Dotson will be sidelined 1-2 weeks, Young needs more time originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera revealed on Monday that star rookie wide receiver Jahan Dotson will be sidelined for one or two weeks with a hamstring issue from Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
He is just the latest injured starter in what is starting to become a busy injury report.
“I’m hoping [Dotson] caught [the hamstring injury] before it really became something more so. I don’t want to say, ‘out of an abundance of caution,’ but because there was concern, [head athletic trainer Al Bellamy] sat him the rest of the way, so we’re just hoping that that thing will settle down in time and it won’t be anything major that lasts longer than a week or two.”
Piling on the injury front, there will be an unexpected shuffling on the offensive line. Starting right guard Trai Turner’s quadricep muscle is “not quite right,” according to Rivera. Saahdiq Charles, who replaced Turner midway through the Cowboys game, will step in and play right guard for the time being. Charles typically plays on the outside of the line as a tackle.
Trying to claw back from 1-3 is a tough enough job with a fully healthy squad. When one of your best weapons and a few key offensive linemen go down, that task becomes dramatically more difficult. It’s a series of tough blows for the Commanders’ offense, which had already struggled leading up to and throughout the Week 4 loss in Dallas.
“Tremendous frustration,” Rivera said about his reaction to the injuries. “We’re on our third center now, and that’s—you know, I mean, [expletive], we’re four weeks into the season. That’s frustrating. And then to lose a player of Jahan’s caliber who’s done a lot of good things for you, that’s even more frustrating.”
Dotson had been the Commanders’ biggest offensive threat through four games. He leads all targets with four touchdowns to go along with 152 yards on 12 receptions. That means more work for Curtis Samuel, Terry McLaurin and perhaps Dyami Brown in the next one to two weeks.
The good news for the Commanders, though, is that they should be getting some relief in other areas. Brian Robinson Jr. is being reinstated from the non-football injury list and Rivera said that he is “optimistic” that the rookie running back could return to action this Sunday.
Moreover, defensive end Chase Young is trending in the right direction as well, though his timeline to return will likely be a bit longer than Robinson. Rivera mentioned that team doctors think Young will need “a bit more time,” but is trending in the right direction.
