Commanders Settle on Brandon Coleman at Left Tackle, Will Keep Josh Conerly at Right Tackle

The Washington Commanders have a plan for life without Laremy Tunsil, and it does not involve shuffling their entire offensive line. According to Hogs Haven, head coach Dan Quinn confirmed Brandon Coleman will move over to left tackle, while Josh Conerly Jr. stays right where he is.

Tunsil suffered a torn triceps during a one-on-one pass-rush drill Saturday and will need surgery. The five-time Pro Bowler is expected to miss a significant chunk of the 2026 season, and the timeline gets clearer once doctors get a look inside.

Coleman has started 18 games at left tackle over his first two seasons in Washington, so this isn’t unfamiliar ground. He spent 2025 mostly working at guard before Tunsil went down, and he was in a camp battle for the starting left guard job when the injury hit. That battle is over now. Coleman slides outside, and Chris Paul holds down left guard.

The more interesting call is what didn’t happen. Conerly played left tackle for three years at Oregon before Washington drafted him 29th overall in 2025 and flipped him to the right side as a rookie. Moving him back to his college position once looked like the obvious fix. Quinn passed on it.

Per Hogs Haven, the Commanders want to keep developing Conerly at the spot he already knows rather than uproot him in the middle of camp. It’s a stability call. Conerly struggled through stretches of his rookie year — a 59.9 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, 67th among 89 qualified tackles — but he trended up down the stretch, and Washington clearly doesn’t want to reset that progress by handing him a new blind side to protect and a new set of rushers to learn on the fly.

Why This Matters for Jayden Daniels

Every version of this plan comes back to one guy: Jayden Daniels. Protecting him is the Commanders’ whole operation right now, after he missed 10 games last season with a knee sprain, a hamstring strain and a dislocated elbow. Washington went from an NFC Championship appearance in 2024 to a 5-12 finish in 2025, and the offensive line’s health was a big reason why.

Coleman at left tackle keeps Conerly’s development on a straight line and avoids a scenario where two starters are adjusting to new assignments at once. Moving Conerly left would have also meant finding someone else for right tackle — likely veteran Andrew Wylie, who’s played the bulk of his career on that side anyway. Quinn’s plan sidesteps that domino effect entirely.

There’s already noise around the roster this camp — Trey Amos left Saturday’s practice early after landing awkwardly on his ankle covering a deep ball to Terry McLaurin, a separate situation the team is also monitoring. Quinn said Washington is not planning to bring in outside help at tackle, according to Hogs Haven, and instead will lean on the three offensive linemen it already signed this offseason if more depth is needed.

Nothing about camp battles is permanent, and Washington hasn’t ruled out adding competition at tackle later if Coleman struggles. For now, though, this is the group Quinn is building around heading into Week 1 without his $30 million left tackle.