The Washington Commanders lost a potentially critical piece of their offense on the first day of OTAs in the spring when second-year tight end Armani Rogers injured his Achilles.
Under new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, the tight ends would be featured in the offense. And behind veteran starter Logan Thomas, Rogers, a former college quarterback, had the highest upside of Washington’s young tight ends.
After making the team as an undrafted free agent last summer, Rogers played a limited role in the offense but delivered in his rare opportunities.
The Commanders have gotten solid production from Thomas, John Bates and Cole Turner through two games.
On Friday, Commanders head coach Ron Rivera gave an update on Rogers.
“Armani’s a gym rat,” Rivera said. “He loves it. It’s so unfortunate because the young man did such a great job his rookie year. It’d been great to have him available for us, but unfortunately, we don’t. But yeah, he is around. He’s actually got the boot off now, and they’ve been working him, so it’s good to see him coming by and spending some time. I think he’s even popped into the meetings a couple times, which he doesn’t have to be at. I think just being here and being around the guys is a big deal too.”
That’s a positive update. While Rogers isn’t returning to the field this year, the good news is he’s on the right track and is hopefully cleared before offseason workouts begin next spring.
Most importantly, Rogers remains around the team, taking mental reps and learning Bieniemy’s offense.