It didn’t take long for the Washington Commanders to get some good news on rookie defender Jer’Zhan Newton.
With training camp getting underway, the Commanders announced that Newton has passed his physical and has been removed from the active/non-football injury list.
Meaning, the hyped second-round pick can now practice and join that defensive line rotation alongside Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne after a January foot surgery and a post-draft operation to repair a Jones fracture.
While No. 2 pick Jayden Daniels understandably gets most of the spotlight, given his disruptiveness in college at Illinois, Newton has the potential to be the proverbial missing piece and play a key role.
New defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr.’s unit will rely on the consistent pressures Newton can provide from different angles to keep opposing offenses guessing. Now, the rookie gets to develop in real-time during live training camp practices and preseason games.