ASHBURN, Va. — Only 72 hours after celebrating the signing of veteran receiver Stefon Diggs, the Commanders lost five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil to a torn triceps, an injury that will keep him out for a good portion of the season, if not its entirety.
Washington has become accustomed to whiplash in recent years as it’s tried to crawl out of the doldrums of its past and build around quarterback Jayden Daniels. But the latest shift is especially painful; the Commanders gave up a haul to trade for Tunsil last year, watched him instantly become a leader of their offensive line, rewarded him with a two-year contract extension that made him the highest-paid left tackle in average value, and now have to reshuffle the O-line to fill the void about a month before the season opener.
“He’s the superstar player that’s not afraid to get coached or corrected or asked something,” head coach Dan Quinn said. “The thing I was probably most impressed by was how cool a teammate he has been. Like, his guys here, man, they love spending time with him. They love going down to this year where he’s training at to go spend time.”
Replacing a player of that caliber is a tall task anyway, but especially this late in the offseason. Washington may still add to the line, for depth if not more, but for now the plan is to turn to Brandon Coleman at left tackle, a source with direct knowledge of the team’s thinking told The Athletic.
Coleman, a former third-round pick out of TCU, is capable of playing all five spots on the line and started at left tackle for most of the 2024 season, when Washington made it to the NFC Championship Game after going 12-5 in the regular season.
The line that year fared decently, but much of Washington’s shortcomings were masked by Daniels, who had the finest season ever by a rookie quarterback.
Coleman allowed 30 pressures, including nine sacks, in 474 pass-blocking snaps that season, according to Pro Football Focus, then shifted inside to left guard when the team acquired Tunsil from the Houston Texans. But after only two starts inside, Coleman was benched and replaced by Chris Paul, who outplayed him to hold onto the spot for the remainder of the season. Coleman closed out the final four games of 2025 at left tackle when Tunsil was sidelined with shoulder and oblique injuries.
Coleman spent much of this offseason training with Tunsil at the University of Alabama, where he was immersed in Tunsil’s intense pre-camp regimen and worked with his personal strength and conditioning coach, nutritionist, chef and offensive line specialist.
“I think that’s kind of like what I was talking about last year,” Coleman said earlier in camp. “The steps I needed to take is that. There’s things that I have to sacrifice even more and let go of some stuff in the free time. There’s always something to do throughout the day and even at night. So just making sure that this is my life for the next six years, is football. This is the most important thing to me, and it has to be to make sure everything I do is for that.”
Moving Coleman back to left tackle allows Washington to keep Paul at left guard and Josh Conerly Jr. at right tackle, where he started last season as a rookie after playing on the left side at the University of Oregon.
Andrew Wylie would presumably remain a swing tackle and the team’s top reserve on the edges, though he, too, has shown enough versatility to shift inside if needed.
Nick Allegretti moved to center this year after the team released Tyler Biadasz, but has been out for most of camp because of a calf injury. Quinn hasn’t provided a clear timetable for Allegretti’s return, but has said he doesn’t expect the injury to be a long-term issue. Quinn did indicate that Allegretti and tight end John Bates (hamstring) would not participate in the team’s joint practice with the Dolphins on Wednesday.
Before Tunsil’s injury, Washington signed four offensive linemen — centers Trey Hill and Daniel Brunskill, guard Max Scharping and tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere — for competition and depth.
The Commanders also have veteran tackles Trent Scott and Foster Sarrell on the roster, but may also add from the pool of available free agents and scour the waiver wire after rosters are pared to their initial 53 on Aug. 30. Washington is seventh in the waiver order through Week 3 of the regular season.
