Former Alabama DT to start 2023 NFL season on IR

Former Alabama DT Phidarian Mathis’ 2023 season will not begin until the NFL’s Week 5 at the earliest.

Per ESPN’s John Keim, the defensive tackle will start the season on short-term IR after dealing with a calf injury.

Washington is going to place DT Phidarian Mathis on short term IR per source. Intention is to bring back C Tyler Larsen.

— John Keim (@john_keim) August 30, 2023

Under NFL rules, if a player is placed on IR before the roster cut deadline, the player will have to miss the entire season. Since Mathis made the Commanders’ 53-man roster and then was placed on IR, he can return after four weeks. Mathis dealt with injury as a rookie, as well. The defensive tackle suffered a meniscus injury and only played in one game in 2022.

At Alabama, Mathis was a force. In 2020, Mathis burst onto the scene with 31 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks . In 2021, Mathis collected 53 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, and 9 sacks in 2021 and earned Second-team All-SEC honors.

Mathis’ incredibly 2021 season led to the defensive tackle getting selected in the 2nd round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Washington is no stranger to adding Alabama players, as Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne are also key pieces of the Commanders’ defense.

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