Hogs Haven on Marcus Mariota

Mariota's MCL sprain sidelines him for rest of preseason; backup QB depth is a concern.

Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota sprained his MCL in the team's preseason win over the Miami Dolphins on Friday. Although his timetable for return is not yet clear, he is likely done for the rest of preseason, at least. The source notes that Mariota is more indispensable to Washington than the team would like; at 32 years old, his talent level is not particularly singular, but he has shown a knack for giving Washington's offense at least a puncher's chance whenever Jayden Daniels is unavailable. It's unclear whether the other two reserve quarterbacks, Athan Kaliakmanis and Sam Hartman, can even throw a jab at the NFL level. The staff's view of Hartman as an on-field consideration is poor—they went with 39-year-old Josh Johnson for the final two games in 2025 when Washington was long ago eliminated from the playoffs, which spoke volumes about their assessment. Entering his third season, Hartman has shown little reason to think that view has changed. The source suggests that entering the remainder of camp without another veteran quarterback feels like a significant risk, and Washington also risks having to carry three quarterbacks on the initial 53-man roster rather than using the third spot for depth elsewhere if Mariota's Week 1 optimism falls flat.

Marcus MariotaQB · WASPlayer page — value, ADP, projections, and every insight