Trending toward Week 17 start

Johnson is "trending" toward making his first start of the season Thursday against the Cowboys after Marcus Mariota (hand/quadriceps) was a non-participant in Tuesday's walk-through practice, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.

With the Commanders shutting down Jayden Daniels (elbow) for the season and with Mariota unlikely to be ready to play on a short week after exiting last Saturday's 29-18 loss to the Eagles with a pair of injuries, Johnson is the next man up at quarterback. The journeyman signal-caller's last NFL start came back in 2021, when he filled in for Lamar Jackson in Week 17 during his second of three stints in the Ravens organization. Johnson has flashed some upside as a runner in his limited playing time over his previous stops during his long career, but given that he's now 39 years old, he probably can't be counted on to replicate the rushing production of Daniels and Mariota.