Commanders' Defensive Line Depleted After Injury to Javontae Jean-Baptiste
When a player goes down, you might not have a backup who fits into the same mold, where you can simply plug him in and play him.
Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn was asked about this on Wednesday.
Quinn acknowledged there is adapting that does have to take place.
"Yes, you do want to, not one size fits all into that," said. "So, when you know somebody's featured in a different role or a different spot, it's not just add water and the same result will take place. So, you may have to do things a little bit differently."
For instance, we have already seen the Commanders don't have a running back who is nearly as much of a threat as a receiver as Austin Ekeler was before his season-ending Achilles injury. On the other hand, although Marcus Mariota is not Jayden Daniels, Mariota did display poise in running the offense and stepping up to make all sorts of throws in the pocket during his two weeks of action, substituting for Daniels.
Having lost defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste with a torn pectoral muscle against the Falcons, Quinn was asked about losing him. The significance of losing Jean-Baptiste is that he was not the starter to begin the season. The starter was new Commander and former Patriot Deatrich Wise. But Wise went down in the Week 2 loss to the Packers when he was rolled up under, tearing a quadriceps muscle, ending his 2025 season.
"So, with Javontae in his case, we signed Preston [Smith] a few weeks back. And so as he's progressing, there would be some snaps that would go his way.” Jean Baptiste was drafted by Washington in the 7th round (222) of the 2024 draft, after playing his final college season at Notre Dame. He did not play against the Giants, but did see action against the Packers, and he started against the Raiders and Falcons. In his three games, he was in on six tackles, a QB sack, a QB hit, and one tackle for a loss.
Coming in for Jean-Baptiste will be Preston Smith, a veteran, who will turn 33 in November. Smith was drafted 38th overall by Washington in the 2015 NFL Draft. In his four seasons with the Redskins, he contributed 24.5 QB sacks, 29 tackles for a loss and 59 QB hits. He also intercepted four passes for 51 return yards.
The defensive ends for the Commanders are now Dorance Armstrong, Jalyn Holmes, Jacob Martin, Smith and Von Miller (listed as a linebacker). There is T.J. Maguranyanga on the practice squad; however, he is only 222 pounds and an inexperienced International player. So look for the Commanders to be looking to sign a defensive end to their practice squad.
49ers QB Mac Jones Receives Strong Words After Beating Rams
Mac Jones has won his third game for the San Francisco 49ers as the backup led the team to a 26-23 overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams on October 2 at SoFi Stadium.
Jones went 33-for-49 on his passes, resulting in 342 passing yards and two touchdowns. Brock Purdy has dealt with injuries after the Week 1 win over the Seattle Seahawks, and Jones has filled in flawlessly as three of the four wins this season have come with the Alabama signal caller under center.
Moreover, the only loss that San Francisco has experienced came with Purdy returning as the starting quarterback in Week 4 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Niners’ backup quarterback received praise from CBS Sports NFL analyst Emory Hunt after leading the team to a road win against the Rams.
“The ball came out on time,” Hunt said on the October 2 edition of “CBS Sports HQ.” “It came out accurately. It came out to the right guy. He was picking apart this Rams‘ linebacking core and secondary.
“You saw the chemistry he had with his old teammate, Kendrick Bourne, who also was tearing up this defense for over 140 yards, receiving 10 receptions. He had the one drop, but didn’t drop a ball the rest of the way. So you like that Mac Jones went out there and competed down and down out. Gutsy performance.”
49ers QB Mac Jones Played Through an Injury
Despite playing this Week 5 game, Jones has also dealt with an injury. Nonetheless, Hunt applauded the 49ers‘ quarterback for playing through the pain to ensure that San Francisco left Los Angeles with the win.
“The knee injury started to affect him in the second half,” Hunt added. “But man, you talk about coming up big in high-leverage moments. I’m big on that. He was big tonight in that regard. Kudos to Mac Jones.
“This is what you want to see from your starter in waiting. I hate saying backup, but the starter in waiting came into the ball game and carried this team through the game, getting them the upset against a division rival.”
Trent Williams Talks 49ers QB Mac Jones
Hunt isn’t the only one praising Jones for his performance against the Rams. After the game, Trent Williams spoke to the media and shared his thoughts on the former New England Patriots quarterback’s ability to lead the team to a bounce-back win over a division rival.
“I mean, just an apex competitor,” Williams told reporters (h/t 95.7 The Game). “He’s one of those guys where it’s not a surprise why people drafted him where they drafted him, why everybody’s so high on him. He has such a high ceiling. Just a really cool guy to be around as well.”
The 49ers will have a few days off now and will need to determine at some point until their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers whether they want to ride with Jones or feel Purdy is healthy enough to return as the starting quarterback.
Moreover, Seattle will look to stay on pace with the 49ers as the NFC West continues to be one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL this 2025 season.
