The Washington Commanders open TE Colson Yankoff’s 21-day practice window to return from IR

Yankoff!

The Washington Commanders have made a few roster announcements this week, as they prepare for a Wild Card Weekend playoff game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night. Colson Yankoff was an undrafted free agent tight end who defied expectations and made the roster. He was active for six games before being placed on injured reserve on November 9th due to a hamstring injury. He only played 6 snaps on offense, but was a regular on special teams, logging 101 snaps.

The Commanders can activate Yankoff from IR at any time over the next 21-days, and he could be available for Sunday night’s game. Washington can also wait, and if they win, evaluate his injury recovery more for the next round. If they do activate Yankoff, a corresponding roster move will need to be made to open a spot on the 53-man roster.

Washington currently has three TEs on the active roster(Zach Ertz, John Bates, Ben Sinnott) and two on the practice squad(Tyree Jackson, Cole Turner). Ertz and Bates are the clear #1 and #2 in the offense respectively, with 2nd-round rookie Sinnott not getting higher than 10% of the offensive snaps over the last three games.

Washington also made some practice squad moves this week in order to re-sign DT Haggai Ndubusi and then place him on injured reserve. Recently signed OT Max Pircher was released and re-signed to the practice squad a day later. Ndubusi had been poached from the practice squad by the New England Patriots, only to be waived with a non-football illness designation a day later. He joined the NFL through the International Pathway Program, and was initially signed by the Commanders in April, 2024.