What is Washington’s plan to replace 5-time Pro Bowler Laremy Tunsil?

ASHBURN, Va. — The Commanders didn’t waste much time figuring out how they will replace five-time Pro Bowler Laremy Tunsil.

In fact, by the end of practice Saturday when Tunsil was injured, Brandon Coleman was already informed that the job was his.

The former left tackle, who moved to left guard in training camp, was the natural fit. But will Coleman be able to fill Tunsil’s shoes? That’s a different question.

“He has played a lot of winning football out at left tackle,” head coach Dan Quinn said. “We know that he is ready for it. And he has put in an excellent offseason.”

Tunsil will have surgery for a torn triceps muscle in the coming days. He was injured during a one-on-one drill with edge rusher Odafe Oweh.

Tunsil had just signed a two-year, $60.2 million contract extension with Washington that made him one of the highest paid offensive linemen in the NFL. He was widely viewed as a significant part of the Commanders’ plan to keep quarterback Jayden Daniels upright.

“The skill and pass protection [we will miss],” Quinn said. “He is in fantastic shape. Both in the run and pass, this is an equally strong player. So it is a big deal. You run behind a player like that. In pass protection, he doesn’t get a lot of help. That’s a good thing.”

He added, “This is significant for us.”

There were other options for Washington to replace Tunsil. They could have moved right tackle Josh Conerly Jr., the Commanders’ former first-round pick, to the left side. He played the position at Oregon just two years ago. But Quinn did not want to interrupt his development.

“It wasn’t [a discussion]. We liked the protection where Josh is. We just thought, ‘Let’s keep the progression and not have lots of shuffles,’” Quinn said.

Washington could have signed a free agent at that position. Quinn didn’t rule it out, but said Coleman would get the first opportunity.

“Not today. That was not something we discussed,” Quinn said.

As a rookie, Coleman played 16 regular season games at left tackle in 2024, 12 of them starts, when the Commanders went to the NFC championship game. Washington traded for Tunsil in the 2025 offseason and Coleman subsequently saw his playing time decrease — though he still played in 12 games and 52% of the offense’s snaps.

In camp, he was in competition with Chris Paul for the starting left guard spot. Now, he will jump to the outside and Paul will play left guard. Quinn isn’t too concerned about Coleman making the move.

“It is muscle memory. One of his key attributes is his athleticism,” he said. “He has over 20 games, or something like that, playing left tackle.”

Trey Amos update

In other injury news, cornerback Trey Amos returned to training camp last week after spending the first week on the sidelines. But he only made it two practices before going back to the medical tent.

Amos is now dealing with an ankle issue after defending a pass to Terry McLaurin on Saturday. The latest injury isn’t overly concerning for Quinn, but Amos’ time away is stacking up.

Amos had a season-ending injury last year when he broke his fibula in Week 10. He spent the offseason rehabbing, but wasn’t ready for the start of camp. Washington said he was dealing with soft tissue soreness.

The Commanders were relying on Amos to be a key starter in the secondary this season. Now in the third week of camp, they will need to see more of Amos on the field if they are going to bank on his production.

Who slots in at the No. 3 receiver?

Stefon Diggs is officially part of Washington’s offense now. The No. 2 wide receiver position is settled.

So what will Washington do with the glut of receivers behind Diggs and McLaurin?

For now, Luke McCaffrey has emerged as the leader of the pack. He landed as the No. 3 wide receiver on the first depth chart. Quinn pumped the breaks on how much that means.

“The first preseason depth chart means about as much as preseason rankings,” he joked.

But McCaffrey has put together a very strong camp and produced more than Treylon Burks, Dyami Brown or Van Jefferson.

There are probably four receivers who need to be on the 53-man roster. Those include McLaurin, Diggs, rookie Antonio Williams and Jaylin Lane. Lane is a special teams ace. So for those last two or three receiver spots, someone will be left out. Right now, it might be Jefferson.

Games and joint practices start this week against Miami. We will have a better idea in the next few days.