Washington Commanders rookie offensive tackle Brandon Coleman will play during Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, head coach Dan Quinn said during his Friday press conference.
As for how many snaps Coleman will play, or whether he'll start, Quinn is keeping that to himself. What the head coach did say was that Coleman has done "a remarkable job" in his recovery.
"He was close to being ready for the third preseason game, and we just made the decision that this is not the space and the time to go push it into this spot," Quinn said. "But he's absolutely ready to let it rip."
Coleman, who missed most of training camp with a shoulder injury, has been confident for the past week that he would be ready for the season opener. He was cleared for full activity after roster cuts, and he was a full participant in each of this week's practices.
While Quinn would have liked to see Coleman in the preseason, he still feels comfortable playing the rookie based on what he showed in the first portion of camp.
"It's an example of you can only control the things that you can, and so would it have been better? Yes, but okay that is not how it went down," Quinn said. "This player's really put in the work and he's really ready to go. So yeah, we're excited to get him into it. Would it have been better for him and anybody else? Of course. But like I said, you can only control what you can, but the player is really putting the work and is ready to go."
The other rookie on Washington's injury report, defensive tackle Jer'Zhan Newton, has also dealt with his share of issue that kept him out of practice for most of August. Newton's foot injury is not related to the Jones fracture surgery he had earlier this year, but it was serious enough that the team decided to be cautious with his recovery.
Newton was limited on Wednesday and did not participate on Thursday with "rest" being added to the report. He is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game.
"We're not gonna rule him out," Quinn said. "We're gonna take him into Sunday ... It was good to get him some team reps today."
The Commanders have ruled out quarterback Marcus Mariota, who Quinn said has been dealing with a strained pectoral, meaning that Jeff Driskel will serve as Jayden Daniels' backup.
"Jeff's always been someone who's a really good athlete and uses his legs to get outside," Quinn said. "Jeff's been somebody who absolutely put the work in over the summer."
The other players listed on Washington's injury report -- Week 1 captain Clelin Ferrell, Dante Fowler Jr., Daron Payne and Trent Scott -- will all be available on Sunday.
