Adam Peters faces urgent challenge to repair glaring Commanders' roster hole

Throughout the preseason, one of the most high-profile Washington Commanders' position battles on display was between Sam Hartman and Josh Johnson for the team's third-string quarterback slot. And neither has exactly flourished.

Starter Jayden Daniels played only one series across the three-game slate and did not attempt a single pass. Backup Marcus Mariota was out for all three contests, meaning the rest of the action was conducted by the undrafted Notre Dame standout and the long-time journeyman veteran.

After three double-digit losses in which the Commanders' offense scored a total of 38 points, the answer is obvious as to which of them should be Washington's third signal-caller.

It's neither.

Commanders cannot take Josh Johnson or Sam Hartman onto their 53-man roster

The only reason why either Johnson or Hartman would see the field during the regular season is if Daniels and Mariota are both unavailable. It's understandable for a team to carry a third quarterback when they don't have stability with their top two options. That's not the case for Washington.

Daniels is a budding superstar, and Mariota is one of the league's highest-quality backups. Ideally, the Commanders will be set all season with only the two of them in the room. In the case of the former Oregon star, he'll only be needed as insurance in the event of an injury.

In the scenario that either Daniels or Mariota is unavailable for some games, Washington would have to sign a third quarterback as a backup. By then, there will likely be many better options available once everyone else makes their cuts.

What the Commanders should do here is simple. They must release both Johnson and Hartman. Once cuts are complete, the Commanders can find someone else to join the practice squad. That way, they'll be familiar enough with Kliff Kingsbury's playbook if they're called up at some point during the campaign.

In the perfect world, a third-string quarterback only needs to be called upon in cases of emergency. There's no reason to carry one unless such an emergency poses a threat. Should it reach that point, the player in question needs to be up to the task.

Neither Hartman nor Johnson was up to the task during the Commanders' three warmup contests. It's unlikely that general manager Adam Peters would be forced to rely on one of them during a game that matters, and for that reason, they should stick with the two guys they can trust for the time being.

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