Dan Quinn Gives Injury Update on Dorance Armstrong as Commanders Kick Off OTAs

Dorance Armstrong makes his first appearance at Commanders OTAs since tearing the ACL in his right knee last October against the Dallas Cowboys.

Oct 5, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Washington Commanders defensive end Dorance Armstrong (92) sacks Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) in the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Last season was a tough one for the Washington Commanders. The weekly injury report looked more like a roll call for practice, and it showed on the field. One player who got caught up in all that was DE/EDGE Dorance Armstrong, a guy Washington paid $33 million for three years back in 2024. Armstrong was off to the best start of his career before the season-ending knee injury he suffered against Dallas last October, recording 5.5 sacks in just seven games, which was more than he got the previous season in 16 games.

Flash forward seven months, and Dorance Armstrong looks like his rehab is going well.

Commanders DE Dorance Armstrong is going through team stretch but has no jersey on. He tore his ACL in October @wusa9 pic.twitter.com/vG2tXWwT6f

— John Doran (@JohnDoranTV) May 27, 2026

Dorance Armstrong's Expected Return Timeline

Commanders head coach Dan Quinn was asked what he was looking for from the small group of players not practicing at Wednesday's first practice of Phase 3 of the OTA program at team headquarters in Ashburn, Va. “Yeah, they’re kind of in all sorts of spots, really. Some are still on their way back and getting towards the latter parts of the rehab to go into that. For example, a DA [DE Dorance Armstrong] or [DE] Deatrich [Wise] in that space. So, there's guys in different spots. And I think all of it's kind of geared towards camp to see what that would look like. Yeah, I think that'll be fluid here through the OTAs. But the number one thing is that they're on the way back and making good strides in that way.”

While Quinn didn't offer any new medical terminology in the conversation, he seemed positive, and the video above shows how far along Armstrong is in the process. Armstrong is shown running with the team, but not in uniform/helmet, and with a knee brace. The team is clearly taking it easy on his ramp-up as he continues his return from ACL surgery.

Armstrong was hurt against his former team last year on a play where he was trying to keep an eye on the running back heading to his right, but shifted back left to follow quarterback Dak Prescott. He tore the ACL in his right knee (video below).

Here’s the play where Dorance Armstrong suffered a knee injury pic.twitter.com/Q5Hit01J1X

— brandon (@JayDanielsMVP) October 20, 2025

The team will certainly have more details available soon, as Dorance Armstrong continues to battle back from a torn ACL in his right knee. For now, the video above from Commanders OTAs yesterday can serve as proof he's improving.

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