The Washington Commanders signed defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth on Sunday, adding to an already loaded room that features Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, rookie Johnny Newton, and a few others. The team released cornerback Christian Holmes in a corresponding move.
Stallworth is entering his seventh year in the league and has appeared in 58 games over his career. He’s been a depth player throughout his career and Commanders head coach Dan Quinn explained why the team made the move when he spoke with reporters Sunday.
“The term’s become more popular as we hear, like load management and stuff, and certainly for somebody, you know, coming off an injury, you’re trying to find the right levers to make sure what’s enough, how much to push, and when to be back,” Quinn said when asked if the move had anything to do with easing Newton, who is returning from offseason surgery, back into the fold.
“Because there’s certainly some days, even when you may not see him, he’s doing extra field work to keep strength [and] keep conditioning. So, yes, [he’s] definitely a part of that interior.”
What about Phidarian Mathis, John Ridgeway III, and others?
Again, what Quinn said makes sense, but the Commanders still have Mathis and Ridgeway on the roster. The former is a Ron Rivera draft pick, but still holds a second-round pedigree, and the latter was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys when Quinn was the defensive coordinator. Couldn’t those guys take up extra snaps, along with the other defensive tackles in Benning Potoa’e, Norrell Pollard, and Haggai Ndubuisi?
The primary focus is on Mathis, however. At the start of camp, Quinn specifically talked about how Mathis has caught his eye and even told an impressive story regarding the former Crimson Tide’s efforts to make sure he got to the first practice ahead of schedule.
Mathis’ future is already cloudy enough and while this move doesn’t help his situation, it could also be innocuous, considering the specific mention of Netwon’s load management.
However, personally, if I’m Mathis I don’t want any more bodies crowding up the room and taking reps away from me on the practice field. The Commanders’ top-3 interior defensive linemen are set (providing Newton stays healthy) and a lot of people are already penciling in Ridgeway as DT4, considering his history with Quinn. While that still remains to be seen, it makes sense, as Mathis has no prior affiliation with Quinn and co.
All this aside the fact remains: Mathis has a big hill to climb. Fortunately, this week gives him a good shot at gaining some ground when the Commanders travel to New Jersey to take on the New York Jets.
