Washington Commanders add former Alabama offensive lineman
Former Alabama offensive lineman J.C. Hassenauer returned to the NFL on Tuesday with the Washington Commanders.
The Commanders announced Hassenauer’s signing while waiving injured offensive tackle Alex Akingbulu.
Hassenauer has played center and guard during his NFL career. Washington is undergoing an overhaul to the interior of its offensive line this offseason.
The Commanders’ first depth chart of the preseason has Tyler Biadasz as the starting center after he held that spot for the Dallas Cowboys last season, backed up by Michael Deiter, who started 10 games for the Houston Texans in 2023.
Sam Cosmi returns at right guard, with free-agent signee Nick Allegretti at left guard after starting 13 games in five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Bobby Johnson, the Washington offensive-line coach, held that position last season with New York when Hassenauer was with the Giants.
Hassenauer had been an unrestricted free agent since March 13. He missed the entire 2023 season after sustaining a triceps injury that required surgery at New York’s training camp.
In four seasons atAlabama, Hassenauer started three games – all in his senior season. Hassenauer’s third start came in his final college game – a 26-23 overtime victory against Georgia in the CFP national championship contest for the 2017 season.
Hassenauer joined the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted rookie in 2018, and he spent the first seven weeks of the season on their practice squad.
In 2019, Hassenauer served as the starting center for the Birmingham Iron until the Alliance of American Football folded after eight weeks of spring play.
Hassenauer joined Pittsburgh after the AAF’s abrupt end. He didn’t survive the roster cut to the regular-season limit at the end of the preseason, but he returned to the Steelers in November as a practice-squad member. Hassenauer dressed for a game for the first time in Pittsburgh’s 2019 regular-season finale, but he didn’t play.
In 2020, Hassenauer survived the Steelers’ preseason-to-regular-season roster cut, played in 15 games and made four starts – filling in for Maurkice Pouncey for three games and getting the call at left guard once.
In 2021, Hassenauer again held a backup role. But he played every snap at center for Pittsburgh in the final two regular-season games and a 42-21 playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
In 2022, Hassenauer played in every game but was on the field for only 46 offensive snaps, along with 71 special-teams plays, in 17 contests. Hassenauer played 41 of those snaps at center in Pittsburgh’s 37-30 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 20 after starter Mason Cole got hurt.
