Commanders’ offseason grade: A big upgrade at QB filled with smaller moves

Ralph Vacchiano

NFC East Reporter

The rebuilding — or recalibration of the Washington Commanders, as new coach Dan Quinn calls it — was never going to be a small project. There was too much work that needed to be done on a franchise that hasn’t had a winning season since 2016 and hasn’t won a playoff game since 2005.

What was most interesting about what new general manager Adam Peters and Quinn went about it, though, was that they underwent a major renovation with mostly small-ish moves. They were big players in free agency, but they avoided the big splash. They had more salary cap space to spend than any team in the NFL, but they didn’t blow it on bloated contracts.

Outside of their biggest move — drafting quarterback Jayden Daniels with the second overall pick — they made mostly medium moves to restock their roster in the short term. That gives them a chance to be competitive this season — or so they hope — while not being saddled with untenable contracts. The point is to not be terrible and give their young players a chance to grow.

Whether it works, and how quickly, all depends on how good their young players turn out to be. This was only the first step in a new direction for a franchise that has been basically lost for three decades, with just six playoff appearances in the last 31 years.

Here’s a look at what the Commanders did to “recalibrate” over the last five months:

What they did

There might not be enough room here to list everything they did because this was a very, very active offseason in Washington.

The biggest move, outside of hiring a new GM and coach, was drafting Daniels. They gave up on the promising, but flawed Sam Howell for a true, blue-chip prospect. Just how good Daniels can be, and how quickly he can get there, will set the tone for this franchise for at least the next 3-5 years.

To help him out, they started to fix an offensive line that was awful last season. They signed center…

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Publish date : 2024-07-08 17:20:13

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