Commanders' easiest cut after preseason catastrophe is painfully obvious

The Washington Commanders concluded what quickly became a lackluster preseason with a defeat to the Baltimore Ravens. None of the starters played aside from left guard Brandon Coleman, and others did not shine further down the pecking order once again.

This presents general manager Adam Peters with some difficult upcoming decisions. Cuts will be made in the coming days. Rosters around the league must be trimmed to 53 by Tuesday at 4 p.m. Eastern Time, and there is one pending departure that seems pretty straightforward after another catastrophic display with the spotlight glaring.

With Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota both rightfully getting the afternoon off, this represented the last chance saloon for Sam Hartman to carve out a position for himself as the team's third quarterback. Unfortunately, not for the first time during Washington's preseason slate, he didn't capitalize.

Commanders have a simple decision to make wiith quarterback Sam Hartman

Hartman was hesitant in the pocket. There is almost no velocity on his throws, especially when he goes to the outside. The game seems to move too fast for him, and the undrafted free agent doesn't look capable of being a successful NFL quarterback right now.

The former Wake Forest and Notre Dame standout completed 70.58 percent of his passes for 114 yards and no touchdowns. Hartman threw two interceptions, lost a fumble, and earned a lowly 49.3 passer rating for his efforts.

Things would have looked better had Chris Moore not dropped a deep pass, but it wasn't to be. And that mistake all but sealed his fate, too.

Not exactly the best way to cement his status. However, his one consolation was the fact that veteran journeyman Josh Johnson hasn't exactly been shining when given reps either.

That could mean Hartman gets to stick around on the practice squad, especially given his close relationship with Daniels. But in terms of finding his name on the 53-man roster, that's out of the question based on his performance levels throughout the preseason.

There's not much chance of another team scooping him off the waiver wire based on his on-field contributions over the three games. Making the practice squad in Washington for the second straight year is the absolute ceiling, but it wouldn't be a huge shock to see Peters bring in another signal-caller at the expense of Hartman and Johnson.

This is all part of the NFL's ruthless nature. The next few days will be difficult for those on the fringes. Peters is gearing up for some uncomfortable conversations, but he'll do what's right for the franchise moving forward.

Hartman will be expecting the worst and hoping for the best. But his future looks increasingly bleak.

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