Is time running out for the Commanders at center?

Time is running out on the Commanders.

The Commanders’ center position is so thin it is alarming. The Commanders open with a road game against the Philadelphia Eagles, then face the Dallas Cowboys and return home for a Week 3 contest against defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle. Ask the Patriots how much the Seahawks defensive line dominated last year’s Super Bowl.

Enough is enough. Surely the Commanders’ coaches know Julian Good-Jones isn’t the answer at center. They gave him his chance; he displayed why he has only one regular-season NFL game experience at age 29. Why would the Commanders use him anymore?

#Commanders HC Dan Quinn says that the team has work to do with figuring out the center position but likes what he has seen from the OL overall. pic.twitter.com/lTioJ9NJ7x

Starter Nick Allegretti, as everyone in the fan base knows by now, was injured on the first day of the 2026 training camp, returned last week, and couldn’t finish practice after straining the same calf again. Have we reached the point with Allegretti that perhaps they should keep him off the calf until the week leading up to the opener?

Does Allegretti need that much rest to prepare for the regular season? If so, perhaps the Commanders should choose right now to go that route, giving the work at center to rookie Mat Gulbin. Yes, Gulbin is a rookie out of Michigan State not drafted until pick No. 209. But we now know Good-Jones is not a viable option at center.

So, perhaps the best course of action now is for the Commanders to release Good-Jones and sign a veteran still available who has experience. Other than that, all of the reps in Wednesday's scrimmage against the Ravens and the preseason game Friday, also against the Ravens, should go to Gulbin and Trey Hill, out of Georgia, whom they signed two weeks ago.

Who is Trey Hill? Well, it is true he did not play a game in 2025. The Bengals drafted Hill in 2021 (190 overall), and he played for them from 2021 to 2023; by 2024, he was on the practice squad. Later released, Hill was signed by the Packers, only to be released in the roster cutdown to 53. The Bears then signed Hill to their practice squad, where he remained all of the 2025 season.

The Titans signed Hill in January but then released him in June, and the Commanders signed Hill on August 2. So Hill has been actively working on teams; he simply didn’t play on an active roster in 2025. All this to say, the Commanders need to give Hill and Gulbin work at center. Daniel Brunskill is a 32-year-old listed at only 260 pounds with some center experience.

Lastly, the Commanders are deep at receiver. Is there a team out there that might be willing to trade a backup center for a backup receiver?

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Is time running out for the Commanders at center?