Washington Commanders cornerback Emmanuel Forbes had a rookie season to forget in 2023. Forbes didn’t play well, but the entire team was a mess last season.
The Washington secondary took significant steps backward when former coach Chris Harris left for another job. Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio replaced him with a coach who was coaching high school before coming to Washington.
The good news is the former coaching staff is gone. Even better news is the Commanders hired former Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as head coach. Quinn brought his secondary coach from Dallas, Joe Whitt Jr., to serve as his defensive coordinator. Quinn and Whitt have done outstanding work with multiple defensive backs.
Last week, Forbes said he was excited for a fresh start.
Emmanuel Forbes talking now about new coaching staff working with him on the intricacies of playing corner – “I was very excited that we hired Dan Quinn.” Says Cowboys brought him in for Top 30 visit last year pic.twitter.com/wOhMlyHTDL
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) May 14, 2024
Before Wednesday’s OTA practice, Quinn met with the media and was asked about Forbes. Here’s what he said:
“We’re trying to find out what unique things a player has,” he said in response to a question about Forbes, who has been returning punts early in OTAs.
What does this mean? Is the coaching staff already concerned with Forbes? While no one in charge was responsible for drafting him 16th overall only one year ago, moving on from a second-year player would be difficult. So, does Quinn’s comments mean, “We can’t cut him, so we need to find something he does well?”
ESPN’s John Keim said in a recent edition of his podcast he didn’t believe Forbes would open the season as a starting cornerback.
Maybe the coaching staff watched Forbes return interceptions for touchdowns in college and thought he could give them some juice as a punt returner. It would make sense.
The comments were interesting. Maybe they mean nothing. Before anyone counts out Forbes, Quinn has maintained there is competition everywhere. That would include cornerback. If Forbes proves he’s one of the top cornerbacks, he will start.
Forbes has the rest of OTAs, minicamp and training camp to prove he has improved under the new coaching staff. Washington needs Forbes. While the Commanders signed multiple cornerbacks in free agency, none of them are really considered a No. 1 or No. 2 cornerback. Remember, fellow cornerback Benjamin St-Juste is also coming off a tough season.