Remember when former Washington head coach Ron Rivera told the media he wasn’t worried about being fired ahead of last season?
Here’s the full quote, courtesy of Audacy.com:
“I don’t worry about being on the hot seat,” Rivera said last summer. “If we go 8-8-1 this year, and he (owner Josh Harris) fires me, and next year they win the division with 40 of the 53 players we drafted and the same quarterback? I’m vindicated; send me my Super Bowl ring. That’s the way I look at it. I want us to be right and to see this community have that excitement again.”
Harris fired Rivera in January, quickly hiring Adam Peters as Washington’s new general manager. Before Peters could work on Rivera’s roster, he hired Dan Quinn as the new head coach.
So, about Rivera’s roster comments.
Peters thought so highly of the roster he inherited that he began blowing it up during the early part of free agency. No team was busier during the first week of free agency than the Commanders. And it wasn’t like Peters was handing out big-money deals to anyone. He was fortifying the 2024 roster with several one-year deals and a few multi-year deals to keep Washington competitive while it rebuilds through the NFL draft.
The Commanders had nine selections in the 2024 NFL draft, including six top 100 picks. Peters hopes these six players serve as cornerstones for turning the franchise around, led by quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Still, work remains for Washington. The 33rd Team recently ranked the 10 worst rosters in the NFL, and the Commanders were ranked No. 6.
Regardless of how the case is presented, the 2023 Washington Commanders undeniably were bad. Ranking 31st in team DVOA, 32nd in points and yards allowed, and 28th in scoring rate, their offense couldn’t function, and the defense stopped no one.
It’s easy to see why they finished the season with eight straight losses.
A new coaching regime should help, and a large batch of rookies added depth across a roster lacking impact starters and reliable role players. An offensive identity carved around rookie QB Jayden Daniels will help augment what was a woeful run game and maximize explosive receivers like Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson.
The Commanders’ offensive line still has a few question marks at the tackle spots, but Daniels will reduce the astounding sack rate Sam Howell produced in 2023.
The defense definitely lacks individual edge-rushing talent and playmaking, but the foundation up the middle is improved. Veterans Dorance Armstrong, Frankie Luvu, and Bobby Wagner bring consistency and respectability on a down-by-down basis, raising the floor from horrible to competent.
The passing defense still has ways to go, and young cornerbacks Benjamin St-Juste, Emmanuel Forbes Jr., and Mike Sainristil will ultimately determine whether the unit can produce enough turnovers to overcome its talent deficiency.
One quote stood out: “Raising the floor from horrible to competent.”
That’s what Peters set out to do this offseason. He knew Washington wouldn’t be contending for a Super Bowl right now, so his job was to improve the roster around his rookie quarterback, Jayden Daniels while preserving future cap flexibility.
Mission accomplished.
Regardless of how many games the Commanders win in 2024 — they will be better — it was an impressive offseason. Not only for the roster moves but Washington’s entire structure, beginning with the front office, was overhauled, adding some of the NFL’s most respected minds.
So, while the roster may still have a way to go, things could look drastically different if Daniels becomes the star many think he will be.