Tight End Troubles: How Commanders Are Dealing With TE Injuries

The injury bug has stung the entire position group.

The Washington Commanders were down their top three tight ends in Saturday's 23-21 preseason loss to the Carolina Panthers, giving an opportunity for other players to shine.

The tight end room certainly looked different on the field than on the depth chart because the injury bug has decimated the position group. Starting tight end Logan Thomas remains on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List, and may not be activated before the season opener. Meanwhile, second-year pro John Bates and fifth-round rookie Cole Turner are both dealing with lower leg injuries, which held them out of Saturday's game. That means the Commanders had to rely on other players to get the job done.

And even though fourth and fifth-string tight ends were out there working with the first-team offense, the fill-ins did a decent job. Armani Rogers and Curtis Hodges tied for the team-lead in catches with three apiece.

“I thought they did a hell of a job," head coach Ron Rivera said. "For two young guys to come in and basically play the whole game." 

Coach Rivera was also keen on praising tight end Eli Wolf, who joined the team in the middle of camp. 

"And got to give [TE] Eli [Wolf] a little credit too," Rivera said. "We brought him about a week ago and he’s done a heck of a job picking it up and learning it. I mean, three guys come in and basically play the whole game. That’s a hell of an effort, and it was good to see. These young guys have got to learn and have got to understand. They did a nice job.”

Even though the players fighting for practice squad opportunities impressed, Rivera is hopeful that Bates and Turner will return sooner rather than later.

“We’ll see what we get from those guys on Monday," Rivera said. "I do hope at some point we do get to see them in preseason before we start heading to the regular season. It’s just one those things you want to see but I just can’t tell you. I’m not the doctor.”

Bates and Turner will have the opportunity to progress in practice this week before possibly playing in the team's next preseason contest Saturday against the Kansas City Chiefs.