Linebacker Frankie Luvu's status for the Washington Commanders' Week 2 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys is still unknown at this point in the week, but the defense is getting some reinforcements up front.
Dorance Armstrong, who had to sit out of the Commanders' season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles with a one-game suspension, was added back to the roster on Tuesday and is set to make his debut against his former team on Sunday. It's an exciting moment for both the Commanders and Armstrong, not just because he can add his skill set to what has already proven to be a formidable pass rush, but also because it's the end of a long recovery journey Armstrong has been on for the better part of a calendar year.
"I'm blessed to be back in this position," Armstrong said. "I'm thankful for everything that I've been through. It's been almost a year now, so, yeah, I'm super excited."
Armstrong, now entering his third season with the Commanders, suffered a knee injury in Week 7, which, ironically, was also at AT&T Stadium, that forced him to miss the remainder of the 2025 campaign. It was a frustrating moment for Armstrong, who led the team with 5.5 sacks and was on pace to have a career season. Rather than getting more acclimated to the Commanders' new defensive scheme, Armstrong spent the majority of his time rehabbing his knee and getting back up to full strength as quickly as possible.
Armstrong returned to practice near the midway point of this year's training camp, although he was still on a pitch count as he continued his "return to play" process. However, Armstrong said he started to feel like himself three or four weeks prior to his return. He was able to move more fluidly, change direction and perform the basics of the position.
It was still a long road getting to that point.
"A lot of good days, a lot of bad days, a lot of days that you just sometimes may wanna give up, but [you] gotta push through," Armstrong said.
The suspension delayed Armstrong's return, but the Commanders are excited to have him fully back in the fold. Having him back, head coach Dan Quinn said, "definitely helps" because of his ability to play on the inside and the edge. Although he's technically third on the depth chart behind Odafe Oweh and K'Lavon Chaisson, he remains a key piece of the Commanders' game plan, which was why Quinn called it "a big deal" to get him practice reps so he had something to build upon during his debut.
"To see his speed back, his explosion back, that's a big deal," Quinn said. "Dorance is a player that has feel. He knows...what to react to. And so, having more players like that who have that type of versatility, that adds a lot of value."
The Commanders' pass rush is drastically different from the last time Armstrong played in a game. Rather than being the only player who could consistently pressure quarterbacks, which was often the case in 2025, he's now surrounded by the investments the Commanders made in the offseason to improve that component of the defense. Oweh and Chaisson are the headliners, but players like rookie Joshua Josephs, Javontae Jean-Baptiste and even blitzers like Sonny Styles make up a front seven that is full of players who can cause disruption in the backfield.
"That just makes us stronger," Armstrong said. "I guess the better the pass rushers, the better our team's gonna be. We didn't have a lot of help last year, but now we got guys that [are] young, fresh, and ready to go."
And for the Commanders, who now use a scheme that relies on a strong pass rush to create disruption at the line of scrimmage, it's never a bad thing to have another pass rusher up front.
"We're excited to get Oweh, and KC [Chaisson] and him [Armstrong] all back in the rotation together," Quinn said. "We were ready to see that. And it'd be nice to put it into action."
It's unknown at this point exactly how involved Armstrong will be in the game plan against the Dallas Cowboys. He might be ready to contribute from a physical standpoint, but it might take time for him to get a larger snap count. No matter how much he's on the field, though, Armstrong is ready to make an impact.
"I feel like I'm the same person, if not better," Armstrong said.
