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The Washington Commanders seemed almost helpless defending the pass against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a season-opening 37-20 loss on September 8.
With the lowly New York Giants visiting in Week 2, the Commanders need to bounce back in a big way, and they’ll need to do it without 2023 first-round pick and backup cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr., who is out after undergoing thumb surgery.
The Commanders will replace Forbes in the lineup with veteran Bobby Price, who was elevated to the active roster from the practice squad alongside defensive lineman Carlos Watkins on Sept. 14.
The team announced the moves on their official website, with 2-time Pro Bowl special teams player Nick Bellore also put on the 53-man roster.
NFL Longshot Starred for FCS Norfolk State
Price has the size of an NFL cornerback or safety at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, but his 40-yard dash time varied from 4.58 seconds to 4.78 seconds ahead of the 2020 NFL daft. At Norfolk State — an FCS school — he was a 2-time All-MEAC selection while playing primarily at free safety and had 7 career interceptions.
Price made the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent and played there from 2020 to 2022. He played for the Arizona Cardinals in 2023, then signed with the Commanders one day after he was part of Arizona’s final roster cuts on Aug. 27.
Commanders Looking for Spark in Secondary
The Commanders losing Forbes, at this point, is only notable because they spent the No. 16 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. On the field, he’s been an abject disaster, grading out as one of the NFL’s worst cornerbacks as a rookie in 2023 and starting 2024 as the backup to Benjamin St.-Juste.
While Forbes saw the field in the season opener, he was still bad — 3 targets and 3 receptions at an average of 12.7 yards per catch.
The only surprise with Price moving up to the roster was that he got the nod over undrafted free agent rookie Chigozie Anusiem. On Aug. 2, Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine singled out Anusiem as the one undrafted player he thought could crack the 53-man roster to start the season.
The Commanders signed the former Colorado State star to a 3-year, $2.8 million contract with $350,000 guaranteed money — the biggest contract signed by any UDFA in the NFL in 2024 .
“It’s not hard to see why Anusiem was worth the investment for Washington,” Ballentine wrote. “He has a great build for the position (6’1″, 200 pounds) and is a physical presence with the long speed to contribute on special teams. Add in the fact that the Commanders cornerback room still has questionable depth, and Anusiem has a good shot at making the roster.”
NFL analyst Lance Zierlein had Anusiem projected as a sixth-round pick in his pre-draft evaluation but also proposed a possible move to safety.
“(Anusiem) is more interested in covering than finding the football and taking it away, and that is unlikely to change in the NFL,” Zierlein wrote. “He might not have the necessary speed to stick at cornerback, but his tackling success and size give him a chance to try his hand at safety.”