on in the fourth quarter at Empower Field at Mile High / Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

"Well, it'll be a little bit makeshift," coach Ron Rivera said about his secondary. "I mean, [DB] Quan [Martin] will play both safety and nickel for us. [S Terrell] Burgess will play safety as well. We still have [S] Kam Curl. On the outside, it'll be [CB] Tariq [Castro-Fields] and [CB Emmanuel] Forbes...So those would be our defensive backs. It'll be the mix of those five guys. It's taken out a couple of the other packages we've had, so for the most part, those will be the five DBs that'll rotate. And like I said, it’s taking us out of some other sub packages.”

The versatility of Martin to play both the slot and safety positions will help spread some of those snaps, but if the 49ers really want to stress the group we'll likely see plenty of three or four receiver sets and plenty of deep routes early in the game. 

It'll also make controlling the clock more important than ever for the Commanders who average just over 30 minutes of possession per game entering Week 17.

But that doesn't mean Washington can just turn into a suddenly run-happy offense, even with running back Brian Robinson Jr. returning from injury.

"If you can run it successfully, you can keep them off the field, it gives you an opportunity, absolutely," Rivera said of the strategy. "But at the same time, if they score early a couple (of) times now it's a whole different mentality. So, you've got to be able to keep the balance.”

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The good news - if there is any - is that San Francisco is actually in the lower half of the league when it comes to stopping the run and is allowing 4.24 yards per carry. The 49ers rank third in rushing yards per game, however, due in large part to the early scoring Rivera referenced that forces opponents into pass-heavy strategies before they can really take advantage of a manageable run defense.

No good news comes with bad news for the Commanders these days though, and the rushing attack will be getting Robinson back but will be without offensive linemen Charles Leno Jr. (calf) and Tyler Larsen (knee), and right tackle Andrew Wylie is questionable with an elbow injury.