Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn announced Friday that Brandon Coleman will play in the season opener on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Coleman was drafted out of TCU in round three (67 overall) of April’s NFL draft, and he was getting some reps as the No.1 left tackle in training camp when he injured a pectoral muscle. This resulted in Coleman missing all three preseason games.
The left tackle has been trending upward the last two weeks, and Friday at his press conference, Quinn asked, “Will Brandon Coleman start?”
Quinn responded, “He will play.”
Consequently, because Cornelius Lucas started in the preseason, he will get the start Sunday in Tampa against the Bucs. Coleman is trending upward; the Commanders think he is ready to play some but don’t want him bearing the load just yet. So, it looks like Lucas and Coleman will rotate in some fashion on Sunday.
To this point, no Commanders coach or player has unveiled their plan for playing both left tackles on Sunday. Todd Bowles has active blitz packages for the Bucs’ defense. Thus, perhaps the Commanders don’t want to rush in Coleman too soon with too many blitz rushes to consider.
In other injury news, Quinn made it clear that No. 2 quarterback Marcus Mariota suffered a pectoral injury in Wednesday’s practice. Missing practice Thursday and Friday, Mariota has been ruled out for the opener against the Bucs. Jeff Driskel will serve as Jayden Daniels’ backup.
Rookie defensive tackle Johnny Newton is trending upward. Quinn said he was closer. In fact, he expressed that Newton will travel on Sunday and said, “We haven’t ruled him out” of playing in the 2024 opener.