Daily Slop – 14 Feb 25 – ESPN names Commanders “the best candidate” for Myles Garrett trade

A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders

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ESPN

Myles Garrett trade fits: Which teams make sense for Browns star?

Garrett has already been on a significant deal for several years, and Cleveland shouldn’t have many arguments against giving a player with his résumé a new contract. General manager Andrew Berry has said the Browns have no intention of trading Garrett, but what teams say publicly and end up doing are often two different things.

There’s enough smoke here to do a deeper dive. If the Browns are really willing to trade Garrett, what would a fair price even look like? And which teams should be interested?

What could the Browns get for Garrett?

[O]n the Jimmy Johnson chart, the trade value [for Garrett is about] 1,204 points. That would be equivalent to the 12th pick in a typical draft.

I can see an argument for the Browns wanting more. Garrett plays the second-most important position in the game after quarterback. He has four first-team All-Pro nods, placing him one ahead of these other players who were dealt before 30. He has won Defensive Player of the Year. And while he has been aided by a 17th game, he has racked up 12 sacks in each of the past five seasons. He’s the first player in NFL history to produce six 12-plus sack seasons before turning 30.

At the same time, Garrett is going to turn 30 next December, and the league has grown much warier of players as they age out of their prime seasons. Any team trading for him is going to be handing him a contract with significant amounts of guaranteed money into his early 30s. Garrett is unlikely to suddenly turn into a pumpkin just because he hits 30, but he has already played eight years in the league. We’ve seen players in this age range get traded for much less than their talents would suggest

If a team’s offering a top-10 pick in the 2025 draft, it might not need to offer much else. If it’s the Eagles sending the No. 32 pick, there would need to be something more substantial as a second asset going Cleveland’s way, especially given that their future picks in 2026 and 2027 are also likely to fall toward the bottom of rounds.

Yes: The sweet spot

These are other teams that should be interested in a Garrett deal and have one key advantage over the organizations I mentioned above: a cheap quarterback. It’s easier for teams with quarterbacks on rookie deals that are hoping to compete to go after him, given that they’re paying their starting signal-callers about $40 million to $50 million less than the going rate for veteran passers. That’s a lot of salary to spread elsewhere around the roster.

Washington Commanders. The Commanders are the most obvious and consequential landing spot for Garrett. They have the championship potential, the financial flexibility, and the clear and obvious need for pass-rushing help.

All of this starts with Jayden Daniels. The rookie sensation is still on a bargain deal for three more years before the Commanders would even to have consider a fifth-year option. They will likely give Daniels a new deal in 2027 if he continues on this path, but that would still give them a huge runway where his cash and cap hit are team-friendly figures. They have [almost] $80 million in cap space in 2025, so while they’ll look to add help at receiver and potentially on the left side of the offensive line, general manager Adam Peters & Co. will have plenty of resources to devote to the defense.

Dan Quinn was able to coax better-than-expected play out of his defense in his first season as Commanders coach, but some of those moves were short-term additions. Dante Fowler Jr., who led the team in sacks with 10.5, was on a one-year deal for $3.3 million. The 30-year-old hasn’t made that sort of impact regularly during his career, and it would be risky to project him to be that sort of player well into his 30s. Dorance Armstrong, who also followed Quinn to Washington, is more of a rotational player than a lead pass rusher. The Commanders probably feel good about the middle of their line with Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne and promising 2024 second-rounder Jer’Zhan Newton, but they’re going to be in the market for edge-rushing help this offseason.

Garrett would be the transformative player Quinn’s defenses have usually needed to thrive. When Quinn has built top-10 defenses, they’ve required superstars to make things work, such as Bobby Wagner, Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman in Seattle and Micah Parsons in Dallas. Garrett would give Quinn a chess piece who makes everybody else on the defense a little scarier, which could be hugely valuable for a team that’s going to need to draft a lot of defensive help over the next few years.

The Commanders have the No. 29 pick in April’s draft, and that would likely be in play as part of a Garrett deal. Would they be willing to throw Allen into the mix? The 30-year-old defensive tackle is in the final year of his deal, and Newton seems ready to move into a starting role next to Payne. The Browns have Dalvin Tomlinson on the interior, but Allen would give them a second impact tackle and soften the blow of losing Garrett. Washington could also get a third team involved as a potential landing spot for Allen. Either way, if the Browns are actually willing to deal Garrett, the Commanders should be the first team they call.

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The Athletic (paywall)

How can Commanders catch the Eagles? The playoffs offered suggestions

Nail the draft

There’s a reason one of the most used phrases throughout the playoffs was some form of, “The Eagles have the deepest roster.” There’s no doubt that free-agent additions bolstered the cause this season. But Philadelphia rarely misses with its premium draft selections, which provide a talent and salary-cap advantage.

Light on blitzing

Here’s something for Daniels and Kliff Kingsbury to consider this offseason.

The Eagles’ most remarkable feature in the Super Bowl was their zero blitzes by the defense, which befuddled three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Most teams cannot generate consistent pressure with four linemen, but those that think they’re close enough might use that approach when facing Daniels.

Blitzing is rarely a high priority for a Fangio defense. Only twice did the Eagles blitz on at least 35 percent of an opposing quarterback’s dropbacks, including the playoffs. One occasion was Washington’s 36-33 comeback win in Week 16, with Daniels throwing a career-high five touchdown passes. The other two games between the NFC East rivals — both won by the Eagles — were closer to the Super Bowl strategy against Mahomes.

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Commanders.com

Commanders 2024 position review | Safety

— Chinn was one of the most active safeties in the league with 117 tackles, which ranked fourth for his position in the regular season. He was just as productive in the playoffs, as his 29 stops ranked second among all defensive players. Chinn tied his career high after getting 70 tackles in 2022 and 2023 combined and had seven tackles for loss.

— Though his PFF grades don’t necessarily reflect it, Martin showed noticeable improvement in his second season. He nearly tripled his snap count from 2023 and nearly doubled his total tackles. PFF also notes that Martin allowed 10 fewer receptions in his second season and 73 fewer yards after the catch.

— Will the Commanders re-sign Chinn? The former 2020 second-round pick said last March that he believes Quinn’s “run-and-hit” style of defense suited him perfectly, and he backed that up by playing closer to his rookie season, when he was the runner-up for Defensive Rookie of the Year, than he did from 2021-23. Chinn played in the box for one-third of his 1,199 defensive snaps, using his physicality to help disrupt running plays. He was one of the players who embodied Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr.’s philosophy and became one of the secondary’s key pieces. However, Chinn only signed a one-year deal with Washington, which means they’ll need to decide whether to bring him back. Chinn built a strong case for himself, though, so we’ll see if it was enough for Washington to bring him back long-term.

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.

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Bullock’s Film Room

Commanders Position Profile: Wide Receiver

Profiling the key traits the Commanders want in a wide receiver

I think the first thing the Commanders will be looking for is more speed and explosiveness on the outside. McLaurin was the only receiver that gave the Commanders a consistent deep threat. Kingsbury is known for a vertical passing attack but had to adjust because he didn’t have the personnel. One of Jayden Daniels’ biggest strengths is his deep ball, but he was limited in how frequently he could make use of that talent because only McLaurin was winning deep consistently. So I think the Commanders will be looking for more of a vertical threat, which requires a few key attributes.

The first of those key attributes is obviously speed. There’s no better way to win deep than to have a fast receiver run by a corner. This play is a great example of Dyami Brown showing the type of speed the Commanders would love to see on a regular basis opposite McLaurin. At the snap of the ball, Brown immediately bursts straight up the field, eating up the cushion the cornerback was trying to gain. With Brown so quickly closing the gap, the corner feels threatened vertically and responds by adjusting inside to get closer to Brown.

Brown feels that move coming and uses it against the corner. He suddenly bursts outside, running right around where the corner came from. The corner can’t change his direction quickly enough and Brown zooms past him down the sideline. Daniels sees Brown get level with the corner and knows he’ll win, so pulls the trigger on a beautiful deep ball that hits Brown in stride for a 41-yard touchdown.

Speed kills in the NFL and the Commanders need more of it on both sides of the ball, but there’s more that goes into being a good deep threat than just pure speed. An overlooked part of being a deep threat is ball tracking. It’s not easy to be running away from the quarterback and have to look over your shoulder, locate the ball in the air and then adjust your path and speed to match the trajectory of the throw. Terry McLaurin is excellent at this and makes it look far easier than it actually is.

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Commanders.com

Five offseason questions for Washington to answer in 2025

The Commanders took low-risk gambles on several veterans last year by signing them to one-year deals. Many of them worked out. Bobby Wagner led the team in tackles; Jeremy Chinn looked rejuvenated in Dan Quinn’s system; Marcus Mariota provided veteran leadership for Daniels; Dante Fowler led the team in sacks; and Zach Ertz was a reliable target in the passing game. Those players, and several others, had important roles in the Commanders having as much success as they did last season.

The Commanders and general manager Adam Peters must weigh the value of keeping those players against the potential of finding other options or giving other players on the roster bigger roles. It’s reasonable to assume the Commanders will try to retain at least some of the players who were key to the roster in 2024, but others will choose to start new careers with other teams.

As special as Washington’s season was, it’s clear they need to keep improving the roster to advance further in the playoffs.

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Podcasts & videos

Record Year in Washington + Terry’s Top TDs + Commanders Marching Band | Command Center

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Commanders Mailbag: Myles Garrett | Adam Peters’ 2nd NFL Draft | First and Last Five Free Agents

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NFC East links

Bleeding Green Nation

Landon Dickerson expects to have offseason knee surgery

Dickerson had been sidelined a few times throughout the season, but things got notably worse for him during the NFC Championship game. The left guard had to move over to center against the Commanders in place of Cam Jurgens’, but in the first half, Dickerson was barely able to walk on the sideline. He toughed it out until halftime, but it was bad enough Jurgens ultimately ended up playing the rest of the game.

The knee injury didn’t keep Dickerson from playing in the Super Bowl, though, and he was able to play at a high level.

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NFL league links

Articles

Over the Cap

A Closer Look at Deebo Samuel’s Contract with the 49ers

Samuel’s contract is more or less a players dream and a team’s nightmare. The 49ers made the decision to use large bonuses in every year of the contract for much needed cap relief each season. The 49ers have prorated about 92.5% of the first three years of Samuel’s contract extension that was signed in 2022. This leaves the 49ers with $31.55 million in prorated charges to deal with in 2025 if Samuel is cut or traded, which is #3.7M more in cap space than the 49ers have spent on Samuel as an active player over the last three years. If the 49ers were to trade Samuel they would take all $31.55 million in cap charges in 2025 and would require some minor tweaking of his contract to avoid that number jumping by about another $3 million.

The 49ers do not have to rush on a trade since they created a salary cap cushion via a teamwide commitment to contract restructures made in 2024. While the option for Samuel is technically due on the 10th day of the league year the 49ers could elect to not pick up the option and allow Samuel’s salary for the year to rise from $1.17 million to $16.6 million, increasing his cap charge from $15.869 million to about $28.2 million. While the jump is big, the 49ers should be prepared to take that increase if they are willing to take $31M in dead money via trade. None of Samuel’s salary is guaranteed and this would allow them to hold onto Samuel until the draft to try to move him in a trade.

If no trade options look promising then I would expect the team to consider a post June 1 designation to prevent Samuel’s unhappiness from becoming a distraction. This would likely need to occur prior to the option and would put Samuel on the books for 2025 at around $11 million with $20.8 million hitting the books in 2026.

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NFL.com

Ranking all 59 starting quarterbacks from the 2024 NFL season: Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen at No. 1?

5 – Jayden Daniels – Washington Commanders · Rookie

2024 stats: 20 games | 68.4 pct | 4,390 pass yds | 7.4 ypa | 30 pass TD | 10 INT | 1,026 rush yds | 7 rush TD | 5 fumbles

The 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year’s arrival to Washington will be remembered as the moment the Commanders franchise was reborn. Daniels proved he was ready for the NFL from the jump, never appearing overwhelmed by the speed of the game. He formed an excellent partnership with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, powered the Commanders to a 7-2 start and made a name for himself as a late-game hero, leading Washington to a number of heart-stopping wins en route to a 12-5 finish and two road playoff upsets. His final victory was his most triumphant: a 45-31 stunner over the top-seeded Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round.

28 – Caleb Williams – Chicago Bears · Rookie

2024 stats: 17 games | 62.5 pct | 3,541 pass yds | 6.3 ypa | 20 pass TD | 6 INT | 189 rush yds | 0 rush TD | 10 fumbles

It’s impossible to evaluate Williams’ rookie year without acknowledging he didn’t land in an ideal situation. Among the many factors that worked against him in Year 1, Chicago’s offensive line struggled to protect Williams early in the season, subjecting him to a significant amount of pressure and hits that may have broken a lesser prospect. In these moments, though, we saw glimpses of what makes Williams special. He’s a magician when evading rushers and has an incredibly powerful arm that he often unleashed only after avoiding multiple defenders. He expended far too much energy attempting to stay upright, and by the time Chicago’s protection improved, Williams had developed a fear of making a mistake, leading to him holding onto the ball too long. He needs to become more decisive in his second season, but hopefully the new Ben Johnson-led staff won’t make the going so difficult for him in 2025. I have a feeling we’ve yet to see what Williams is truly capable of in the NFL, and I can’t wait to see him start to deliver on his potential.

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Front Office Sports

Scott Hanson in Talks With NBC As NFL Network Negotiations Stall

NBC is eyeing Hanson to host “Gold Zone” for the 2026 Winter Olympics and possibly the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Hanson is still in negotiations to return to NFL Media, where he’s hosted the popular NFL RedZone since its inaugural season in 2009. However, the talks have stalled, said sources, amid negotiations for ESPN to take over NFL Media and NFL RedZone. If Hanson leaves NFL Media, I could see fellow Syracuse alumnus Andrew Siciliano taking his spot on NFL RedZone. Siciliano hosted DirecTV’s rival Red Zone channel from 2005 to 2023. But if ESPN gains control, I could also see the network searching its deep bench of NFL talent for a new host.

The 53-year-old free agent was one of the breakout stars of NBCUniversal and Peacock’s Paris Olympics coverage this summer, serving as lead host of the Gold Zone whiparound highlights show.

NBC is eying Hanson to return as Gold Zone’s primary primetime host for the 2026 Winter Olympics and possibly the 2028 Summer Olympics, say my sources.

On Wednesday, NBC announced that Gold Zone and multiview will return next year along with an evening show dubbed Primetime in Milan, featuring top stars, events, and stories.

During his long run on NFL RedZone, Hanson has become one of the faces of the league. There’s an intriguing possibility he could also be hosting NFL coverage again if he joins NBC.

Maria Taylor, host of Sunday Night Football, could also host NBC’s new NBA coverage starting in the 2025–2026 season. If Taylor leaves the host chair on SNF, that would open up one of the highest-profile hosting jobs in sports media for Hanson. NBC is on deck to broadcast Super Bowl LX from Santa Clara on Feb. 8, 2026.

FOS first reported Hanson could test free agency in September. NBC declined to comment on this story. Hanson, who recently signed with Athletes First for representation, could not be reached.

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Discussion topics

NOLA.com

For many New Orleans artists and businesses, the Super Bowl’s promised payday never came

For business owners, musicians and workers alike, the timing of a massive, multibillion-dollar event like the Super Bowl sounded like it couldn’t have hit town at a better time.

And there are plenty of individual examples of folks who benefited. Hotels and short-term rental owners cleaned up. The NFL helped get many locally owned vendors into exclusive events.

In more than a dozen interviews, Gambit found that a far grimmer picture appears for many small business owners, musicians, artists, tour guides and others.

For those who didn’t have access to levers of power, didn’t sign a legally binding buy-out contract with a corporate sponsor or just didn’t luck out otherwise, the Super Bowl was a dud.

“They sold that [promise] to all of us, with all of the construction going on. It’s been a nightmare in the [French] Quarter owning a business here … for months,” said Remy Diamond, owner of C’Mere on Chartres Street.

Instead of a financial windfall, her shop — which sells locally made art, jewelry and other products — ended up losing thousands of dollars, she said.

“It just felt so gross … to be spit out by this giant corporate machine that is just servicing these big corporations and influencers and big brands,” Diamond added.

Aoleon Broomfield, a musician who regularly busks in the French Quarter, shared a similar experience.

“It seemed like they didn’t really think about local performers,” Broomfield told Gambit.

Super Bowl week was different. According to Morrison, for most of the week, event promoters illegally parked huge panel vans in front of her shop as they set up for an Adidas event over the weekend. The trucks essentially camouflaged her store from whatever foot traffic her block might see.

Meanwhile, her employees — displaced by the trucks — got ticketed for illegally parking in other areas, she said.

Morrison, like other business owners who spoke with Gambit, lost money — a lot of it.

“I should have closed,” she said. “I just want to forget this week ever happened.”

On Wednesday and Thursday before the game, the Quarter was as dead as it has been since the weeks after Hurricane Ida left the city powerless. Bars like Harry’s — which can get by on a stream of locals stopping in even in the doldrums of August — were empty.

In Jackson Square, the crowds were so thin that for large stretches in the afternoon no bands were playing, leaving the normally lively space oddly quiet.

“If I was a tourist, I wouldn’t want to be walking past all these army tanks … it was like a warzone,” said Lyla Clayre, who owns an art gallery in the Quarter a half block from Jackson Square.

Law enforcement set up a checkpoint in front of her business, which meant there were four heavily armed members of the National Guard posted up at her door throughout most of the week — not exactly the welcoming environment one might want for their watercolor painting store.

Her bottom line bears that out.

On an average Saturday, Clayre said, her business makes around $1,000. On the Saturday before the Super Bowl? “We made $100,” she said.

With sales so low, after paying her employee, she ended up losing money each day by being open, she said.

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All aTwitter

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