Both Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota and left tackle Laremy Tunsil are "long shots" to play on Sunday agains the Philadelphia Eagles
The Washington Commanders will officially enter next weekend’s regular season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles short-handed at a number of positions.
Head coach Dan Quinn ruled both quarterback Marcus Mariota and left tackle Laremy Tunsil as “longshots” to play in the regular season finale with Mariota “doubtful” as of Wednesday.
“I think it’s doubtful as we sit today but it’s still Wednesday,” Quinn said of Mariota. “With his quad, if he can accelerate and stop and start and do those things, that would be different but he’s not able to do that today so let’s see what the next two days bring.”
Mariota’s injury will likely pave the way for Josh Johnson to make his second consecutive start, who finished 15-of-23 for 198 yards while adding ten yards on a pair of rushes in a 30-23 loss vs. Dallas on Christmas Day. The start marked Johnson’s first since 2023 and first with the franchise since 2017.
"And then as far as behind him, we'll just still discuss that between Sam and with Jeff [Driskel]," Quinn said of the backup quarterback role heading into the week. "But if Marcus couldn't, then we'd lean in with Josh again. And there was honestly a lot that I liked in the game. I know it was a short week, but the preparation of what and how we featured him, I thought was the right space. And like, from a decision making process, I thought Josh did a lot of things correct that I liked, so we would lean in that way again, for sure, if Marcus can't [go]."
Tunsil’s injury also paves the way for Brandon Coleman to make his fifth start of the season, including third consecutive at left tackle.
“He did start the first two games at left guard. That time, it was different. He missed a good bit of training camp in terms of punch timing and where to go,” Quinn said of the versatile lineman. “Then being out, Chris [Paul] jumped in and then we started moving him at other spots including like a jumbo tight end. I think what he’s showing is he’s learned a lot here in year two, one about himself, just a resilient guy that can do a lot of things based on his athleticism. Him learning and going through the hard moments, it sucks when you’re going through it but it also, you gain some confidence knowing there’s a number of things I can do. We saw him snap and pull in practice the other day, makes it look easy, that type of athleticism. I think it’s the resilience that he’s shown this year when it hasn’t gone right that you still find the lessons in it.”
Offensive lineman Tyler Biadasz, who suffered both a knee and ankle injury in the Christmas Day loss vs. Dallas, was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday morning. With his injury, head coach Dan Quinn also noted the Commanders signed guard/center Julian Good-Jones off the practice squad to fill Biadasz’s spot on the 53-man roster. The Iowa State product has been with the team's practice squad since 2023 after two stints with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020 then 2023.
With the latest injuries adding a string of inactives for the Commanders through the regular season, Washington also signed guard Sala Aumavae-Laulu and defensive end DJ Johnson to the practice squad on Wednesday.