Both starting DTs are done for the year, and the Commanders face the Rams in four days
Javon Kinlaw's MCL surgery confirmation Wednesday wiped out Washington's entire starting defensive tackle duo for the season, with Daron Payne already on IR, leaving a patchwork front to face Matthew Stafford on Sunday night.
In brief
Both starting DTs are done for the year, and the Commanders face the Rams in four days
The worst-case scenario is now the official scenario. The Washington Times confirmed Wednesday that Javon Kinlaw underwent season-ending surgery Tuesday to repair a torn MCL, wiping out Washington's other starting defensive tackle for 2026 just three days after the team beat the Eagles without him. Adam Schefter broke the news, and the Commanders are now staring down a Sunday night game against the Los Angeles Rams and Matthew Stafford with a defensive tackle room that, as of this week, has no healthy starters from Week 1.
Kinlaw joins fellow defensive tackle Daron Payne, who suffered a season-ending foot injury during practice last Friday. Two starting-caliber defensive tackles. Gone. In the same week. With a game against one of the NFL's most experienced and accurate quarterbacks on the schedule.
Kinlaw will miss the rest of the year due to an MCL issue. He missed Sunday's win against the Eagles before the Commanders added him to injured reserve on Tuesday. He had surgery to address the knee injury, ending any chance he could return this season.
This year, Kinlaw recorded a sack, three quarterback hits and 13 tackles, including two behind the line of scrimmage. The 29-year-old, who grew up in the District, added two pass deflections through six games. Not flashy numbers, but his value ran deeper than the stat sheet. He had started 23 straight games to begin his tenure as a Commander after signing a three-year contract ahead of the 2025 season. He was the anchor. Now he is an IR entry.
The hole is real, and Newton is the only answer
Earlier in the week, the Commanders opened the 21-day practice window for Jer'Zhan Newton, which seemed to be good timing after Payne's injury, and now it becomes even more important for Newton to get back on the field. Newton did not play against the Eagles last week. His status for this week has yet to be determined. If Newton can get back on the field Sunday, it would give the Commanders a huge defensive boost. But if he is not ready, Washington could be in for a long day against Stafford and company if they cannot generate enough pressure.
Washington's pass rush, while tied for 19th in the NFL with 16 sacks, has shown improvement. The Commanders sacked Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee five times last Sunday and were incredibly effective when calling blitzes. Washington tallied nine sacks in its last three games, partly due to the return of cornerback Trey Amos. That is real production. The question is whether Washington can replicate it with a makeshift interior.
Against the Rams, the Commanders will face one of the game's most talented and veteran quarterbacks in Stafford. And despite being down some of its top defensive linemen, the Commanders are hopeful they will be able to put Stafford and the Rams' offense off their game.
Head coach Dan Quinn had talked about Kinlaw in softer tones and alluded to the fact he might be out for a while, but not in a way that suggested he was done for the year. His being out for the foreseeable future is a real blow, especially after his quality start to the season.
A team already running on fumes
The Commanders entered this week at 2-4-1, a record that makes this next stretch feel urgent. They beat the Eagles 27-10 in Week 8 without McLaurin, without Kinlaw, and with McKee at quarterback for Philly. The Rams will be a different test. Running back Jeremy McNichols is also now on injured reserve with a foot injury, and the expectation is that he will miss multiple months. So the offensive backfield is shorthanded too.
The available defensive tackle options include Tim Settle, Shy Tuttle and, potentially, Jer'Zhan Newton once he clears the return-to-practice window. That is a rotation built on hope and circumstance, not design.
Quinn has had his team respond well under pressure this season, so there is at least that. But losing Kinlaw for the year is a subtraction the Commanders cannot paper over with scheme. They will need Newton back and healthy, Settle to play above his depth chart position, and their pass rushers on the edge to do the interior's job for them. That is a lot to ask of a team already missing McLaurin at receiver and now two of its three starting defensive tackles.
The Commanders' next practice update on Kinlaw's IR replacement and Newton's availability is expected Thursday ahead of the Sunday night kickoff against Los Angeles.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
