The Commanders’ loss to the Ravens Sunday was not their biggest loss.
On Monday, head coach Dan Quinn told the press that DT Jonathan Allen had suffered a pectoral tear, and the team would miss Allen this season as he was looking at season-ending surgery.
You don’t simply replace a Jonathan Allen player and leader.
“Yeah, for sure. It’ll be a multitude of people and roles, and how we can feature guys to do that because Jon’s rare and he’s got unique skills and talent. So, it’s not just plug and play,” Quinn said.
Quinn then pointed to the depth at the position for the Commanders. “We got a big, deep crew and we’ll feature all of them a little bit differently and finding the ways that we can do that. But we’ll certainly miss Jon and the strength and the attitude that he brings inside.”
But Allen was not the only defensive lineman injured Sunday.
Quin said Dorance Armstrong had a rib or oblique injury, and Javontae Jean-Baptiste has an ankle injury. We will hopefully get some more information on that. “The X-rays were negative, but certainly dealing with the type of sprains and things to go.”
The return of Efe Obada was just in time because he is certainly going to be needed now without Allen. Quinn did not dismiss the possibility that the Commanders might now be forced to acquire another lineman.
“It’ll be something that [General Manager] Adam [Peters] and his staff and I will visit with about.”
But he also stated that players on the depth chart need to prepare for unexpected injuries. He spoke of Jeremy McNichols as a prime example of “staying ready, and your moment comes, you nail it.” He’s the one on our team right now that comes to mind first.
