The Washington Commanders earned a massive 45-31 upset win over the top-seeded Detroit Lions on Saturday night in the NFC divisional round to advance to their first NFC championship game since 1991, when they last won the Super Bowl.
However, the team didn’t leave Detroit unscathed. Head coach Dan Quinn announced that starting right guard Sam Cosmi was out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL suffered Saturday night.
“Yeah, unfortunately some tough news on Sam. He does have an ACL injury that will knock him out for the rest of the season,” Quinn said Sunday. So he’s been a significant part of what we’re doing, especially on the interior. It’s a big deal. The ballplayer and the man.”
On Sunday afternoon, Cosmi posted a message for Washington fans on Instagram:
“Knocked down, but never knocked out.
What a dream this season has been for me. To see the DMV full of pride after years of waiting has brought me so much joy. Getting to play alongside my brothers everyday, fighting for something bigger than myself is something I’m incredibly grateful for. I am heartbroken my season got cut short, but I know our journey isn’t done yet. Go win it all boys.
Commanders nation, I’ll see you next season.
Trials to testimonies.”
Cosmi, a 2021 second-round pick, has started every game for the Commanders since the start of the 2023 season. He started out his career as offensive tackle before moving inside to right guard in 2024, the first season playing for Quinn and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. His 73.3 Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade this season ranked 14th in the NFL among guards.
Trent Scott, a seven-year, undrafted NFL veteran who has played for four different teams, seems to be the leader to replace Cosmi at right guard going forward. He started his NFL career out of Grambling State with the Los Angeles Chargers (2018-2019) before playing two seasons with the Carolina Panthers (2020-2021) and then with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022. Washington signed Scott to a one-year deal in 2023 before bringing him back for 2024. He’s started 23 of his 88 games played in his NFL career, including three of his 27 regular season games played with the Commanders.
