The Washington Commanders will be without starting linebacker for the final four games of the 2023 season, head coach Ron Rivera revealed on Monday.
Davis injured his shoulder in the Week 13 loss to the Miami Dolphins. It’s unclear at what point in that game Davis injured his shoulder, as he played 55 of Washington’s 61 defensive snaps.
Davis started all 13 games and recorded 89 tackles, including eight for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception. His lone interception — the first of his NFL career — clinched Washington’s Week 6 win at Atlanta.
The No. 19 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, Davis struggled as a rookie. He’s shown tremendous improvement over the past two seasons but still battles consistency issues.
“It happened during the [Miami] game, and he came off for a second; they checked him, and he said he was fine,” Rivera said. “He went back out there, finished the game, but he was still having a little bit of trouble the next morning. So, they examined him, and then they felt that he needed to get an MRI. After getting the MRI, they got a second opinion, and then it went from there. So, it was unfortunate. The young man’s done a great job for us, and I’m really excited about who he was becoming as a football player. Playing the WILL linebacker for us, he’s done a great job. He had to play a little bit of the MIKE [linebacker] in some of the situations when Cody [Barton] was down, but that’s all part of his growth and learning, and he’s done a nice job.”
The Commanders have a big decision to make on Davis. After the 2024 NFL draft, Washington must decide if it will pick up Davis’ fifth-year option. If they decline, it would mean the second consecutive year the Commanders declined a fifth-year option on their first-round pick. Washington declined Chase Young’s fifth-year option and traded him in October.
It’s unlikely Rivera will be deciding on Davis’ fifth-year option as owner Josh Harris is expected to make sweeping changes after the season.