The Washington Commanders have brought several veterans in to be leaders and provide sparks when needed on the field.
Two of them on the Commanders offense, tight end Zach Ertz and running back Austin Ekeler, are specifically expected to help lead a roster filled with youth and new faces while also being a regular presence in the stat box.
Yet, we haven’t seen Ertz on the field at all this preseason. Something that came about by design for Washington.
"We've been very intentional about him and we have to actually protect Zach from Zach,” head coach Dan Quinn says. “You know, he just ready to go and wants more and more. The thing that I've been impressed with in the passing game, especially as he gets down to the red zone, I think (is) where Zach comes alive the most. He's got just feel and eyes. He's able to share that information, and when you can share feedback with teammates, with coaches, 'Hey, I can see [LB Frankie] Luvu's alignment', what that means. You could see how valuable that would be.”
In reality, if we expected to see Ertz on a preseason field it’d only be one, the opener against the New York Jets.
That’s because the tight end didn’t travel with the team to face the Miami Dolphins in practice or the game in Week 2 to be home for the arrival of children No. 2 and 3 for he and his wife, two-time World Cup Champion, and Olympic Bronze Medal soccer star, Julie.
Starting quarterback Jayden Daniels didn’t play in the preseason finale against the New England Patriots, so of course, neither did Ertz and a whole slew of other starters.
One of those, the other key offensive veteran added to the roster and one of two starting running backs on the team’s unofficial preseason depth chart.
Ekeler is bringing loads of experience but still got onto the field to work on his chemistry with Daniels and to give offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury a sense of what he has in his backfield with the veteran and third-year back Brian Robinson Jr.
“Austin, I knew was a really good pass catcher. I probably didn't know how strong he is,” Quinn said of the back. “He is, you know, you would think he's a small back. (But) he is strong and pound-for-pound probably our strongest player, so there's not a spot that you couldn't put him in.”
With the first game week of the 2024 NFL Season upon us Commanders fans who couldn’t make it to training camp will finally get their first glimpse of Ertz while looking to see plenty of Ekeler and running mate Robinson Jr. out of the backfield as they look to orchestrate an opening day upset over the home team Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
