Daily Slop – 18 Feb 25 – Free agent targets: 49ers All Pro LB Talanoa Hufanga and Cowboys DT Osa Odighizuwa

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

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Bullock’s Film Room (subscription)

Should the Commanders try and trade for Myles Garrett?

Evaluating all aspects of a potential deal for star DE Myles Garrett

At 29, Garrett now wants out to join a team with a legitimate shot at a Super Bowl. For the first time in decades, the Washington Commanders are one of the teams that can potentially offer that opportunity, largely thanks to quarterback Jayden Daniels.

Daniels ability on the field elevates the entire roster and gives them a chance to compete in ways the Commanders haven’t been able to in years. But his rookie contract also provides a lot of flexibility in being able to be aggressive and pursue a piece like Garrett. So let’s break down all aspects of this potential deal, including what Garrett would bring to Washington on the field, what a trade package might look like, what the potential obstacles to the deal are and if the total package makes sense for the Commanders.

On the field

This part is a no-brainer. On the field, Garrett is a monster. Listed at 6-foot-4, 272 pounds, Garrett has a large, long frame but is incredibly agile and explosive with it. Simply put, he’s the best pass rusher in the NFL and has been since he entered the league. Over his last four years, he’s amassed a total of 60 sacks, an average of 15 per season. That comes despite having one of the highest rates of double team blocks in the league. Offenses are constantly throwing chips at him, sliding the line his way and doing everything they can to try and get multiple sets of hands on him and it’s still not enough to stop him. He’s a dominant player that demands the offense build their game plan around him.

For Garrett, it starts with his explosiveness.

It’s very rare that teams allow Garrett the opportunity to work a pure one-on-one against a left tackle and that play is a perfect example of why. There aren’t many tackles in the league that can handle him consistently one-on-one without any help. So teams typically have to try and find ways to provide extra help. Even then, Garrett is incredibly hard to stop.

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Commanders Wire

Three 49ers free agents Adam Peters could target to improve Commanders defense

S Talanoa Hufanga

Talanoa Hufanga was a sixth-round pick of the 49ers back in the 2021 NFL draft. He played in 15 games as a rookie, starting three. He would become a household name in 2022, starting every game, recording four interceptions, and was named first-team All-Pro. Unfortunately for Hufanga, a torn ACL ended his 2023 season after 10 games and forced him to miss 10 games in the 2024 season.

In seven games last season, Hufanga recorded 38 tackles. Like Greenlaw, even though he returned to the field, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Hufanga signed a short-term prove-it deal and entered free agency again in 2026.

Hufanga is only 25. Jeremy Chinn is a free agent for the Commanders. Does Washington allow Chinn to depart and sign Hufanga to a one-year prove-it deal like Chinn did one year ago? It worked out wonderfully for Chinn, who had a solid year. The Commanders will try to keep Chinn, but don’t be surprised if Peters doesn’t entertain signing Hufanga.

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Commanders Wire

Marty Hurney no longer with Commanders

Hurney has not been involved with any of Washington’s transactions over the past year. He joined the Commanders in 2021 but got his NFL start under Hall of Fame GM Bobby Beathard with Washington in 1988. After covering the Redskins for the Washington Times, he joined the team’s public relations department before following Beathard to San Diego in 1990.

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Podcasts & videos

NFC East Offseason Preview: Do the Cowboys or Commanders have more roster holes?

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Top 5 Washington Commanders Breakout 2024 Performances

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NFC East links

Blogging the Boys

Cowboys free agency: Osa Odighizuwa projected to earn over $21M per year

Osa Odighizuwa may be out of the Cowboys’ price range.

The great Bob Sturm shared PFF’s projection for Odighizuwa on Sunday and it is seismic. PFF believes Odighizuwa will hit $21M per year when it is all said and done.

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Blogging the Boys

The time is coming when the Cowboys will have to choose between Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland

The Cowboys need to evaluate their cornerback depth this offseason.

Picking between Trevon Diggs or DaRon Bland

The fact that the Cowboys have such a small window where both these guys were on the field healthy is a tragedy, but injuries have brought bad luck to this team. Diggs has suffered season-ending knee injuries in each of the last two seasons. And then Bland suffered a stress fracture in his foot in training camp that resulted in him missing the first 10 games of the season.

Soon, the day will arrive when the Cowboys will have to choose which of these players will be a part of their future. Diggs is entering the second year of his five-year, $97 million deal he signed in 2023. On the surface, it looks as if the Cowboys are committed to him regardless, however, that is not completely true. The team was able to get a deal done early with him and in the process, only a third of it was guaranteed. This means the team has some early-exit escape hatches built in. This is important because Diggs just had chondral tissue graft surgery last month. His timetable is uncertain, but he’s expected to miss offseason workouts and parts of training camp. When will he be back on the field and playing at full strength?

The Cowboys have already paid out his guaranteed money and they haven’t restructured a cent, meaning it will be easy for them to get out of his contract at any point during his last few years with the team. If they are not happy with what he is doing on the field, they can simply move on without any huge financial repercussions.

Moving away from Diggs means moving forward with Bland as the team’s new CB1. Bland is in the last year of his contract. If they want to move forward with him, they should try to work in an extension this summer before he hits free agency next offseason. If they let him play out his rookie deal, they’ll either have to let him walk and get a compensatory pick, or franchise tag him while they figure out what they want to do. It’s a slippery slope, and this one may not have an obvious answer, but the Cowboys don’t seem like a team that would be willing to pay top money for two cornerbacks. And in that case, one of them has got to go, but which one?

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Big Blue View

ESPN’s Matt Miller has zero first-round QB grades

That’s not good news for QB-needy teams like the Giants

Of the quarterbacks, Miller wrote:

One year after seeing six quarterbacks drafted in the first round, the 2025 class has zero passers with a true first-round grade. Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward would have both been ranked behind Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye and even J.J. McCarthy in 2024.

Both Sanders and Ward are talented and have the potential to rise in the predraft process, but I wouldn’t be comfortable calling them first-round prospects based on this past season’s tape. That doesn’t mean they won’t be drafted in the first round, though. In fact, it’s a safe bet that both get drafted in the top five selections; quarterbacks always go early.

The exclusion of Ward and Sanders is noteworthy for the Giants, who will explore their quarterback options extensively this offseason. The Giants currently hold the third overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

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ESPN

2025 NFL franchise tag candidates: Will Sam Darnold get it?

Dallas Cowboys

Defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa is the only candidate the Cowboys would consider, but at a projected cost of more than $23 million against the cap, that’s just too pricey. That does not mean the Cowboys won’t make a bid to re-sign him before free agency begins. With new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, the under tackle, Odighizuwa’s position, is vital. He posted career highs in sacks (4.5) and pressures (54) last season and is the type of player the Cowboys want to build with: a third-round draft pick who was an immediate starter, is an over-the-top worker and is excellent in the locker room. — Todd Archer

New York Giants

The Giants’ top free agent this offseason is Darius Slayton. The franchise tag for a wide receiver will be well over $20 million. Slayton doesn’t fall into that category. He’s much closer to the Darnell Mooney range ($13 million per season last year in free agency) than elite wide receiver money. Slayton is a good, solid player who could thrive in a more successful offense. But he’s not a No. 1 receiver who would command the franchise tag. The Giants already let him test the market and brought him back on a two-year, $12 million deal after the 2022 season. — Jordan Raanan

Philadelphia Eagles

The last Eagles player to receive the franchise tag designation was wide receiver DeSean Jackson in 2012. It hasn’t been part of their team-building model, and with six players set to count $12 million or more against the cap in 2025, it’s likely not a practice they’ll adopt now. Philadelphia does have several key defensive players set to become free agents, including linebacker Zack Baun and defensive linemen Josh Sweat and Milton Williams, all of whom are in line for big paydays this offseason. The Eagles won’t be able to keep all of them. They’ll try to offset any personnel losses by continuing their high hit rate in the draft and free agency. — Tim McManus

Washington Commanders

None of their free agents will be that expensive to re-sign. They have some big-name free agents, notably linebacker Bobby Wagner and tight end Zach Ertz, who are coming off strong seasons. But Wagner made $6.5 million and Ertz $2.4 million in 2024, and given their ages — both will turn 35 this year — they won’t be overly expensive to keep. — John Keim

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Discussion topics

iesportsradio.com

An Intriguing, Albeit Outrageous, Draft Strategy for the Washington Commanders

[Editor’s note: this article does not really live up to its title, as it does not really offer a single coherent draft strategy, but discusses several possible tactics without any single clear vision for free agency. It also doesn’t really achieve the level of “outrageous”; the suggestions contained in the article are rather conventional, but the article covers a broad range of positions and draft prospects, which makes it worth a look.]

While the Commanders are expected to accomplish most of their roster upgrades via free agency, they have the opportunity to find help in the draft as well. They currently own their own 1st, 2nd, and 6th round picks, along with Miami’s 3rd, New Orleans’ 5th, and 7th round selections from the Broncos and Eagles. The late day three selections will mostly serve to help with depth and special teams, while the team should be able find immediate impact guys in rounds 1-3. Only having 3 picks in the first half is a stark contrast to last year, where Washington had six of the top 100 picks.

Wild and Crazy Idea: Running Back

Now we come to the inspiration for this whole article. The Commanders have Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler under contract for next year, but both dealt with injuries throughout the season and showed some inconsistency. If both were released or traded, the team would have a blank slate and could build one of the most exciting RB cores in the league for the next four years. Top prospect Ashton Jeanty will likely be gone by pick 29, so that pick would come down to Omarion Hampton or Kaleb Johnson. Day two options consist of TreVeyon Henderson, Quinshon Judkins, Cam Skattebo, Dylan Sampson, and RJ Harvey (among a few others). If Washington came away with three of these seven, their run game would be absurd in 2025.

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All aTwitter

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