Loading ...For the National Football League, March 12th represents New Year’s Day. At 4 p.m., the calendar flips to 2025, which means trades and free agent deals officially become official.
Like everyone else, the Washington Commanders have been hard at work this week, making big moves to put together a roster that can theoretically give the franchise its first Super Bowl championship since 1991.
Let’s recap what’s happened so far.
TRADES
General Manager Adam Peters has swung big and made a statement with his two big acquisitions via the trade market: the Commanders championship window is open and Peters is going to do whatever it takes to try and win while quarterback Jayden Daniels is on his rookie contract.
Peters traded a fifth-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers last week for wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
Samuel is coming off a down year, at least for him with 670 receiving yards on 51 receptions and three touchdowns. It’s worth noting the 49ers were decimated with injuries on offense last year which allowed defenses the luxury of focusing on Samuel without the threat of other weapons like Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk.
Despite that, Samuel put up analytic numbers that would have made him Washington’s 7th best offensive performer (according to PFF.com’s numbers). 6th if you take out Tress Way and his fake punt/pass play in the NFC Championship game.
Samuel had a season grade of 70.9. His receiving grade of 72.1 is just a decimal point or two behind Zack Ertz and Austin Eckler, two of the Commander’s most valuable offensive weapons in 2024.
Samuel will make Terry McLaurin, who thrived with Daniels as his quarterback last year, even more dangerous and make the Washington offense as explosive as any in the NFC.
Peters then went all in on improving the offensive line by trading four mid-round draft picks over the next two years to the Houston Texans for left tackle Laremy Tunsil.
By any measure, Tunsil is a franchise left tackle, one of the best in the league.
Tunsil has made five Pro Bowls in his nine-year career and 2024 was one of his best.
In the PFF universe, Tunsil was ranked as the league’s 4th best pass blocker (89.1) and 11th-best overall (79.1) of players with more than 1,000 snaps.
Tunsil’s arrival also solves several other problems along the offensive line.
With guard Sam Cosmi out for at least half the season because of a knee injury, Washington can move second-year lineman Brandon Coleman inside to guard; a more natural position for him in the NFL.
It also means that once Cosmi comes back, either guard Nick Allegretti or tackle/guard Andrew Wylie can become depth players, something every team needs.
FREE AGENT SIGNEES
The big splashes in free agency have been met with some minor skepticism.
The Commanders signed defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw from the 49ers and former Saints safety Will Harris.
The skepticism stems from the fact the two will replace Jonathan Allen and Jeremy Chinn, respectively.
On paper, Kinlaw had a better season than Alle but the former first-round draft pick from Alabama suffered a torn pectoral muscle early in the season.
Allen came back in week 17 and flashed against Dallas down the stretch as well as against Detroit in the playoffs. He also has a stronger career body of work when compared to Kinlaw but Allen’s large, non-guaranteed contract made keeping him on the roster impossible.
Washington was hoping to resign Chinn who left for a 2-year, 16 million dollar deal with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Harris’s numbers aren’t as good as Chinn’s, either in coverage, tackling or any other category but he can play over the top or in the box and head coach Dan Quinn must believe he and the coaching staff can help Harris improve this year.
RESIGNING
The Commanders will also bring back a number of players who were key to the team’s run to the 2024 NFC Championship game.
Tight End Zach Ertz, Linebacker Bobby Wagner, and tight end John Bates all got new deals as did kicker Zane Gonzales, running backs Jeremy McNichols and Chris Rodriquez Jr., and punter Tress Way.
While there will probably be more free agents that will come to Ashburn, the front office now turns its attention to the NFL Draft set for next month.
With just two picks in the first 100, Washington will either look for an impact player early or trade back for more picks later.
(Updated March 13th, 2025)
The Commanders are bringing back quarterback Marcus Mariota. Reports indicate Daniels’s understudy has agreed to a one-year deal to remain in Washington.
Former Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones has agreed to a one-year deal as well. He boats 4.33 40-yard dash speed and was on the New England team that beat Dan Quinn’s Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl.
With Benjamin St-Juste headed to the Los Angeles Chargers, Jones could see significant playing time.
Washington has signed defensive tackle Eddie Goldman to a he spent last year in Atlanta with the Falcons, starting 10 games.
Washington also signed another Patriot, edge rusher Eddie Wise. Wise was a three-time captain for New England.
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