Commanders DE Casey Toohill Gets Major Opportunity With Chase Young Injury
Washington Commanders defensive end Chase Young is still recovering from his torn ACL he suffered back in November. The injury will keep him on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List until October and he'll at least miss the first four games of the season.
Just as the Commanders worked through the second half of last season, the defensive ends on the other side of the depth chart will have an opportunity to compete and contribute while Young is sidelined. One of those defensive ends is third-year pro Casey Toohill.
Toohill, who turned 26 this week, was a seventh-round pick made by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020. The NFC East rival cut Toohill in the middle of his rookie season, but he caught on with Washington in the middle of the year.
In 2021, his first full season with the team, Toohill played in 16 games and started six of them.
"He’s a great player and a great friend so I hated to see that but yeah it was an opportunity," Toohill said about Young and his injury. "It was just dialing in my focus, doing the same thing I’ve been doing but just more of an opportunity and more plays. I think it’s the same now, keeping that same focus as I had before and getting things going.”
Toohill will have to dial his focus once again this season with Young out, and head coach Ron Rivera has the confidence in the third-year pro to fill in while his star is out.
"All he's really done is improve," Rivera said. "His practice habits have been tremendous."
For Toohill, those practice habits have him playing like he's with the first-team on every snap, regardless of who he is up against.
"I just think every year that I’ve played it’s become more about the details," Toohill said. "It was just the minute details of my job. Hand placement. Foot work. Certain little pass rush things just you know, the very small things that I thought could make a big difference in the end.”
Toohill will get one more chance to flash his skills Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens in the team's final preseason game.
