We Speak NFL
Commanders QB Marcus Mariota Returns to Practice After Bye Week
The Washington Commanders are getting healthier at the most important position on the field.
Backup quarterback Marcus Mariota returned to practice Monday as Washington came out of its bye week, head coach Dan Quinn confirmed.
“Marcus Mariota will be back at practice and working into today,” Quinn said.
Mariota has been sidelined with a sprained MCL, the same injury he suffered in the preseason opener. He was hurt in Week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts in London, when a missed block led a Colts defender to him for a sack and he landed awkwardly on his knee. It was considered good news at the time that the injury was not worse.
Injuries have defined Washington’s season at quarterback. Starter Jayden Daniels dislocated his left, non-throwing elbow in Week 2, and the team feared he would miss extended time. Daniels missed only two games, returned with a bulky brace on his left arm, and has played well since coming back.
Mariota started in Daniels’ place and made the most of it. He led the Commanders to an upset win over the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in Week 3 before getting hurt the following week. In three games this season, including two starts, Mariota has completed 64.7 percent of his passes for 340 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, while adding 49 rushing yards on seven attempts.
Rookie seventh-round pick Athan Kaliakmanis filled in as Daniels’ backup over the past two weeks and will return to the No. 3 spot on the depth chart once Mariota’s return is official.
Washington is 1-4-1 and hoping the bye week, and a healthier quarterback room, can spark a turnaround over the remaining 11 games.
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The Pittsburgh Steelers have spent the last month winning games with an incomplete roster. The cavalry is finally in sight.
Wide receiver Roman Wilson and defensive tackle Derrick Harmon are nearing the end of their required four-game stays on injured reserve, and Pittsburgh’s upcoming bye week falls at the perfect time to welcome them back. The Steelers play once more in Week 8 before the bye gives their returning players an extra week to get ready.
Pittsburgh has weathered the absences well, beating the teams it was supposed to beat, including the New Orleans Saints 16-10 in the NFL’s first game in Paris. But the holes have been real. At receiver, the Steelers lost Michael Pittman Jr. to injured reserve in Week 5 after he aggravated a foot injury, and Wilson went down with a finger injury in the second half of that same week and landed on IR as well. Rookie Germie Bernard has been asked to carry a bigger role behind DK Metcalf ever since.
Not every return is on schedule. Reports indicate there is a chance Pittman misses the rest of the season, and defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day’s return timeline remains unknown. But Wilson and Harmon would restore two rotation pieces at positions where Pittsburgh has been stretching its depth for a month.
Head coach Mike McCarthy likes where his roster stands as the reinforcements approach.
“We’ve got the right guys,” McCarthy said during his weekly press conference. “We’ve got a really great mix of veterans and young guys, and you’re just seeing it come together.”
The Steelers built their record without some of their best young players. If Wilson and Harmon come off the bye at full strength, the team that takes the field for the second half of the season will be deeper than the one that survived the first half.
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