WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (5-12)
After plummeting from an NFC title game berth to a five-win season, the Commanders will certainly hope for a return to the playoffs. Beyond wins and losses, it's important for quarterback Jayden Daniels to have a solid, healthy season to dismiss comparisons to Robert Griffin III, another Washington quarterback who had a great rookie year that was ultimately too good to be true. The problem for the Commanders is that the line being counted on to keep Daniels upright is already having problems. Left tackle Laremy Tunsil went down with a triceps injury. Nick Allegretti seemed as if he might be the choice at center after veteran Tyler Biadasz was released, but Allegretti has been dealing with a calf injury during camp. Dan Quinn is back for his third season as coach, but the offensive and defensive coordinators are both different — David Blough and Daronte Jones took over those roles.
WR Stefon Diggs, DE Odafe Oweh, TE Chig Okonkwo, LB Sonny Styles, WR Antonio Williams, DE K'Lavon Chaisson, CB Amik Robertson, LB Leo Chenal, RB Rachaad White, DC Daronte Jones.
WR Deebo Samuel, LB Bobby Wagner, LB Von Miller, DE Preston Smith, DB Marshon Lattimore, C Tyler Biadasz, TE Zach Ertz, QB Josh Johnson, RB Austin Ekeler, WR Noah Brown, OC Kliff Kingsbury, DC Joe Whitt Jr.
If healthy, Daniels is the kind of poised, elusive quarterback who can make everyone around him better and cover up problems on the roster. Washington's pass rush should also be improved after adding Oweh and Chaisson. The Commanders have been one of the top rushing teams in the NFL each of the past two seasons, even with Daniels missing most of 2025. Jacory Croskey-Merritt ran for 805 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie. Washington used the No. 7 pick in the draft on Styles as part of a defensive overhaul.
The offensive line is the most urgent issue, but there are depth concerns all around the roster. Washington will hope receiver Terry McLaurin can rebound after basically a lost season in 2025. Adding Diggs late in the offseason gives the Commanders another big name at the position, but if those two don't live up to their past standards Washington doesn't have a lot of proven talent further down the depth chart. The defense was a disaster a season ago but has undergone significant changes. The Commanders drafted Styles in the first round, and the additions of Oweh and Chaisson should help — but whether the entire unit can make enough strides remains to be seen. Only rival Dallas allowed more points in the NFC last season.
The Commanders cut kicker Jake Moody and are going with undrafted rookie Drew Stevens at the position. Another big development over the past few weeks was a representative for Daniels telling LSU it could no longer use his name, image and likeness because the school was letting another player wear his No. 5. That drew no shortage of ridicule Daniels' way and puts even more pressure on the third-year QB to have a good season on the field. Marcus Mariota, a capable backup quarterback, strained an MCL in his right knee in the first preseason game. Washington's final exhibition game was a 41-3 loss to Baltimore. Many key players were held out of that one, but the performance was still jarringly uncompetitive. Quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis did do enough to make the team after being drafted in the seventh round. The Commanders don't want their No. 3 quarterback to become relevant anytime soon, but after last season it's hard to rule anything out.
After surpassing 50 catches in three straight seasons with the Tennessee Titans, Okonkwo joins the Commanders, returning to the area where he played college football at Maryland. Ertz had 11 touchdown receptions in his two seasons in Washington, so that gives an idea of what's possible.
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin (17) works out during the team's NFL football joint training camp with the Baltimore Ravens, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, at the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels smiles while watching warmups before an NFL preseason football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 2, 2026--
Altera Corporation, the world’s largest pure-play FPGA solutions provider, today announced two appointments to its Board of Directors: Sumit Sadana, who joins as an independent director, and Kirsten Spears, who previously joined the Board as an independent director and Chair of the Board’s Audit Committee. Together, Spears and Sadana bring significant semiconductor, technology, business, financial and governance experience to Altera’s Board as the company enters its next phase of growth.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260902342152/en/
“Kirsten and Sumit are highly respected semiconductor industry leaders who bring tremendous experience and complementary perspectives to our Board,” said Raghib Hussain, President and CEO of Altera. “Kirsten’s extensive financial and governance leadership combined with Sumit’s deep technology, business and strategic expertise, will be invaluable as we execute our strategy and position Altera for long-term growth.”
Ken Hao, Chairman of Altera’s Board of Directors and Managing Partner and Co-Chairman of Silver Lake, added, “Altera has made significant progress since its separation from Intel, and we are strengthening the Board to align with the company's ambitions. Kirsten and Sumit know how to build enduring semiconductor companies, and I am delighted to welcome them to the Board.”
Spears previously served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer at Broadcom, where she held leadership roles across finance, accounting and corporate governance. Earlier in her career, Spears held positions at LSI, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Raychem and Bank of America. As Chair of Altera’s Audit Committee, she will play an important role in the Board’s oversight of financial reporting, compliance, risk management and governance.
“Altera is at an exciting point in its evolution, with a long history of innovation and differentiated technology ideally suited for today’s evolving markets,” said Kirsten Spears. “I look forward to working with Raghib, Ken, Sumit and the Board as Altera continues to strengthen its business and governance foundation and prepares for its future.”
Sadana brings more than 35 years of technology and semiconductor industry experience spanning business and P&L leadership, product development, corporate strategy, M&A and operations. For over nine years, he served as executive vice president and chief business officer at Micron Technology, where he led the company’s P&L and business units and had responsibility for the company’s product roadmaps, customer partnerships as well as corporate strategy, corporate business development, global communications and marketing, and Micron Ventures. Prior to Micron, Sadana held senior leadership positions at SanDisk, Freescale Semiconductor and IBM. He has served on the Board of Directors of Silicon Labs since 2015 and as lead independent director since 2022.
“Altera has a strong technology foundation, a broad customer base and a significant opportunity ahead as programmable solutions become increasingly important to the future of computing and AI,” said Sumit Sadana. “I look forward to working with Raghib, Ken, Kirsten and the rest of the Board as Altera builds on its more than 40-year heritage of FPGA innovation and enters its next chapter of growth.”
The appointments reflect Altera’s continued focus on building the leadership and governance foundation to support its long-term strategy as an independent semiconductor company. Learn more about the Altera Board of Directors.
About Altera
Altera is the world’s largest pure-play FPGA solutions provider, with an exclusive focus on delivering FPGA innovations to the broad market. The company provides a comprehensive portfolio of programmable hardware, software, and development tools that empower designers of electronic systems to innovate, differentiate, and execute with greater speed and efficiency. With industry-leading FPGAs, SoCs, and design solutions, Altera enables customers to achieve faster time-to-market, greater flexibility, and optimized performance across a wide range of applications, spanning physical AI, industrial automation, audio/video, robotics, aerospace, defense, data centers, telecommunications, and more. For more information, visit www.altera.com
Kristen Spears and Sumit Sadana join Altera's Board as Independent Directors.
