The Commanders' offensive line is a mess, and they're out of time to fix it before Week 1
With Laremy Tunsil gone for most of the season and center Nick Allegretti nursing a calf injury, Baltimore's defense spent Wednesday shredding Washington's starting front - and the 53-man roster deadline arrives Sunday.
In brief
The Commanders' offensive line is a mess, and they're out of time to fix it before Week 1
Jayden Daniels kept getting hit. That was the story coming out of Baltimore on Wednesday, and it's the story that will follow the Washington Commanders into the regular season whether Dan Quinn wants it to or not.
The Commanders and Ravens held a joint practice Wednesday that reporters on the scene described as an ugly performance from Washington's offense. Daniels himself called it "not the best day that I thought we could have had, all-around," and multiple reporters at practice described the Commanders' offensive line as getting dominated by Baltimore's defensive front, with the absence of center Nick Allegretti - out with a calf injury - causing particular problems.
That was August 26. Then came Friday night's preseason finale at M&T Bank Stadium. No NFL team has seen its stock take a more precipitous dip headed into the regular season than the Commanders, who made headlines with a disastrous joint practice going into the final preseason game. Jayden Daniels took exactly three game snaps in this entire preseason - that is a statement of absolute fact despite a full four quarters on the schedule Friday night.
With Daniels watching from the sideline in Baltimore, the problem the Commanders need to answer before September 13 against the Eagles couldn't be more obvious.
The anchor is gone
The backstory to Wednesday's practice session goes back to early August. Washington was dealt a tough blow during a Saturday practice when star left tackle Laremy Tunsil suffered a torn triceps, requiring surgery and forcing him to miss most, if not all, of the 2026 season. Tunsil suffered the injury while attempting to stifle a bull rush from Odafe Oweh during one-on-one drills - just five months after Washington made him the first $30 million-per-year offensive lineman on a two-year, $60.2 million extension.
The recovery time for such an injury is typically at least four months, and as long as six or seven. That puts any realistic return deep into the winter, at best.
Washington had been hoping a healthy Tunsil would help keep Daniels on his feet in 2026 - the quarterback missed 10 games last season because of three separate injuries, including a sprained left knee, a strained hamstring, and a dislocated elbow that cost him the rest of the year. That protection plan is now gone.
Brandon Coleman will replace Tunsil at left tackle, sources told ESPN. Coleman started 12 games at left tackle as a rookie in 2024 and three more last year when Tunsil was injured; he had been competing with Chris Paul at left guard this year. "He has played a lot of winning football at left tackle here, and we know he's ready for it," Quinn said.
Coleman may well be fine. But fine is a long way from what Tunsil gave Washington. Tunsil, a five-time Pro Bowler, was arguably Washington's second-most important piece of the offense behind Daniels, trusted with protecting the quarterback's blindside as one of the premier left tackles in the NFL.
Wednesday made the concern concrete
Joint practices exist to prepare teams for things exactly like this - full-speed defense, unfamiliar schemes, hostile looks. The Ravens delivered all three, and the Commanders' reshuffled line had no answers.
Washington's offense struggled badly, mainly up front on the line, and Daniels acknowledged afterward that Wednesday was not his or the team's best day. He didn't deflect. When asked how the Commanders might learn from the session, Daniels said: "Own this. Watch the tape. Take the coaching. Be coachable to be able to move forward from this."
Short answer. Right answer. But answers don't repair an offensive line that, heading into Week 1, is missing its best player and its starting center.
The biggest focus all preseason has been on Daniels and the starting offense, which has spent the summer installing new offensive coordinator David Blough's system without showing much of what it could ultimately look like in the regular season. Wednesday was the one real look fans and coaches got at how Washington's starters handle a physical, pro-caliber defense. It wasn't encouraging.
Washington's starting offense hasn't seen much preseason action, and when it has been on the field the results have been unremarkable - leaving Commanders fans understandably concerned about their team's outlook one year after an incredibly disappointing season followed their run to the NFC title game.
The clock runs out Sunday
The Commanders are days away from finalizing their initial 53-man roster for the 2026 season, with one final preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens before deciding which players on their 90-man roster will be part of it. In the four days that followed the Lions game, Washington announced nine roster moves, and the NFL mandates teams cut their rosters to 53 players on Sunday, August 30, at 6 p.m. ET.
Among those cuts: safety Will Harris, who entered spring OTAs as one of the presumed starting safeties, was released after the Lions game, presumably to give him the opportunity to catch on with another roster ahead of Sunday's mass cutdowns.
The offensive line question may not be solved by any single roster move. Three potential trade candidates are being discussed before the 53-man cut deadline, according to Hogs Haven, and general manager Adam Peters will likely need to be aggressive on the market. The line between Daniels and every defensive end in the NFC East next season runs directly through that answer.
Daniels, for his part, refused to treat one ugly August practice as a verdict. His message was clear: Wednesday was bad, Washington has to own it, but the real measure comes when the Commanders line up against Philadelphia on September 13. "We have to keep building, keep growing," he said. "You're not winning a Super Bowl right now. You're not playing for a Super Bowl right now. You're playing for the division. The first game matters on September 13, and you try to get better every day."
Seventeen days. That's what Washington has between Friday night's preseason finale and a road opener at Lincoln Financial Field. The center spot may still not have a full-time answer. The left tackle is already decided - Coleman, by necessity. And somewhere inside a facility in Ashburn, Laremy Tunsil is preparing for a surgery that likely ends his 2026 season before it ever began.
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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.
