There might still be a path for the struggling Washington Commanders to make the playoffs for the second consecutive season — despite getting off to a 3-5 start and facing a brutal stretch of games before their bye in Week 12.
In terms of wins and losses, it’s pretty simple. If the Commanders can go 6-3 over the final 9 games to finish with a 9-8 record, there’s a good chance they can get one of the NFC Wild Card spots.
To do that, they’ll need a little luck in terms of players like quarterback Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin staying healthy and a little innovation on the part of offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.
One of those innovations might be seeing a way to get talented young tight end and 2024 second round pick (No. 52 overall) Ben Sinnott on the field.
Sinnott, 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, only has 2 receptions for 29 yards through 8 games in 2025 and only 7 receptions for 57 yards and 1 touchdown through 25 career games.
Part of what’s held Sinnott back has been the career revival of veteran tight end Zach Ertz, who has been one of Daniels’ favorite targets over the last 2 seasons.
“Out with the OLD; in with the NEW!” Hogs Haven’s Mark Tyler wrote on his official X account on October 28. “Sinnott needs more targets over Ertz.”
While that sounds great, it might not be that simple.
Sinnott Waiting Behind Pair of Veterans
The problem for Sinnott is he is sitting right now behind 2 veteran tight ends because of how the Commanders run their offense, using a pair of players to do the job of one tight end.
They essentially use Ertz, who is playing on a 1-year, $6 million contract, solely to catch the ball from Daniels. They use John Bates, who signed a 3-year, $21 million contract with the Commanders in March, as an almost exclusively blocking tight end.
It’s a befuddling move to pay a tight end who doesn’t catch the ball that much money. Sinnott, in turn, gets the scraps when it comes to Washington’s offense.
Wondering How Sinnott Might Fit in Offense
Sinnott’s talent was on display agains the Chiefs with an athletic, 22-yard catch-and-run — his only target of the night.
“Y’all telling me Kliff Kingsbury sees Ben Sinnott in practice everyday, meanwhile his only catch goes for an explosive play,” Commanders fan ZoneRunner wrote on X. “Kliff not utilizing Ben Sinnott in the passing game enough to me.”
It would be tough to turn to Sinnott entirely, as Ertz has yet to show a dropoff in his play from last season. Through 8 games, he leads the Commanders with 4 touchdown receptions and is second on the team with 27 receptions for 345 yards.
In 2024, Ertz had 66 receptions for 654 yards and 7 touchdowns. Those are numbers he is on track to essentially replicate and which almost any NFL team would be elated to get from their starting tight end.
“Zach Ertz is an ageless wonder,” NFL Draft Files wrote on its official X account. “I wanna see Ben Sinnott take over the TE1 spot but Ertz is still fairly reliable.”
“Playing Kain (Medrano), (Tyler) Owens, (Jalyn) Holmes, (Jordan) Magee, & Sinnott is not tanking on the season because the players in front of them are becoming huge liabilities,” Commanders fan Deuce Redzone wrote on his official X account on October 27. “I’d rather lose with speed than with age.”
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