Dec. 29, 2025, 8:46 p.m. ET
Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn is often protective of his players. When he’s given a chance to call out a player for a bad play or a coach, he always takes the high road. It’s one of the reasons why he’s beloved.
However, during his Monday press conference, Quinn came as close as he has ever to calling out a player. Third-year safety Quan Martin played his fewest number of snaps of the season in last week’s 30-23 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Martin played 28 of 92 (30%) of Washington’s defensive snaps.
Why?
“There was a busted assignment that eliminated some of his reps,” Quinn surprisingly said. “And so, as I was kind of referring to with David earlier, there had been a big mistake in the game regarding coverage. And so, there were consequences to that. I’d like to also say, I love Quan and I believe in him. And that’s not so unusual when a difficult play happens that you change, and they have to come stand on the sideline for a moment because my belief in him is sky high. But that would’ve been the reason behind the less playing time in that specific moment.”
Here’s the play Quinn was referring to, an 86-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott to KaVontae Turpin:
Martin, a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft, played in 16 games, making five starts as a rookie. Martin started 16 games last season for Washington and has started every game this year. He has one year remaining on his rookie contract, and the Commanders‘ defense is expected to look a lot different next season.
Quinn didn’t mention if Martin would receive fewer snaps moving forward, or if this benching was for last week only. The Commanders face the Philadelphia Eagles in the Week 18 regular-season finale.