Why Commanders just called up two players for the Giants game

The Washington Commanders are allowed to dress up to 48 players from their 53-man roster on Sunday in their season opener against the New York Giants.

That means at least five of their 53-man roster will not dress, in addition to players not called up from the Commanders' practice squad.

On Saturday, Washington called up two players, center Michael Deiter and receiver Chris Moore, meaning seven players have to be ruled inactive for the game from the active roster.

While it isn't likely we could guess the seven players that will be inactive with 100 percent certainty, we can count on quarterback Josh Johnson being among them.

Washington Commanders quarterback Josh Johnson (14). | Peter Casey-Imagn Images

The Third Quarterback Rule Explained

Thanks to recent rule changes, the Commanders can dress a third quarterback, Johnson in this case, but have him on the game day inactive list not counting against the 48-man limit. Then, if one of the active quarterbacks were to be injured, they could be ruled inactive, and Johnson could be brought up to the active roster in-game as a replacement. The catch is that he has to be part of the 53-man roster first, and cannot be on the practice squad, called up for the week.

Bolstering Depth Where It's Needed

It is a little surprising Washington called up two players, but only a little bit because even with all five receivers on the active roster cleared to play, including Noah Brown, it was pretty thin at the position.

Special teams contributions will play a role in deciding who does and doesn't suit up Sunday as well, further adding to the equation when trying to figure out who might not dress.

Getting to Know the New Faces

Deiter is entering his seventh season in the NFL and originally entered the league as a third-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2019. He started 15 games in his rookie season but was relegated to back-up duties the following year. He started eight more in 2021 and after spending four seasons with the team joined the Houston Texans in 2023, starting 10 games there.

Last year, as center Tyler Biadasz's primary backup, Deiter was active for all 17 games and started two.

Moore, the receiver, last caught a pass in a regular-season game in 2023 when he brought in 22 passes for the Tennessee Titans.

The veteran has been in the league since 2016 and has played for five different teams including Washington, which he joined in 2024, but was not active for any games.

He did have five active games last year, all with the Arizona Cardinals.

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