The Washington Commanders made a bold statement on Tuesday. By trading former first-round picks Montez Sweat and Chase Young, the Commanders made it clear they’re thinking about the long-term future of the franchise.
For far too long, Washington has been concerned about the present. Former owner Daniel Snyder always did enough to keep the team competitive at .500 by throwing money at players past their prime, but there was never a long-term vision.
In the first half of Snyder’s tenure, he didn’t care about draft picks. The second half of his tenure was more about covering up the numerous scandals he created. He hired people, such as Bruce Allen, who would carry out his orders, with no one ever caring about the long-term health of the franchise.
When Snyder hired Ron Rivera as head coach in 2020, he gave him all the power. Heck, after firing Allen and due to his own reputation, he probably had to provide Rivera with all the power, considering no one else wanted to work for him. But what had Rivera ever done to earn the head of football operations position he was given?
The results, four years in, are as expected. Rivera’s record as Washington’s head coach is 25-32-1. In 13 years as a head coach, Rivera’s record is 101-95-2. If you subtract that 15-1 record in 2015 from his record, Rivera is below .500 coach.
Rivera’s handling of the roster since 2020 has been full of missteps and mistakes. Whether it was terrible free-agent signings, bad draft picks, or poor player development, Washington can’t get over that .500 mark.
Keeping Sweat and/or Young would’ve meant doing enough to remain around seven or eight wins.
That’s not good enough for new owner Josh Harris. If it were up to Rivera, Sweat would have received a contract extension. And, to be fair, Sweat earned one. But in Harris’ mind, the value of obtaining a high second-round pick you may not even retain is too good to pass up.
When has Washington ever employed such critical, long-term thinking?
Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported Tuesday that Washington’s new ownership had a “strong hand” in Tuesday’s trades. Combined with Harris’ hiring last week of Eugene Shen to head Washington’s analytics group, it’s clear the new owner is focusing on the future — not 2023 and saving Rivera’s job.
Do you think Shen was consulted on the compensation the Commanders received for Young and Sweat? Of course, he was.
Check out this nugget from Field Yates of ESPN.
Since the start of the Common Draft Era, the Washington franchise has *never* made 5 picks in the first 3 rounds of a draft.
The draft is a long ways from right now, but the team is already up to 5 picks in the first 3 rounds and has flexibility as it reshapes its roster.…
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 31, 2023
Think about that for a second. The Commanders have never been patient enough to think long-term, even during Joe Gibbs 1.0. Rebuilding or retooling — depending on your word choice — is much easier in the NFL than in the NBA or MLB. If you have cap space and draft picks, a lot can change in only one year.
Washington has several good pieces remaining on the roster. The biggest question, of course, is at quarterback. Has Sam Howell done enough to prove he should be the franchise quarterback? Not yet, but he has nine games to impress ownership. If he doesn’t, the Commanders have the firepower to move up and go after a potential franchise quarterback in the draft.
With over $90 million in cap room in 2024 and nine draft selections, the Commanders have a massive offseason ahead. So much depends on who they hire as general manager and, eventually, head coach. If things go right, we could be talking about Washington in a much different light at this time next year.
But, with no offense toward Sweat and Young, the Commanders did the right thing.
Welcome to the Josh Harris era.