MADRID — Wide receiver Treylon Burks played 52 offensive snaps in two games for the Commanders. He caught all four of his targets (including one that went for 37 yards) and was one of only two Washington receivers to run at least 10 routes in the team’s last outing.
Not bad for a guy who signed less than a month ago.
But just as Burks was finding a rhythm and just as the Commanders felt as though they landed another contributor, he was ruled out of the team’s Week 11 game in Spain because of a finger injury that required surgery.
His injury, while minor and not expected to keep him out long term, was a microcosm of the Commanders’ season: Their spate of injuries, while hardly the only reason or even the biggest reason for their 3-7 record, has depleted their roster, affecting multiple starters, reserves and now the players signed to help fill the void.
“Yeah, it’s been a challenge, there’s no doubt,” offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said Thursday after the team’s workout at Real Madrid City. “Especially when you have a guy like Trey, who had worked really hard to rehab from an injury, to get his opportunity to make some plays and kind of develop with us, to have a setback. But he’ll be back, and (this) just allows other guys to get a chance.”
Including those ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins (tight end Ben Sinnott was ruled out on Saturday because of an ankle injury), a total of 21 Commanders will have missed a combined 82 games this season because of injuries. More than half of those players were starters.
Burks is the fifth receiver to be sidelined with an injury. He signed to Washington’s practice squad in October to provide depth at the position and was elevated after Terry McLaurin aggravated his quad injury. Burks was added to the active roster the next week after Luke McCaffrey broke his collarbone.
The impact? Washington has used 312 unique lineups on offense so far this season, by far the most of any team. Only three of those lineups have played together for 10 or more plays this season. By comparison, the Commanders had 19 offensive lineups that played at least 10 plays together last season.
“You want the continuity, that’s what you’re talking about also,” coach Dan Quinn said. “So, on offense in the passing game, the alignments, the route depths, just the different timing with different players and how that can go. Defensively, you want to make sure you know who’s into these spots, that their communication with the other players can get heightened, and do that quickly and do it fast. And that’s what we intend to do.”
2025 Commanders Injuries
PlayerPos.InjuryGames missed
QB
knee, hamstring, elbow
5
WR
quad
7
WR
groin (IR)
9
WR
heel
1
WR
collarbone (IR)
2
WR
finger
1
RB
Achilles (IR)
9
TE
groin
2
TE
ankle
1
TE
hamstring
2
G
ACL
6
DE
quad (IR)
9
DE
ACL (IR)
4
DE
pectoral (IR)
6
LB
concussion
1
CB
ACL (IR)
2
CB
fractured fibula (IR)
1
CB
hamstring
4
S
fractured fibula (IR)
8
S
hip
1
K
back
1
The injury bug has affected all three phases for Washington, but none more than the defense. The Commanders weren’t deep on pass rushers to start the season, then lost three of their defensive ends to season-ending injuries: Deatrich Wise Jr. (quad), Dorance Armstrong (ACL) and Javontae Jean-Baptiste (pectoral muscle). And over the last two weeks, the Commanders lost their top two cornerbacks, Marshon Lattimore (ACL) and Trey Amos (fractured fibula).
The biggest loss up front was undoubtedly Armstrong, who was working on a career season with 5.5 sacks and a 19.1 percent pressure rate, the third-highest among all players with at least 100 pass rushes.
Jacob Martin has stepped up in his absence to notch a team-high 13 pressures (six more than any teammate) since Week 7, including four against double teams, which is tied for the second-most of any player in the league, according to Next Gen Stats.
But Washington hasn’t found enough viable replacements on the roster.
Linebacker Frankie Luvu has lined up on the edge for 120 snaps (54.3 percent) since Week 7, nearly double his rate of 29.8 percent in the first six weeks, per Next Gen Stats. But in 52 pass rushes from the edge over his last four games, Luvu has generated only one pressure, giving him nine total on the season for a pressure rate of 6.3 percent. Last season, he generated pressure on 14.0 percent of his rushes.
Making matters worse, the team will be without lineman Daron Payne on Sunday because of a one-game suspension for throwing a punch in a Week 10 loss against the Detroit Lions.
On the back end, the biggest loss has been safety Will Harris (fractured fibula), whose physicality and ability to cover tight ends left a noticeable void. He’s inching closer to a return — the Commanders opened his 21-day window to return from IR on Wednesday — but it may be too late to help salvage the season.
At this point, the Commanders have a higher chance (2 percent) of landing the top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft than they do of returning to the postseason (less than 1 percent), according to The Athletic’s NFL Playoff Simulator.
That’s a lot to digest for a team that was one win away from the Super Bowl last season.
What’s more, for much of the season, Sunday’s game against the Dolphins appeared like a winnable game. But the Commanders are reeling while the Dolphins, also 3-7, are coming off an upset win over the Buffalo Bills and have the third-easiest remaining schedule, based on opponents’ combined winning percentage.
Still, for Washington, a win has the chance to rejuvenate a team desperately in need of good news.
