THE Washington Commanders appoint three new captains for each match. Instead of naming permanent captains before the season, head coach Dan Quinn took a week-to-week approach this season to rewarding his players.
Washington announces the captains for the next game every Friday, and Quinn opens his final press conference of the week by discussing these legends.
Captaining the Commanders for the Week 13 game against the Tennessee Titans are quarterback Marcus Mariota, defensive tackle Sheldon Day and longtime punter Tress Way.
Way is a former Washington captain who is having another stellar season. Day is a nine-year NFL veteran who was signed to the practice squad in August and elevated to the 53-man roster in October. Since Jonathan Allen’s season-ending injury, Day has been an integral part of Washington’s defensive tackle rotation.
Finally, there is Mariota. The 10-year veteran has only appeared in two games this season, but shined in relief of Jayden Daniels in the Week 7 win over the Carolina Panthers. Mariota completed 18 of 23 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns.
Why was Mariota selected? Well, there is no denying that he is a popular player in the locker room, respected by his teammates and has been a great mentor to Daniels. However, he is also a former No. 2 overall pick by the Titans.
Mariota spent his first five seasons in the NFL playing for Tennessee, going 29-32 as a starting quarterback, completing 63% of his passes for 13,207 yards, 76 touchdowns, 44 interceptions and rushing for 1 399 yards and 11 touchdowns.
“So offensively it’ll be Marcus Mariota, defensively it’ll be Sheldon Day and, on teams, Tress Way,” Quinn said Friday. “And so, we love this part of Friday and getting a chance to say a few words about the guys and everyone is pretty excited.”
Quinn didn’t say it, but it’s clear why the team chose Mariota. Mariota didn’t necessarily leave Tennessee on bad terms, it continues a trend of Washington choosing players as captains over their former teams.
Maybe this week the Commanders can get Mariota’s revenge against his old team.
This article was originally published on Commanders Wire: Commanders pick interesting captain for Week 13 vs. Titans
