The Washington Commanders have a second non-coaching vacancy to address ahead of the 2026 season.
The Washington Commanders will have another position on its staff to replace after general manager Adam Peters noted one more opted to depart the organization this offseason.
Tim McGrath, who served as the senior director of player health and performance the last two seasons, has elected to return home to Australia with a search underway to find his replacement ahead of the 2026 season.
"It was his decision. We supported it," Peters said following his press conference at the podium during day one of the NFL Combine. "[It] had nothing to do with our injuries. We were pretty healthy the year before so he doesn't carry the blame there."
McGrath joined the organization with 20 years of experience in professional sports and 22 years of clinical experience where he has consulted with over 35 professional teams across 11 leagues during his career. He also arrived fresh off the Commanders' trainers drawing an 'F' and ranking 31st in the NFL in the annual NFLPA report end of season report card, adding a fresh change to the organization. McGrath served in a consultant role with the organization before naming him to the position he held for two seasons.
While it may not be as flashy of a coaching search as the on-field staff proved to be, it marks a notable change for an organization that saw injuries prove to be the theme of a 2025 season that ended in five wins, proving to be a setback in year two under head coach Dan Quinn.
Similar to his end of season press conference, Peters and head coach Dan Quinn noted some of the 'freak' injuries that plagued the Commanders at key spots, but there's also other injuries to analyze areas of improvement ahead of 2026.
"Some injuries are not really preventable. Just freak injuries, some things you just have bad luck. Any time you have a really bad year like this, it's always a combination of that I think. And you look at some injuries are more preventable. I think generally soft tissue injuries are things you can mitigate a little bit in terms of how many of those you have."
Jayden Daniels, of course, was the headliner on the Commanders injury report for much of the 2025 season after making just four full games and seven appearances, while the defense battled their own key injuries after losing multiple starters through the second half of the season. Whether Daniels' injury ultimately prevents him from suiting up in Saudi Arabia in next month's Fanatics event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia remains a question despite initially confirming his appearance.
Peters also spoke about a second non-coaching staff vacancy after Tim Gribble left the organization earlier this offseason for a position with the Pittsburgh Steelers scouting department.
"It's not orthodox for a college director to leave at this time, so we will have our work to do. But I think in terms of Tim, that was a personal thing for me too. When I was a college director in Denver, I got asked to go to the 49ers, which was my hometown team. And a great man by the name of John Elway allowed me to do that. And so I wanted to pay that forward," Peters said.