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Daily Slop – 13 Feb 25 – Gearing up for Commanders free agency

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Washington Commanders v Dallas Cowboys
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How the Commanders can take the next step in 2025

“The floor has risen,” [Dan Quinn] said, “but we’re nowhere near where our ceiling’s going to be and that fires me up.”

To reach that ceiling, the Commanders face three key questions:

How will they build around Daniels?

Daniels was named the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year and finished seventh in the MVP voting in 2024. A franchise that couldn’t solve this position for decades appears to have finally gotten it right. Daniels threw for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns; he rushed for 891 yards and six more scores.

The added benefit: He’s on a rookie contract for the next several years.

“We have a massive opportunity,” Harris said last week. “None of us are taking that lightly.”

How will they spend in free agency?

Washington enters the offseason with the third-most [Effective] cap space in the NFL — at approximately [$68.4] million. The Commanders trail only New England and Las Vegas. Peters has repeatedly said that free agency is where a franchise should fill needs and the draft is where it must build the foundation of the roster.

That’s what Washington did last season. Only three of [the 2024 free agents signed] — Luvu, Ekeler and Armstrong — received more than a one-year deal.

“I don’t know how that translates to aggressiveness and free agency where Adam and Dan are hard at work and they’re going to advise me on that,” Harris said, “but certainly, we’re going to do everything we can to improve our team.”

Luvu said two weeks ago that he had already heard from players on other teams who said they wanted to play in Washington. It’s quite a reversal from the past.

Which players will they retain?

Washington will need to decide which veterans to retain.

The Commanders have 28 pending unrestricted free agents. They also can create more cap room if they decide to cut defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, saving them $16.8 million against the cap (they could also extend his contract, which ends after 2025, and lower his cap hit). If they released veteran right tackle Andrew Wylie they would save $7.75 million against the cap.

Commanders.com

Commanders 2024 position review | Offensive line

— Biadasz provided the Commanders with some much-needed stability at center by staying relatively healthy and helping Jayden Daniels with protection calls. He was one of the most valuable additions to Washington’s offense last offseason, as he allowed just one sack with a 98.6 efficiency rating from PFF.

Questions to answer

— What to do at right guard? The Commanders signed Cosmi to a contract extension before the season, ensuring they’ll have their answer at right guard for the foreseeable future. However, Cosmi’s ACL injury he suffered during the Divisional round against the Detroit Lions means that he will likely miss at least some of the 2025 season. It creates a massive hole in the Commanders’ starting lineup that must be filled with either a serviceable starter in free agency or a draft pick. Peters has proven himself an exceptional talent evaluator, but finding Cosmi’s short-term replacement will be one of his biggest challenges this offseason.

— What’s next for Brandon Coleman? The Commanders were smart with Coleman’s development to start the season, as he rotated with Lucas at left tackle before taking the role for himself. As is the case with many rookie offensive tackles, Coleman had both positive moments as well as periods where it was clear he needed more time to develop. The team remains confident that he can become a solid NFL tackle. He’s primed to take his next step in Year 2, but he will need to put in the work in the offseason to do so.

Free agency

Click HERE to see all the players the Commanders could pursue in free agency with their available cap space.

Draft

Click HERE to see Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.’s Big Board of draft prospects.

Bullock’s Film Room

Commanders Position Profile: Defensive End

Profiling the key traits the Commanders want in a defensive end

In order to generate pressure with four, the Commanders need a defensive end that can be a consistent threat. They currently have some nice pieces that work well off each other and make a solid overall unit, but they are lacking that top end piece to finish off the group. Finding a top pass rushing defensive end is much easier said than done, but there could be some interesting options available to the Commanders via the draft, free agency or even a trade. But before looking at potential targets, we should first identify the skills that the Commanders are looking for from a defensive end, so that when we start looking at potential free agents or trade targets, we can see who best fits what the Commanders want.

One of the most obvious traits that every team desires in a pass rusher is explosiveness. Having an edge rusher with speed, burst and explosiveness off the line is a huge advantage for the defense. If an edge rusher can win with that alone, it changes how offenses have to game plan in order to prevent that defender from ruining the game for them.

On this play, you can see the type of explosiveness the Commanders would love to have on a consistent basis off the edge. Dante Fowler lines up quite wide against Titans rookie left tackle JC Latham. At the snap of the ball, Fowler bursts off the line and gets up the field in a hurry. By his third step, he’s already hip level with Latham, who is forced to open his hips towards the sideline to try and stay with Fowler’s speed. Fowler bluffs a long arm and gets Latham to lunge at him slightly before dipping to duck under the left tackle.

The left tackle attempts to cut Fowler off, but Fowler is able to maintain his speed as he bends the edge and turns the corner. He uses his inside arm to rip through and break free of the block as he hits the quarterback during his delivery. Unfortunately for Fowler, the quarterback made an excellent play to just get the ball out in time, but it was still a good rush from Fowler and an example of being able to threaten the edge with speed, burst and bend.

Those traits are commonly sought-after traits around the league from pass rushers. You’ll often see more quick-twitch, explosive athletes get drafted higher than edge rushers with lesser athletic traits but more production in college because the athleticism translates to the NFL well. Fowler was one of those types, a very athletic profile but raw. It took him some time to develop his game, and it was only really this year he learned to be a bit more consistent with his technique and how to finish more plays. But just having that explosiveness isn’t enough. The Commanders want their pass rushers to have a motor that keeps running no matter how long the play goes on for, and awareness to avoid getting easily blocked out of the play.

Podcasts & videos

Which Commanders Positions Are Set for 2025? | Take Command

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NFL.com

Tackling grades for all 32 NFL teams: Broncos, Lions rank in top five for 2024 season

Before the 2024 season began, Next Gen Stats and Amazon Web Services (AWS) teamed up to create a new AI model that set out to estimate all 11 defenders’ chances of making a tackle every tenth of a second of every play from scrimmage. Enter Tackle Probability. With this new model, NGS can go beyond simple counting statistics, bringing contextual metrics like tackle opportunities and missed tackles to the forefront of player and team analysis.

Now that the season has concluded, here is a look at how all 32 teams fared across key metrics like tackle efficiency and missed tackle yards lost, graded on a similar scale to what you would see on a high school report card:

8 – Washington Commanders – GRADE: 86.8 (B+)

Dan Quinn led the league’s greatest turnaround in Washington this season, and one factor was his development of a disciplined tackling unit that improved from 22nd in the NFL in efficiency in 2023 to fifth this year. The Commanders’ playoff campaign was keyed by a raft of veteran acquisitions, including Bobby Wagner and Jeremy Chinn, who were as impressive as anyone; they were two of four players in the league to convert over 100 tackles on an efficiency rate of 93% or better. Both cornerstones were on one-year deals, and Washington might need to pay up to retain them.

Discussion topics

ESPN

NFL overhaul tiers: Who’s contending, rebuilding in 2025?

HEADED ON THE RIGHT TRACK

Washington Commanders (12-5)

  • Average age of roster: 26.8
  • Salary cap space: $59.1 million
  • Total 2025 draft picks (projected): 7

What’s next: The buzz is palpable in Washington, which was one win from the Super Bowl during what was supposed to be a transitional year. A series of veterans on one-year deals performed well — including Zach Ertz, Bobby Wagner and Dante Fowler Jr. — so the Commanders must decide which players should return. Some around the league expect Washington to secure a viable No. 2 receiver to Terry McLaurin. Improvements along the offensive line could be in order. Releasing offensive tackle Andrew Wylie would save $7.8 million on the cap, though serviceable right tackles are valuable.

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