The Commanders could be even more short-handed than expected with recent injury updates to key players with big roles to fill
It's early in the season, but the Washington Commanders are one of the many banged-up teams in the league right now. We already know about Austin Ekeler and Deatrich Wise missing the rest of the season with major injuries, but we've been waiting on updates with a lot of other key players.
We finally got an update on Monday from head coach Dan Quinn, and the team could be short-handed come Sunday. Starting quarterback Jayden Daniels has a sprained knee and is in doubt for Sunday, but two other starters on offense will unlikely play, according to Quinn.
Noah Brown and John Bates updates
Losing Daniels for a week is already a big blow, but adding wide receiver Noah Brown and tight end John Bates to it really puts the offense behind if Marcus Mariota is the quarterback come Sunday. Bates and Brown both left the game and never returned, and Quinn said both are "long shots" to play against the Las Vegas Raiders.
"Yeah, I think it's a long shot," Quinn said. "But we'll have to find out when we get through Wednesday and where we're at. Both of them had soft tissue injuries, and we'll just see what it looks like as we get through Wednesday, but we're still assessing him and John [Jones] and Jayden [Daniels] as well. So those are the four that it's too early to call for me. And so, once we get in, we'll get together on Wednesday and have a better discussion for that.”
Brown is the third-best wide receiver on the team, but he's been dealing with a handful of injuries since last season, and even had a knee injury heading into the season. The Commanders desperately need another wide receiver to step up from a depth piece to a real contributor. Bates' absence can't be stressed enough. He's easily one of the best blocking tight ends in the league, and as we saw last week, we need him on the field to help out in the run game and in pass protection as well with a struggling offensive line.
Next man up
Green Bay Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon (25) breaks up a pass intended for Washington Commanders wide receiver Jaylin Lane (83) on Thursday, September 11, 2025, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. The Packers won the game, 27-18.© Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Commanders desperately need Jaylin Lane or Luke McCaffrey to step up as the next option in the wide receiver room with Brown out. The team already called up Chris Moore, and they should do the same with Ja'Corey Brooks as well. Bates is impossible to replace, but Ben Sinnott and Colson Yankoff can block, and maybe earn a small role in the passing game as well.
Possibly losing Daniels for Sunday's game is already a rough start to the week, and it won't be any easier for whoever plays with Brown and Bates, very likely out for at least a week. The Commanders looked rough against the Packers and desperately need a bounce-back win against the Raiders to fix the vibes.
NFL RUMORS: Kirk Cousins Now a Viable Option for Bengals After Joe Burrow’s Toe Injury
The Minnesota Vikings chose signing Carson Wentz over attempting to trade for Kirk Cousins ahead of the regular season, which may prove a mistake following an injury to J.J. McCarthy in Week 2.
McCarthy is likely to miss between two and four weeks after severely spraining his ankle against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, September 14, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. Cousins knows head coach Kevin O’Connell’s offense and several of the players in the huddle, though he would have cost the Vikings an asset in a deal.
The team would also have likely had to pay a significant portion of Cousins’ $27.5 million base salary in 2025 at the age of 37 and coming off injuries in back-to-back seasons, all of which likely contributed to Minnesota’s choice to ink the younger and less expensive Wentz instead.
However, Wentz must now take the reins of the offense next weekend against the Cincinnati Bengals, while undrafted rookie Max Brosmer elevates into the QB2 role and the Vikings likely go on the hunt for a veteran signal-caller to add to the mix for at least as long as McCarthy is out.
Cousins is no longer as viable an option for Minnesota after the franchise brought in Wentz, but he could make sense for their Week 3 competitors. Cincinnati lost star quarterback Joe Burrow for up to three months following a toe injury Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars that will require surgery.
The Bengals have one of the NFL’s more reliable backup options in Jake Browning, though he threw three interceptions in Week 2 as Cincinnati narrowly escaped a home loss to the visiting Jaguars.
Bengals so Reliant on QB Position to Carry Team, They May Consider Expensive Trade for Kirk Cousins
The Bengals have invested massively in their offense, paying Burrow and wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins north of $550 million combined on those three players’ most recent contract extensions.
Because of that, Cincinnati doesn’t have an overly impressive offensive line or defense, which has kept the team’s success teetering on the edge of a knife over the last several years. The Bengals rely so heavily on the offense to carry the team and so heavily on Burrow to carry the offense; however, by not protecting Burrow appropriately, the organization also constantly risks everything falling apart.
That burden now falls to Browning who has appeared in 13 career games, starting seven of them (4-3). He boasts a career completion percentage of nearly 70% and has tallied 2,177 passing yards, 14 TDs and 10 INTs over his three years in Cincinnati. A total of 241 of those yards, as well as two TDs and three INTs, came against Jacksonville in Week 2.
Browning actually began his career with the Vikings in 2019 as an undrafted rookie.
Bengals Can Afford Trade for Kirk Cousins Under Right Circumstances
Cousins is a far more accomplished and experienced player than Browning. The question is whether the Bengals want to spend what it would require to trade for him.
The answer could be yes, simply given how much Cincinnati leans on the QB position and how quickly its season might crumble if Browning struggles or suffers an injury of his own.
Cousins has a no-trade clause but would likely be willing to waive it for a chance to play with Chase and Higgins in a high-powered offense that needs the QB to throw the ball effectively and at high-volume to even stay in games, let alone win them.
The Bengals currently have nearly $13 million in cap space and could probably work out a deal with the Falcons to take on only so much of Cousins’ 2025 salary that it fits under that number.
