Commanders' Dan Quinn Anxious To Start Season: 'Keeps Me Up At Night!'

With one final preseason game remaining, Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn has a lot of work ahead of him before the start of the season. After Sunday night’s game against the Patriots, the Commanders will have roughly 48 hours before they have to cut down to their 53-man roster.

Coach Quinn, however, sees it a little different.

“The way we look at it is that it’s a 70-man roster,” Quinn said. “It’s always a hard conversation for the ballplayer, whether a veteran or a rookie.”

Teams are allowed to move 17 players to their practice squad in addition to the active 53-man roster.

“There’s a lot that keeps me up at night,” Quinn continued. “A lot of that has to do with what’s to come. It’s a hard conversation walking into that room because you’re not coming with good news.”

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It’s never easy to tell someone that their dream is over, but it happens every year. A lot of times, it’s not necessarily over, but maybe it’s just not the right time. Coach Quinn, however, did add one final note to how he has learned to handle cut down day.

“If a player’s not coming back,” Quinn said, “I try to give him some things to work on in case he has another opportunity elsewhere.”

With cut down day coming up on Tuesday, there will be plenty of those conversations to be had.