Phidarian Mathis suffered torn meniscus vs. Jaguars originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Phidarian Mathis’ rookie year with the Commanders is over after less than one quarter of action.
Mathis suffered a torn meniscus during Sunday’s season-opener, NBC Sports Washington has confirmed. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was the first to report the news, and adds that Mathis will undergo season-ending surgery on his left knee.
The second-round pick was hurt on his second professional drive in the squad’s game versus the Jaguars, when he was rolled up on during a run in his direction. Bobby McCain quickly signaled to the training staff that Mathis needed attention, and eventually, he was carted off.
Both Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne saw extra action once Mathis left the matchup, which is something that concerned head coach Ron Rivera, he said Monday. Because of that, Rivera explained that the club is monitoring “several names” at defensive tackle and is hoping to bring in reinforcements for the 53-man roster and the practice squad.
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Allen suffered a groin injury of his own late in Sunday’s proceedings, but Rivera didn’t express much concern about the severity of that issue.
Mathis was drafted out of Alabama to provide the Commanders with a run-stopping, block-occupying force in the middle of their front. He wasn’t expected to post serious numbers on his own, yet his presence was supposed to free up others to do so.
Unfortunately, Washington won’t benefit from that for the rest of its 2022 campaign. That means Allen and Payne will have to keep leading the way with stellar performances and, hopefully, receive help from whomever is signed if the franchise does indeed go that route.
