The Washington Commanders opened their preseason slate of games last week with a 20-7 victory over the Miami Dolphins, and they will be looking to follow that up with another strong performance against the Detroit Lions on Saturday. Several notable starters, such as Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin, will be suiting up for this game, meaning fans will get a better idea of what this team will look like in 2026.
However, the Commanders aren’t throwing everyone into the fire for this contest, as 15 players were ruled out for the game on Saturday morning. For the most part, these absences are injury-related, with a pair of star defenders who were scooped up in free agency this offseason being the two most notable names among this group.
Odafe Oweh, K’Lavon Chaisson Ruled Out for Commanders’ Second Preseason Game
After enduring a disappointing 2025 campaign, the Commanders underwent several changes over the offseason. Head coach Dan Quinn revamped his staff, but the roster also looks quite different, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, as the front office put in some serious work in free agency.
Two of Washington’s biggest signings of the offseason were linebackers Odafe Oweh and K’Lavon Chaisson. The Commanders made an effort to improve their pass-rush group, and Oweh and Chaisson should help there, as they both racked up 7.5 sacks last season for their respective teams.
The issue is that both Oweh and Chaisson have been battling injuries as of late, which has limited their availability at practice. While there isn’t any reason to panic about their statuses for Week 1 just yet, it was noteworthy to see that they were among the group of players ruled out for Washington’s second preseason game against Detroit.
“The Washington Commanders have declared the following players will not participate in the team’s preseason game against the Detroit Lions.
No. 1 RB Rachaad White
No. 8 QB Marcus Mariota
No. 22 RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt
No. 23 CB Trey Amos
No. 26 RB Jeremy McNichols
No. 45 OLB K’Lavon Chaisson
No. 58 LB Jordan Magee
No. 67 C Nick Allegretti
No. 78 LT Laremy Tunsil
No. 91 DE Deatrich Wise Jr.
No. 92 DE Dorance Armstrong
No. 94 DT Daron Payne
No. 95 DT Jer’Zhan Newton
No. 97 DT Tim Settle
No. 98 OLB Odafe Oweh.”
Commanders Hoping Odafe Oweh, K’Lavon Chaisson Can Get Healthy
GettyWashington Commanders free agent signing K’Lavon Chaisson had a strong joint practice against the Miami Dolphins.
The Commanders invested quite a bit of money in Oweh and Chaisson in free agency, so not only is the team hoping they can stay healthy, but they are also hoping they can put up some big sack numbers. Missing a preseason game obviously isn’t the end of the world, so long as these guys are ready to suit up for Washington’s regular-season opener.
Right now, both Oweh and Chaisson have relatively murky injury statuses, and the fact that they aren’t playing against the Lions is somewhat concerning. The Commanders are obviously going to play it safe with two of their flashiest offseason additions, but it will be worth keeping an eye on these guys over the next few weeks as training camp begins to wind down.
Commanders Rule Out Pair of Key Free Agent Signings for Preseason Clash vs. Lions