When the Washington Commanders announced their first 53-man roster of the season on Tuesday, it included only four cornerbacks. And one of those cornerbacks was a seventh-round rookie, Christian Holmes.
No way the Commanders were going into the season with only four cornerbacks, right?
Washington head coach Ron Rivera was asked about the cornerback position on Tuesday and responded, “we are not done,” referring to his roster.
On Wednesday, the Commanders claimed a pair of cornerbacks off waivers in Tariq Castro-Fields and Rachad Wildgoose. Castro-Fields was a 2022 draft pick of the 49ers, while Wildgoose was a 2021 draft choice. To make room for the pair, the Commanders released linebackers David Mayo and De’Jon Harris.
How does Rivera feel about the two young cornerbacks?
“Tariq Castro-Fields, a young man that we picked up out of San Francisco, played at Penn state,” Rivera said. “He’s athletic. He’s long. He’s more of an outside guy for the most part. He had some pretty good tape.”
The 49ers apparently didn’t want to part with Castro-Fields and were hoping to re-sign him to their practice squad.
As for Wildgoose, Rivera likes his positional flexibility.
“Rachad Wildgoose, out of Wisconsin, he’s got terrific athletic ability and one thing he gives; he gives you position flex,” Rivera said. “He can play both inside and outside, at least that’s what we think. I think he’s a second-year player from the Jets.”
General manager Martin Mayhew, who also spoke with the media Wednesday, is also a fan of the young corners, particularly Castro-Fields.
“This guy has you know, size, speed, athleticism, very high ceiling,” Mayhew said of Castro-Fields. “Six foot, you know, 200 pounds ran 4.3 at the combine. I know his position coach at Penn State really well. Terry Smith was a receiver here for us when I played here, and I spoke to Terry about him during the draft process. But Tariq has a huge upside. Really good football IQ. Learns ball really well. Played 46 games at Penn State. A five-year player ]who] played a ton of football as a rookie coming in here. So, we’re excited by having him.”
Mayhew said he spoke to Jets head coach Robert Saleh and GM Joe Douglas about Wildgoose and both praised him.
These are smart, low-risk moves for the Commanders. Both players played big-time college football. Castro-Fields is a terrific athlete with a high ceiling. Wildgoose can come in and play inside or outside immediately.
Washington feels much better about the cornerback now than it did one day ago.