Commanders' bad injury luck continues with another big loss

Adding injury to insult following the Washington Commanders' 34-27 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 4 was news that defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste was likely to be added to the team's injury report in the near future.

A 'Blow for Us as Well'

Back home in Ashburn, Virginia, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn sat down to meet with media the day after and started off by announcing that the young defender had indeed suffered an injury and would miss significant time.

"Some tough news on [DE] Javontae Jean-Baptiste. [It's a] pec injury, and that will knock him out for a while for sure," the Washington coach shared.

Quinn added that Jean-Baptiste will be heading to injured reserve, saying,  "Until he has the surgery, I don't think they'll know to the extent of what that could look like. ...It could be [season-ending]. We'll have a better sense after he goes through the procedure, but torn pec is usually something that's months, not weeks."

A Promising Season Cut Short

Jean-Baptiste was expected to carry a much heavier workload following the season-ending injury to defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr., even with the addition of veteran free agent Preston Smith.

In his first game with increased opportunity in Week 3, Jean-Baptiste came up with a sack, matching his rookie-year total, and had nine tackles for the season at the time of his injury, more than half of his total from last year.

Originally a seventh-round pick of the Commanders in 2024 coming out of Notre Dame by way of Ohio State, Jean-Baptiste was able to play in 12 games as a rookie even earning a start. As is the situation with most players, this isn't his first battle with injury.

"He’s worked hard to come back from injuries and [was] starting to make his move again," Quinn said. "So, definitely a setback for him and a blow for us as well."

Next Man Up... Again

Because of the injury, the expectation is that Smith will get an opportunity to play after being inactive his first two weeks back in Washington. However, as another player heads to injured reserve in the near future, coach Quinn and his staff will once again look to general manager Adam Peters to go find more talent to add to the back end of the roster or the practice squad, as they continue to adapt to the ever-changing landscape that is life in the NFL.