RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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NFL teams have until 6:00 p.m. ET on Sunday evening to trim their rosters from 90 to 53 players. At that point, every NFL team, including the Washington Commanders , will turn its attention to forming its 2026 practice squad.
Choosing who to keep on the roster requires some strategy. The Washington Commanders will want to keep some players around but not use an active roster spot for them. Teams will release these players with the intention of bringing them back onto the practice squad once they clear waivers.
Any NFL team can keep 16 players on the practice squad, but they can have a 17th player if they are part of the international player pathway program. So, in no particular order, here are our picks for the Commanders’ practice squad:
Offense
C Matt Gulbin
LG Tonoa Togiai
QB Sam Hartman
RB Robert Henry Jr
RT Nicholas Petit-Frere
TE Quentin Moore
WR Luke McCaffrey
Defense
CB Antonio Hamilton
CB Fred Davis
DL Byron Cowart
DL Ricky Barber
EDGE DJ Johnson
EDGE TJ Maguranyanga (International player pathway program)
LB Ale Kaho
LB Kain Medrano
S Joshuah Bledsoe
S Quindell Johnson
It makes sense for Washington to keep some offensive linemen around, given they aren’t projected to have one of the league’s best offensive lines. Running back Robert Henry Jr has also done well, but not well enough to make the active roster. The same applies to tight end quarterback Sam Hartman, who has been outperformed by Athan Kaliakmanis, who should definitely make the initial 53-man roster.
Based on how wide receiver Luke McCaffrey has performed in the preseason, he does not deserve to make the active roster. But he is someone who has been with the Commanders for the past two seasons. So, if he clears the waiver wire — a big if — he is someone Washington could definitely bring back on the practice squad.
Defensively, it never hurts to have some extra players on the defensive line. With Maguranyanga specifically, since he is part of the international player pathway program, he doesn’t cost the Commanders a spot on the practice squad. He lets them carry an extra player, so it only makes sense to keep him around.
Washington isn’t expected to have a strong secondary, so they might want to keep players around who could develop into players who could be elevated to the active roster. As for the two linebackers, while the Commanders have a talented linebacker room, they also have the potential to be decent backups and could be useful to have around in case of injury.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Predicting the Washington Commanders' initial 2026 practice squad
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