Washington Commanders Rookie DT Johnny Newton 'Hitting All The Markers' in Recovery

Following a second foot surgery Washington Commanders rookie DT Johnny Newton is on the path toward returning to the field.

David Harrison | Jun 11, 2024

Nov 6, 2021; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini defensive lineman Jer'Zhan Newton (94) reacts during the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports / Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

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ASHBURN, Va. -- Teams like the Washington Commanders will always try to minimize pressure on their rookies, even those drafted in higher rounds.

Commanders rookie defensive tackle Jerz'han 'Johnny' Newton may not have been a first round pick out of the Illinois Fighting Illini program this year, but even second round picks carry a certain amount of expectation with them entering the NFL.

Being the first of three second round picks by Washington only added to those expectations.

Unfortunately, Newton's ability to live up to those, and more importantly his own, has been delayed due to a foot surgerty needed after he arrived to the team following the NFL Draft this April.

Since then, he's been working on recovering and head coach Dan Quinn gave us an update on Tuesday as the team got its mandatory minicamp started.

"Johnny's had the procedure done on his foot. He's hitting all the markers that he's supposed to hit," Quinn said. "He's able to do light working out and then we'll keep progressing all the way up until training camp. But no decisions been made yet in terms of the start of camp or not. So we'll take that kind of week-by-week as it's going, but he's hitting all the right markers."

Nov 6, 2021; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini defensive lineman Jer'Zhan Newton (94) reacts during the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

"No decisions been made yet in terms of the start of camp or not. So we'll take that kind of week-by-week as it's going, but he's hitting all the right markers."
- Dan Quinn, Commanders Head Coach

That's good news for Newton and for Commanders fans who remember getting excited about second round defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis before injury stole valuable developmental time from him.

Newton had to have foot surgery coming out of his final collegiate season to fix an injury he'd been playing with up to that point. This new surgery came on the opposite foot, and though it was a very similar affliction it was otherwise unrelated to that pre-draft injury.

This year's Washington rookie class has been impressive for the most part in OTAs and on the first day of minicamp and as many as five or six are expected to carve out significant roles on the team this year.

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2024 season.

Published Jun 11, 2024

DAVID HARRISON

David Harrison has covered the NFL since 2015 as a digital content creator in both written and audio media. He is the host of Locked On Commanders and a graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. His previous career was as a Military Working Dog Handler for the United States Army. Contact David via email at david.w.harrison82@gmail.com or on Twitter @DHarrison82.