Is it too early to declare winners and losers in free agency? Absolutely! But we’ve been doing it since before the event, the first hour, and every hour after that. Fans know (or think they know) what their team needs, and the Washington Commanders have a lot of needs heading into the new league year. After an appearance in the NFC Championship Game, they had a disappointing 5-12 season and two new coordinators. Dan Quinn remains as head coach and enters his third season, with general manager Adam Peters in charge of the realignment.
There were a lot of problems last season, from injuries, to poor performances from older players, to conflicts between coaches, which led to major changes at the end of the season. Adam Peters’ recalibration has thrust him into the spotlight in an offseason that many fans have labeled as hit or miss. Will Peters open up managing partner (owner) Josh Harris’ wallet and spend big, or will he go “on the cheap” again in free agency?
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Those questions began to be answered on the first day of the legal tampering window, with the Commanders signing Chargers’ De’Odafi Owe to a four-year, $100 million contract while outbidding some of their top targets like De’Jaylan Phillips and wide receiver Alec Pierce. Peters has shown in his three years in Washington that he has a price point for players and will walk away from a deal if the price is higher than that. The first day of free agency is always filled with overpayments, with some “smart” teams waiting until desperate teams readjust the market to find real bargains. But when your available salary cap is in the top 5 in the league and you have significant needs on your roster, there’s room for both strategies.
The next day, legal tampering slowed down significantly across the league, as teams continued to re-sign their own players before they hit free agency. The Commanders added defender Leo Chenal on Tuesday, adding to their roster of signings ahead of the start of the new league year yesterday at 4pm ET. Adam Peters agreed to terms with OLB K’Lavon Chaisson, TE Chig Okonkwo and S Nick Cross before the deadline and joined DE Charles Omenihu last night.
Strengthen your defense!
Brian Baldinger of NFL Network said the GMs could add five defensive starters over the past three days, with fixing a broken defense an obvious priority. New defensive coordinator Daronte Jones is the big winner in free agency. With seven of the eight free agents added from other teams playing defense, Jones has his first chance to execute his plan with his own players. Dan Quinn took over Joe Whitt Jr.’s defense last season but said Jones will make his own show in Washington.
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The defense was plagued by injuries last season, resulting in backups like Jacob Martin and veterans like Von Miller getting significant playing time. Washington has excelled at the position and reportedly inquired about Bengals linebacker Trey Hendrickson before heading to the Ravens. Pressure on the QB will be improved and the secondary defense will be helped by LBs, CBs, and Ss, with more to come.
Offensive help on the way?
On offense, the Commander promoted assistant quarterbacks coach David Braff to offensive coordinator. He replaces Kliff Kingsbury, whose coaching style reportedly fell out of favor with the front office, leading to a breakup. Getting Jaden Daniels to play more at center and limiting his injury risk is a priority after Jaden Daniels was sidelined with an injury at the end of the season. The offense doesn’t get as much attention as the defense, but it’s the stronger unit in the offseason.
Starting center Tyler Biadasz was released and quickly found a new home with the Chargers at a similar salary. Many thought Adam Peters had a plan to address the position that included a pending free agent, but fans saw all the top options and then the next level options being snapped up by other teams. Nick Allegretti, who replaced Biadasz after a season-ending leg injury, is now the projected starter, but fans are not satisfied. Peters still has draft picks to upgrade his position, but the team only has six picks, and most of them are on Day 3.
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One of the biggest moves Adam Peters made during the legal tampering window was giving left tackle Laremy Tunsil a two-year extension while giving their franchise LT another huge payday. Chris Paul took over the left guard spot from Brandon Coleman in Week 3 and retained the position throughout the rest of the season. He is a free agent and has drawn interest from other teams. He remains unsigned, and left guard is now another open spot on the offensive line.
Wide Receiver/Running Back Depth
Washington still has a lot of question marks on offense, with the wide receiver and running back positions still unresolved. The Commanders ended their contract impasse with Terry McLaurin last year, but it caused a lot of drama during training camp and the preseason. Injuries hampered most of the wide receivers last season, resulting in players like Chris Moore and Robbie Jolson playing more minutes than anyone expected. Washington missed out on Alec Pierce and Romeo Dobbs, but they need to continue to find talent to pair with McLaurin. Brandon Aiyuk is expected to be cut by the 49ers soon, and everyone is already planning for him to join his best friend, Jayden Daniels, on a one-year, “prove it” contract.
Many running backs have found new teams since Monday, but Washington isn’t one of them. Bill Crosky-Merritt is now the only RB signed this season, and Adam Peters needs to add 3-4 players to the roster this offseason. He did not sign restricted free agent Chris Rodriguez Jr., who was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars soon after the new season began. Austin Ekeler suffered a torn Achilles tendon early last season and is not expected to return. Jeremy McNichols, who has been Washington’s primary backup for several seasons, also wasn’t re-signed. With Washington leaning heavily on defense in free agency, their seventh overall pick could turn to offense, with Notre Dame RB Jeremiah Love and Ohio State WR Carnell Tate likely top choices.
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winners and losers
Daronte Jones and the Washington Commanders’ defense are the clear winners in the first wave of free agency, and he’s getting the much-needed influx of talent needed to implement his new system. Defense has been an issue for this team since Adam Peters and Dan Quinn took over, but rookie Jayden Daniels’ historic first-year performance helped mask that problem.
David Burrow and the Washington offense haven’t received the same level of help via free agency, but more players will be added over the next two months. Losing their top wide receiver options isn’t ideal, and now they’re turning to a backup plan. Signing TE Chig Okonkwo is great, but more work needs to be done around Jaden Daniels.
Washington Commanders odds from FanDuel
Odds to Win the Super Bowl: +4,500
Odds to Win NFC: +2,500
Odds to win the NFC East: +410
Jayden Daniels MVP Odds: +2,000
Total number of regular season wins: 7.5 and above -130, 7.5 and below +110
