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One thing that the Washington Commanders‘ scorching hot first half of the 2024 regular season covered up were the team’s inefficiencies — it’s easy to overlook things when the wins keep piling up.
After 3 consecutive losses and headed into what seems like a series of must-win games beginning with Week 13 at home against the Tennessee Titans, that hot start is a thing of the past — and a big reason why defensive end Dorance Armstrong ended up on a list of players on the “hot seat” according to Riggo’s Rag’s Dean Jones.
Armstrong was one of head coach Dan Quinn’s biggest offseason additions after following Quinn from the Dallas Cowboys, where he was defensive coordinator the last 3 seasons. Washington signed Armstrong to a 3-year, $33 million free agent contract in March 2024.
“Armstrong hasn’t registered a sack since Week 5 and has 2.5 quarterback takedowns on the season,” Jones wrote. “He’s accumulated 18 pressures throughout the campaign to go with 25 tackles. One could forgive the coaching staff for expecting more from someone who was their No. 1 edge rushing option heading into the year.”
Armstrong has 3.0 sacks — all of which came in the first 5 games.
Armstrong Got Off to Blazing Hot Start in 2024
Just 4 games into his tenure with the Commanders, Armstrong seemed like free-agent steals of the offseason, with Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox singling him out as one of 32 “Hidden Gems” on every NFL roster.
“The 27-year-old has started all four games and has already racked up two sacks and an impressive 10 quarterback pressures. For context, that’s three more pressures than Steelers superstar T.J. Watt has notched through four games — though we’re certainly not suggesting that Armstrong is on Watt’s level,” Knox wrote. “After the Commanders traded both Chase Young and Montez Sweat in 2023, it was fair to wonder who would emerge as the team’s new difference-maker on the edge. The answer is Armstrong.”
Not everyone was sold on Armstrong.
The Landry Hat’s Jerry Trotta critiqued Quinn and Washington for paying Armstrong so much.
“Of course, splurging in free agency doesn’t always equate to winning,” Trotta wrote. “Quinn overpaid a pair of Cowboys free agents in Dorance Armstrong and Tyler Biadasz and signed a 33-year-old tight end in Zach Ertz who’s played only 17 games the last two seasons. Any of those moves could blow up in Quinn’s face …”
Armstrong Had Unique College Experience
One thing Armstrong learned a lot about while playing college football for the University of Kansas was losing.
In Armstrong’s 3 seasons with the Jayhawks under head coach David Beaty from 2015 to 2017, the Jayhawks went 3-33. They were 0-12 in 2015, 2-10 in 2016 and 1-11 in 2017, which was Armstrong’s final season before he left school with one year of eligibility remaining.
Still, Armstrong’s talent stood out and NFL teams took notice.
The Cowboys selected Armstrong, 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds, in the fourth round (No. 116 overall) of the 2018 NFL draft and he thrived despite never becoming a full-time starter.
In 6 seasons in Dallas, Armstrong played in 93 games with just 14 starts and still had 23.5 career sacks, with 21.0 sacks in his final 3 seasons, including a career-high 8.5 sacks in 2022.
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