Commanders' Dan Quinn wants to make real strides in mental health

· Yahoo Sports

Washington head coach Dan Quinn decided to talk about something much more important than merely football.

At the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, the Commanders' head coach spoke with the media on Tuesday, briefly addressing another NFL tragedy: Vikings receiver Rondale Moore's death this past weekend.

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"Yeah, it's a big deal and I think first off, it's heartbreaking to hear about Rondale (Moore). But I am hopeful we get to a point that we're not talking about mental health just when a tragedy hits, but that we're talking about it on a regular basis. Then we know we're making real strides in that "

"One of the things from the NFL standpoint, the advancement we've made is in player engagement, and knowing that each team has a full team there, ready to help and support, putting those resources into effect. But that would be my hope that we are talking about it way more than just tragedy takes place."

Moore played in 14, 8 and 17 regular season games in his first three NFL seasons (2021-23). However, injuries kept Moore from playing in the regular season in both 2024 and 2025. Police have stated the former Purdue and Arizona Cardinals receiver died of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was tragically found in the garage of a property in his New Albany, Indiana hometown. Police are investigating his death.

Quinn later also talked of how it can be such a mental setback when a NFL player experiences a major injury. He talked of making sure how the ball player's doing, and more importantly, how's the man doing?

"You do feel isolated and separated from the team in those spaces."

I can't speak for everyone else, but from my own spot, I want to check on them first, to see how they are dealing with the injury, dealing with the surgery, because on the upswing, when things (seasons) are getting closer, that's easier because there is something close to back to returning to play. When it's the initial part of it, knowing I am staring at 6 weeks, at 8 weeks, the entire season...those are harder conversations. You just want to make sure they are checking in."

Quinn talked about he likes when the injured players are doing their workouts at the Ashburn facility, "I like it selfishly, because I get to see them and check in and see how they are doing. Everybody has their process in how to do that, but yes, it is very important." Quinn is right, those in trouble will tend to isolate.

Anxiety and depression are real, real emotions. Sadly they often lie to us, not telling us the full truth of our life, our circumstances, our opportunities, the people who care about us, the people who love us, the people who need us. NFL players in that sense are like the rest of us, in the sense that none of us can absolutely trust our feelings. We need others outside of ourselves speaking truth to us, listening to them as they try taking our hands and leading us from our darkness into the light.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Dan Quinn discusses importance of mental health

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