Commanders have free-agent money to burn, but priorities lie elsewhere

Ralph Vacchiano

NFC East Reporter

The Washington Commanders have an owner who’s not afraid to spend his money and doesn’t want to wait forever to see his new team win. They also have an extraordinary $91 million in space under the NFL salary cap. No NFL team has more.

That means they can be big players in the free-agent market when it opens next week. They can out-bid any team for any player that they want to sign. They theoretically have enough room to fill many holes with talented veterans and transform their entire roster virtually overnight.

But that’s not their plan at all.

While the Commanders won’t be shy about spending on new players, their plan to rebuild — or “recalibrate”, in the words of new coach Dan Quinn — is more about “targeted spending” as one team source described it. They plan to bolster their depth and add veterans in key positions, and they might even be in on a big-ticket player or two. But the view of Harris and new GM Adam Peters, the source said, is that free agency is more for teams who are just a player or two away from becoming a true contender.

They believe the best way to build a team from scratch is through the draft.

“I find this a very similar situation from when we got to San Francisco in 2017,” said Peters, the former assistant GM of the 49ers. “Ultimately, we’re going to build through the draft here and supplement through free agency. We’re going to be very process-driven and diligent in who we select in free agency. But we’re going to build through the draft here.”

That’s smart, but that doesn’t mean they will sit out free agency — not with the mountain of cap space they’re sitting on. The market can give them a great head start on rebuilding (or recalibrating) their roster, especially if they use it to add the right mix of youth and experience. It could even help them put a much better team on the field next season.

Here’s a look at the Commanders’ situation heading into…

Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/commanders-have-free-agent-money-to-burn-but-priorities-lie-elsewhere

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Publish date : 2024-03-08 18:14:10

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