George Allen came to Washington in 1971, became the head coach and general manager, and proclaimed, “The future is now.”
Adam Peters boarded the Washington NFL ship in 2024, and he again told Grant & Danny (106.7 the Fan) Thursday, “It’s not a rebuild; it’s a recalibration.”
This being his first time as a team’s general manager, Peters expressed to Grant and Danny, “We are trying to win right now. We do have goals to be really good this season.”
In recent history, the NFL has had a team each season rebound really well from a really down year the previous season. Last season, it was the Houston Texans, who had been 3-13-1 in 2022 and fired Lovie Smith. They hired Demeco Ryans, drafted C.J. Stroud, and finished 10-7 atop the AFC South in 2023.
Peters feels the responsibility on his shoulders to get the Commanders turned around in 2023 after not having a winning regular season since Kirk Cousins was the quarterback in 2015 (9-7) and 2016 (8-7-1). “It is my job as a general manager and really in conjunction with DQ (Dan Quinn), and we make every decision together, is to be good now and to build for a sustainable team for the future, a team you guys will see compete for championships every year.”
It’s a delicate balance, but Peters and Quinn are attempting to make decisions not simplistically based on winning now or winning in the future. They seek to embrace both—getting better for 2024 and beyond.
As for why he traded receiver Jahan Dotson to division rival Philadelphia, Peters expressed, “That was clearly the best offer. A tie is going to go to the team outside the division. But there’s not always going to be a tie. In this case, they (Eagles) were very bullish on Jahan, and rightfully so. But every time, it is going to be different. If it’s the Cowboys and the Steelers, and everything is the same, and we are making a trade, it’s probably going to go to Pittsburgh.”