Injury updates
The Washington Commanders are hosting the San Francisco 49ers this week, and will be missing several starters. Ron Rivera named Jacoby Brissett the starting QB, benching Sam Howell on Wednesday. Eric Bieniemy talked about the decision yesterday, and the “spark” that Brissett brought to the offense and the team when he replaced Howell in the lineup the last two games. That spark might not play now, with Brissett reporting hamstring tightness yesterday, and being listed as questionable for Sunday’s game. He received treatment, and “took some reps today and looked pretty good moving around.”. If he can’t play, the team will turn back to Howell as the starter. They have Jake Fromm on the practice squad, and he could be elevated as the 3rd QB, or the backup if Brissett is ruled out.
Ron Rivera on Jacoby Brissett’s hamstring tightness: “He took some reps today and looked pretty good moving around.” Said the team will monitor over the next 48 hours.
Rivera has no issues with potentially going back to Sam Howell after benching him earlier this week.
— michael phillips (@michaelpinRVA) December 29, 2023
The Washington Commanders ruled out five players for the 49ers game. CB Benjamin St-Juste(concussion) left the Jets game, and remains in the concussion protocol, missing his first game of the season. S Percy Butler has a wrist injury, and won’t play this week. He was limited in Wednesday’s practice, but was downgraded to did not practice yesterday. CB Kendall Fuller got a vet rest day on Wednesday, but missed the last rest of the week with a knee injury. He’s now been ruled out of the game, and Washington will have to make several changes to their secondary to cover for injured players.
Here’s what the Commanders’ secondary will look like with Fuller, St-Juste and Butler out:
Quan Martin will play nickel and safety alongside Kam Curl and Terrell Burgess.
Emmanuel Forbes and Tariq Castro-Fields will be at cornerback
— Zach Selby (@ZachSelbyWC) December 29, 2023
C Tyler Larsen(knee) and LT Charles Leno(calf) are both out vs the 49erss, and they will be replaced by Nick Gates and Cornelius Lucas respectively. Andrew Wylie suffered an elbow injury last week, and is listed as questionable this week. OT Trent Scott filled in for Wylie on Sunday when he was missed snaps.
RB Brian Robinson has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury. He returned to the practice field this week, and doesn’t have an injury designation for Sunday’s game. Chris Rodriguez was placed on injured reserve this week after injuring his ankle vs the Jets. Washington will have Robinson and Antonio Gibson as their top RBs for the 49ers game. They also have Derrick Gore and FB/TE Alex Armah available, and Jaret Patterson was re-signed to the practice squad this week. Jonathan Williams is also on the practice squad, but he suffered a concussion two weeks ago, and his injury status hasn’t been updated.
Game status for Week 17:
— CB Kendall Fuller, CB Benjamin St-Juste, S Percy Butler, C Tyler Larsen and LT Charles Leno Jr. are out
— RT Andrew Wylie (elbow) and QB Jacoby Brissett (hamstring) are questionable pic.twitter.com/95BBxgKE1n— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) December 29, 2023
OUT
C Tyler Larsen – Misses second game since suffering a knee injury vs the Rams
LT Charles Leno – Misses second game since suffering a calf injury vs the Rams
CB Benjamin St-Juste – Remains in concussion protocol, injured vs the Jets
S Percy Butler – Wrist injury keeps him out of this week’s game
CB Kendall Fuller – Had his usual Wednesday vet rest day, but missed the rest of the week with a knee injury
Questionable
OT Andrew Wylie – Suffered an elbow injury vs the Jets
QB Jacoby Brissett – Reported hamstring tightness yesterday, and will be questionable on Sunday
No injury designation
RB Brian Robinson – Injured his hamstring vs the Dolphins, returns after missing two games
DT John Ridgeway – Dealing with a foot injury buy will play again this week
LB De’Jon Harris – Activated from from IR yesterday
LB David Mayo – Full practice all week with a knee injury listed
Injured Reserve
RB Chris Rodriguez – Suffered an ankle injury vs the Jets