It hasn’t been the rookie season Washington Commanders cornerback Emmanuel Forbes envisioned. The No. 16 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft has faced his share of struggles this season.
Now, Forbes will miss his second consecutive game with an elbow injury. Head coach Ron Rivera called the injury “pretty significant” but did believe Forbes could return sometime in the final month of the season.
Rivera reiterated his stance on Friday that he believes Forbes will play again this season.
“Oh yeah,” Rivera said Friday when asked if Forbes would play again this season.
‘He’s gotten better. I mean, we had a custom brace made for him. He’s been getting his treatment, and I believe today was his fitting. Now, it’s just a matter of time. Obviously, if we played next week, I believe he would play.”
Washington, of course, has its bye week next week before returning to action in Week 15 for a road game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Forbes struggled so badly earlier this season against the Eagles and Bears that he was benched for a bit. He returned in Week 9 with his best game of the season. Forbes was ejected in the first quarter of the Week 10 game at Seattle after a ridiculous ruling by the NFL officials. He again played well in the Week 11 vs. the Giants but was injured.
The Commanders haven’t received much from their 2023 draft class but certainly hope that changes over the season’s final stretch of games.