Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn delivered some much-needed good news on Sunday. First, Quinn revealed that quarterback Marcus Mariota was dealing with a sprained MCL. And while it would keep him out for the remainder of the preseason, he should be ready for Week 1. All things considered, this is fantastic news for the Commanders.
Quinn also provided an update on a pair of missing starters: center Nick Allegretti and tight end John Bates.
“Two other updates on a good note,” Quinn said. “There’s good progress on John Bates and Nick Allegretti, and they will both work back into practice on Tuesday.”
Allegretti, who is Washington’s starting center after the team released Tyler Biadasz this offseason, strained his calf on the first day of training camp. Quinn explained why getting Allegretti back is so important for quarterback Jayden Daniels and others.
“Yeah, it’s for sure super important. Not just for he and Jay, but for the two guards next to him, the identification, the calls. So, he’s been doing the walkthroughs in the evenings, but that’s just not the same. And so, those reps will be important. We won’t give him, like, 50 plays right off the bat. We’ll work him back into a ramp-up as he’s returning to play. But it is super important just to make sure the communication, the calls, all of that comes together. So, that’s the goal, man. Now, start stacking days with he and Jay together.”
Washington has struggled at center with Allegretti out. Julian Good-Jones has been working with the first team and rookie Matt Gulbin with the second team. Good-Jones has had his ups and downs. In the preseason game against Miami, Gulbin came off the bench and looked really good.
Another reason the Commanders need Allegretti is that they’ve already lost left tackle Laremy Tunsil. Brandon Coleman should be fine at left tackle, but Tunsil is one of the NFL’s best players. His loss is significant.
Bates was injured during the first week of practice, but Washington is deep at tight end, and his absence allowed Ben Sinnott, Colson Yankoff and Lawrence Cager to be featured more in practice. Getting Bates back will also help the offensive line, considering he’s arguably the NFL’s best blocking tight end.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders receive positive injury news on two starters