The Washington Commanders need some depth at tight end after a season-ending injury to veteran Zach Ertz in Week 14, and they’re thinking outside the box at how they might do that for the final 4 games of the regular season.
The Commanders brought in a trio of tight ends on Tuesday, December 9 for workouts along with a pair of cornerbacks.
Among the tight ends, the most intriguing was 6-foot-9, 235-pound former college basketball player Colin Granger, who didn’t play football in college but spent part of the offseason with the Carolina Panthers.
“Commanders worked out Colin Granger, Keenan Isaac, Dalton Keene, Gee Scott, Kevon Seymour,” NFL reporter Aaron Wilson wrote on his official X account.
Keene and Scott are also tight ends. Isaac and Seymour are cornerbacks. Keene was a third round pick (No. 101 overall) by the New England Patriots in 2020 and Seymour was a sixth round pick (No. 218 overall) by the Buffalo Bills in 2016.
Granger’s Long and Winding Road of College Hoops
Granger, like so many college basketball players, played for a bunch of different schools; 2 seasons at the University of Ohio followed by 2 seasons at Western Carolina then a final season at Coastal Carolina, where he averaged 7.2 points and 4.4 rebounds in 2024-2025.
Washington Commanders offensive tackle and former college basketball player George Fant has started his own agency specifically to find college basketball stars who could become NFL players and Granger fit the bill, leaving to work out and live with Fant for a possible football career after Coastal Carolina was eliminated from the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
“The two spent 2 1/2 weeks working out in Fant’s home gym while Fant and his agent, Jeffery Whitney, organized a pro day for April 4,” The Athletic’s Joseph Person wrote on April 8. “In between sets on the bench or during breaks in speed training, Fant would give other tips to a player who hadn’t been on a football field in nearly 10 years.”
Fant’s connections combined with Granger’s workouts got him signed by the Panthers as an undrafted free agent.
“Anything you want to do in life, you can do,” Granger said in a video posted to his Instagram account. “Don’t let a single (expletive) tell you anything else … a month ago I was playing college basketball, I just signed an NFL contract with the Carolina Panthers.”
Granger eventually received a medical settlement from the Panthers and was released in May.
Devastating Injury to Ertz in Week 14
The Commanders are still probably shell shocked by the gruesome injury to Ertz, who tore his ACL in Week 14 on a dirty hit by Minnesota Vikings safety Jay Ward.
Washington confirmed the extent of his injury one day later.
“Commanders veteran TE Zach Ertz did, in fact, suffer a torn ACL, the MRI confirmed,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on his official X account on Monday, December 8. “Brutal, season-ending injury for the 35-year-old.”
“HC Dan Quinn confirmed that TE Zach Ertz suffered a season-ending injury in yesterday’s game,” the Commanders wrote on their official X account on Monday, December 8. “Wishing 86 a healthy recovery.”
Ertz, 35 years old, is in his second season with the Commanders and was second on the team with 50 receptions for 504 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Commanders Bring 6-foot-9 Basketball Star in for TE Tryout