Over the past two seasons, former Washington coach Ron Rivera made it clear how important safety Kam Curl was to the Commanders. Ex-defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio often echoed those sentiments.
Rivera and Del Rio are gone. Washington has a new head coach (Dan Quinn) and a new general manager (Adam Peters). And through one week of free agency, we’ve seen Peters begin taking a wrecking ball to the roster Rivera assembled.
Still, many believed Curl would be among Washington’s free agents with a high probability of returning. It didn’t happen, as Curl signed a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Rams.
Before Curl signed with the Rams, the Commanders had already decided to move on from Curl after signing former Panthers safety Jeremy Chinn to a one-year deal.
Did Washington even attempt to keep Curl?
According to Sam Fortier of The Washington Post, the Commanders didn’t even make Curl an offer.
Why? Fortier offered the following:
Washington didn’t offer a deal to Curl because it believed veteran Jeremy Chinn would be a “better fit” at box safety for its new defensive scheme. (Chinn, 26, signed a one-year deal worth a base value of $4.1 million.) The official declined to elaborate on the specifics of the new scheme or why Chinn was a better fit.
Curl’s lack of turnovers iddn’t help his chances at a return. After recording three interceptions as a rookie in 2020, Curl had none over the past three seasons. Still, he was a good, dependable player and always assignment-sound.
It was no secret Curl wanted to stay in Washington. However, a flooded safety market due to multiple releases ahead of free agency hurt his market.
Peters has signed 20 players since free agency opened last week. Only four of the signees played for the Commanders last season. Most outside signees were signed to modest short-team deals as Peters sought to fill holes and maintain financial flexibility for future seasons.