Pre-Season Game #3

Mark Rypien behind a curtain of granite in Super Bowl 26: Jeff Bostic-C, Raleigh MacKenzie-LG, Jim Lachey-LT, Mark Schlereth-RG, and Joe Jacoby-RT. For the entire season Rypien was sacked 9-times with a big fat 0 in the Super Bowl. This last pre-season game comes amid stress-saturated hyperventilation over the state of the current Offensive Line. Whatever that state truly is it will be a safe bet they won’t be as good as this 1992-Champions O-line was.

These two teams want this pre-season to be over with early. Tonight’s game starts at 6:00pm EDT. Washington has been up near Baltimore already once this week. It was a lovely day for a picnic. But, it was a lousy day for a Washington fan. Baltimore had the better of things by a large margin. The hype machine has exhausted the lexicon for words that convey a sense of things gone awry: Disaster, Dysfunctional, Dismal (There are more words starting with “D” but by now you get the point.) It was bad per the eyeballs actually there to watch it. The problem is that will have been the last real work against humans from another team until Sunday, September 13 in the always unfriendly confines of Philadelphia’s Lincoln Field. ‘Tis a long time to sit and digest this latest piece of gristle.

What We Really Know

…is that the Center of this Line with backups is really poor. A lot of this was known beforehand. Matt Gulbin is the 6th-Round pick that was plugged into the fire. He’s Strong. He’s not quick, though. Zone-Read Running plays need linemen that can move. Brandon Coleman is going to be great at zone blocking. He’s already shown it. Gulbin, though, will probably never crack Backup status. But, he was out there because the guy ahead of him on the Depth Chart is arguably worse.

When Laremy Tunsil went down the team sent Coleman out to do his job. But, that stripped the most solid depth piece out of that position. The other two principal Swing Lineman are getting long in the tooth. And, they aren’t that good. Especially so when the snaps start piling up.

Washington is not unique with this. There aren’t many really good O-linemen out there to begin with. The injury rate is appalling. And, the tops of the backup population are already playing because of it.

So, Adam Peters went and got DJ Humphries. He’s a solid oldster with a fistful of Pro Bowls to his credit. Boom! Depth restored to the Tackle population.

Now this team needs a Center. If it’s C1 or C2 is not a big deal. Maybe Allegretti is going to be just fine at C1. If that turns out to be the case then he still needs better behind him. If the team convinces Graham Glasgow to come then Nick will be C2. “Tough Break, Guy.” Inopportune injuries have undone countless NFL plans.

One last word on the practice. The team was liberally substituting players including the Offensive Line. “Chemistry” and working in synch are tough asks. No excuse for being this off-track. But, it doesn’t help the situation. The 1992 Champs didn’t have any Chemistry problems Only one Linemen of those five missed one game. Otherwise it was perfect attendance. It’s hard to imagine today.

Tonight

As of this writing there has been no word. But, it’s safe to think that there will be few, if any Starters going.

Keep an eye on #16: Athan Kaliakmanis. He’s working his way onto the team. Should Marcus not be ready this kid can be QB2. He’s got potential.

Sunday is the cut day from 90 to 53. Don’t fixate on the roster as of Sunday evening. Nearly 1200 players are hitting the waiver wire. Some portion of those are getting claimed. Washington is #7 in the pecking order. By the end of next week the churn will have slowed down enough to know where the roster really is.

Game Info

WASHINGTON AT BALTIMORE

Date: Friday, Aug. 28, 2026
Time: 6:00 pm EDT
Location: M&T Bank Stadium

WATCH: TV AND LIVESTREAM

National Feed: NFL Network

WUSA (CBS/9 – Washington)
WJZ (CBS/13 – Baltimore)
~~WSOC (ABC/9 – Charlotte)~~
WTKR (CBS/3 – Norfolk VA)
WRIC (ABC/8 – Richmond VA)
WDBJ (CBS/7 – Roanoke VA)

Broadcasters: Dan Hellie, John Riggins, Brian Mitchell, Bryan Colbert Jr.

Streaming:
Commanders.com or the Commanders app (in market/Canada)
NFL+ (out of market)
NFL Game Pass International (International, excluding China)

Radio: Washington Feed

State	City	Affiliate	Frequency
Delaware	Gerorgetown	Georgetown	94.5 FM
Maryland	Salisbury	WTGM-AM	960 AM
Delaware	Wilmington	WWTX-AM	1290 AM
Virginia	Fredericksburg	WGRQ	95.9 FM
Virginia	Winchester	WFQX	99.3 FM
Virginia	Gloucester	WXGM	99.1 FM
Virginia	Lynchburg	WBRG-FM	105.1 FM
Virginia	Lynchburg	WBRG-AM	1050 AM
Virginia	Lynchburg	WLVA-FM	94.1 FM
Virginia	Lynchburg	WLVA-AM	580 AM
Virginia	Norfolk	WNIS	790 AM
Virginia	Roanoke	WFIR FM	107.3 FM
Virginia	Roanoke	WFIR AM	960 AM
Virginia	Harrisonburg	WKDW	900 AM
Virginia	Richmond	WRXL FM	102.1 FM & 98.5 FM
Virginia	Richmond	WRNL FM	107.3 FM
Virginia	Richmond	WRNL AM	910 AM
Virginia	Harrisonburg	WKCI	970 AM
Virginia	Harrisonburg	WHBG-FM	106.9 FM
Virginia	Harrisonburg	WHBG-AM	1360 AM
West Virginia	Martinsburg	WRNR	740 AM
North Carolina	Gastonia	WGNC-FM	100.7 FM
North Carolina	Gastonia	WGNC-AM	1450 AM
Washington DC	Washington DC	WBIG-FM	100.3 FM
Virginia	Richmond	WRVA-FM	96.1 FM
Virginia	Richmond	WRVA-AM	1140 AM