Sonny Styles did not like what he saw from his preseason debut last Friday, and the Washington Commanders are still trusting him with one of the defense’s biggest communication jobs. The rookie said after Wednesday’s practice that he was “not a big fan of it” after getting only one drive in the game against the Miami Dolphins.
That matters now because the Commanders already have him wearing the green dot, the helmet signal that makes him the on-field play caller. It is a fast sign of confidence for a player still adjusting to the NFL game, and it puts extra weight on every snap he takes.
Styles’ first outing was a rough one to judge on the stat sheet and in real time. The Dolphins opened with a 14-play, 93-yard drive and finished it with a De'Von Achane run. Styles was on the field for that series and said he is trying to speed up how he sees things and reacts.
He said the process is unfolding in chunks from week to week, with each practice helping him play faster and read the field a little sooner. Styles also said Daronte Jones’ system carries some similarities to what he ran at Ohio State, which has helped him settle into the structure even as he works to understand not just what to do, but why each call is made and what it is meant to stop.
Dan Quinn was direct about what still needs work. He said Styles has to clean up his footwork and get better at shedding blocks, adding that he “didn’t get downhill enough” and “didn’t take a shot when it was there.” Quinn also said Styles gets great depth in the zones, a sign the Commanders see him as instinctive in some areas even while others lag behind.
That balance is what makes his early role notable. Styles, at 6-foot-5 and 243 pounds, has met expectations in practice and is routinely around the ball because he is usually in the right spot to make plays. The Commanders resumed preparations for the Detroit Lions after taking the weekend off, but his next game workload remains the open question: how much more he will play, and whether the green dot stays on his helmet as the pace picks up.
