Tag: 2023 Washington Commanders

2023 Commanders given little respect by ESPN Power Index

Therefore, the Commanders select in the top 10 of a new 2024 mock draft.

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ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid has worked on a project for the next NFL draft that has the Commanders picking earlier than they have selected in the last three NFL drafts.

The Commanders had finished 3-13 in 2019 and were thus selecting second in the NFL draft and chose Ohio State defensive end Chase Young. Since that draft, Washington has chosen 19th in 2021, taking Jamin Davis, 16th in 2022, selecting Jahan Dotson, and 16th in 2023, choosing Emmanuel Forbes.

Reid has done his film work in determining whom he feels will be first-round draft choices in next year’s 2024 NFL Draft. Reid, however, did “not” predict the order of the NFL teams selecting in the next draft. Reid relied upon ESPN’s Football Power Index.  

It is this Index that is predicting the Commanders to struggle in 2023, resulting in their being in the position to draft eighth in the first round. Looking at last year’s draft, one can see the Falcons were in the eighth position based on their record of 7-10 in 2022.

Back to Reid, whom does he see the Commanders drafting in 2024 with the eighth overall selection in the draft? Here is Reid’s prediction with the brief description he provided.

Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas

A lot of this hinges on the development of Sam Howell. But if Washington is picking inside the top 10 next year, it means the team fell well below expectations and will likely be searching for a long-term answer under center.

Ewers came to Texas with plenty of hype and looked the part before hurting his shoulder against Alabama in Week 2. He shows a smooth, effortless arm as a passer, but I’d like to see more urgency in the mental and physical parts of the game. Under the tutelage of coach Steve Sarkisian — who developed Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones — Ewers could be in store for a big season.

Washington has not had a winning record since the 2015 and 2016 seasons when the then Redskins finished 9-7 and 8-7-1, respectively. 2019 was the most recent draft where Washington selected a quarterback in the first round. That was when owner Daniel Snyder insisted that Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins be the selection.

Jason Wright to continue in role under Commanders new owner

Wright will have a chance to prove himself under new ownership.

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Jason Wright will be retained.

When the Josh Harris Group is named by the NFL later in July as the official owners of the Washington Commanders, apparently present Commanders President Jason Wright will not be replaced.

Ron Rivera has been in charge of the football operations since being hired by outgoing owner Daniel Snyder in 2020. Wright was hired and became the first Black team president in league history when he was hired in August 2020 to head the business operations of the Commanders.

It is hard to read what the import of this announcement actually communicates. Does it indicate Wright is safe and the Harris group is going to keep him? Is it because the purchase of the team coming only days before the opening of the 2023 seasons’ training camp, the common sense move would be to make no move? This could provide Harris time to evaluate Wright’s effectiveness during the 2023 season.

One side of the coin could be that there are those who feel Wright needs an opportunity to show what he can do under different ownership. The other side of the coin would state that the business side has executed more than a few sloppy errors, even comical at times, this being under the supervision of Wright.

The rebrand announcement televised on NBC led by Wright left viewers wondering how much forethought and planning occurred. There was little excitement when Doug Williams was asked by Wright to simply utter, “We are the Commanders.” Why so anticlimactic? Why was there no enthusiasm planned?

Then there were both Sean Taylor days being huge disappointments with, again, little to show in organization and thoughtfulness. The team also was selling mugs with the Washington State geographical design on the mug.

How in the world does that get by several people? What type of leadership and oversight was there in that process? What does that say for cultural literacy as well within the organization?

Then when the Commanders announced they were announcing the 90 Greatest players in franchise history, there was a comedy of errors, so many in fact it ceased to be funny. It was, no exaggeration, an embarrassment for a professional sports league organization.

Yet, there will be those who feel Wright deserves a clean slate, placing all of the blame for his lack of effectiveness on Daniel and Tanya Snyder. His supporters will convey that an immediate dismissal of Wright would be reactionary and not fair to him.

What are the Commanders deciding regarding C Chase Roullier?

The Commanders have a big decision to make regarding Roullier, and likely soon.

What are the Commanders going to decide regarding center Chase Roullier?

Roullier was arguably the most dependable, reliable offensive lineman for Washington. In fact, Roullier played 100% of Washington’s offensive snaps in the 2018 and 2020 seasons. In addition, in the 2019 season, he played all 100 percent of the offensive snaps in his 14 games as well.

How did the Washington management respond? They quickly re-signed Roullier. Roullier and Washington agreed to a 4-year contract extension worth $40.5 million on Jan. 2, 2021. Roullier received a full guarantee of $13.67 million, including a $9 million signing bonus (Over the Cap).

Roullier continued to be durable, effective and reliable in the 2021 season. Then it happened. In the Week 8 loss at Denver, Roullier suffered a fractured fibula and was lost for the remainder of the season.

Working his way back to the starting lineup in time for the 2022 season, Roullier unbelievably injured his knee badly on the very last offensive snap in the Week 2 loss at Detroit. Just one more play, and he would have escaped injury that day.

As a result, Roullier missed the last 14 Commanders games, and management in free agency quickly signed former New York Giant Nick Gates to a three-year deal and also re-signed veteran center Tyler Larsen.

Roullier is scheduled to count $12,420,000 against the 2023 Commanders’ salary cap. Are the Commanders waiting to see how the knee of Roullier has recovered at their OTA or Training Camp?

Might they simply be waiting to cut him after June 1? You see, if they cut him before June 1, Roullier would be an $8,100,000 cap hit and a $4,320,000 cap savings. On the other hand, if they cut Roullier after June 1, he would be a $4,050,000 cap hit and an $8,370,000 cap savings.

Might they be waiting to see if they can draft a center in the 2023 NFL Draft? Whatever they determine, fans should be reminded that Nick Gates was not overly impressive last year. That is, he might not necessarily be an improvement over Roullier. On the other hand, Gates was coming off of multiple surgeries, and perhaps Washington is confident Gates will be much stronger this year than he was last year.

Roullier was so dependable; it is so unfortunate the bad injuries he has encountered the last two seasons. The DMV would love to see Roullier return to health and be effective again. However, if the Commanders are going to keep Roullier around, the best bet would be they are going to seek to reach a new agreement with Roullier on compensation.

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CBS Sports mock draft lands Commanders cornerback at No. 16

Another mock draft likes Joey Porter Jr. to the Commanders.

A new NFL draft mock draft has landed the Commanders a top cornerback.

CBS Sports and Pete Prisco have updated his mock draft and published it Tuesday.

After the first 15 selections were made, Prisco had the Commanders address a need that several analysts have projected to be their first-round pick. Prisco had the Commanders choosing to grab Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr.

Like Benjamin St-Juste, Porter is long, measuring at 6-foot-3 and weighing 193 pounds. If Porter were to be the choice, he would join St-Juste (third season) and Kendall Fuller (eighth season) as the projected top corners.

Other corners currently on the roster are Christian Holmes (second year), Danny Johnson (sixth season), Rachad Wildgoose (third season), Troy Apke (sixth season), Tariq Castro-Fields (second season), Cameron Dantzler (fourth season), Damarcus Fields (second season).

Four quarterbacks were taken in the top ten of Prisco’s mock draft: 1- C.J. Stroud (Ohio State) to the Panthers, 2- Bryce Young (Alabama) to the Texans, 3- Anthony Richardson (Florida) to the Colts in a trade up from 4, and 7- Will Levis (Kentucky) to the Raiders.

Porter is the third cornerback in this mock draft to be selected: Christian Gonzalez (8th to the Falcons) and Devon Witherspoon (Illinois) went to the Patriots.

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Commanders Danny Johnson appreciates being in Washington

Danny Johnson is an underrated part of Washington’s secondary.

Commanders cornerback Danny Johnson is glad to be back with Washington.

Age 27, Johnson has spent some time on the Washington roster in each of the last five seasons (2018-22). With Benjamin St-Juste fighting injuries, Johnson started four games during the 2022 season. Johnson collected his first career interception and sack.

This week, Johnson signed a 2-year, $5,000,000 contract with the Commanders, including a $1,750,000 signing bonus, $2,750,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $2,500,000.

This week he had the opportunity to briefly sit down with former Redskins cornerback Fred Smoot to discuss his new contract and return to the Commanders in 2023. Here are some excerpts of the discussion.

“It’s exciting to just have the weight lifted off your shoulder,” said Johnson. I’m excited to be back, and I’m ready to get back to work.”

“Coming from a school like Southern University, which is HBCU, you always have your back against the wall and just be willing to fight. I just take advantage of every opportunity I had.”

“Knowing what I was capable of and just presenting the opportunity to go out and make plays, (I want) to help the team however. I would just do whatever I could to show them that I wanted to be here, play for the organization.”

Johnson has had to battle mentally the rigors of being on the practice squad, active roster and back to the Practice Squad. “Injuries happen, players go down. Whatever the situation may be, I just try to stay in those meetings and stay locked in, and when my number is called, just be ready to go out there and play.”

“Starting those last few games, I showed I can go out there and play with confidence and just play, whether it was inside or outside, just wherever they need me.”

Commanders add Falcons defensive tackle Abdullah Anderson

The Commanders add more depth on the defensive line.

Friday the Washington Commanders announced they have added defensive tackle Abdullah Anderson.

Anderson will come to the Commanders from the Atlanta Falcons. Age 26, Anderson saw action in 16 games for the Falcons in 2022, starting in half of those games. He recorded 40 tackles, a sack, and a pass defended.

Being in the league for four seasons, Anderson has the unenviable career path thus far of playing for a team only one season before moving on to his next team.

At 6-foot-3 and 297 pounds, Anderson was undrafted out of Bucknell, before going forward to play for the Bears in 2019, the Vikings (2020), the Packers (2021) and the Falcons (2022). Consequently, the Commanders will be the fifth team in five years for Anderson.

The Commanders have re-signed defensive tackle Daron Payne last week, re-signed fellow defensive tackle Jonathan Allen last season, so they are set with good starters at defensive tackle for the next few seasons.

As for depth, the team moved on after the 2021 season from Tim Settle and Matt Ioannidis. The other defensive tackles in addition to Anderson now on the roster currently as they move into the 2023 offseason are Allen, Payne, David Bada, John Ridgeway, and Phidarian Mathis, who spent 16 of 17 2022 games on Injured Reserve.

Aaron Rodgers to Jets would mean what for the Commanders?

It involves a certain popular Washington quarterback.

Despite all of the Aaron Rodgers drama for the last couple of offseasons, the Jets apparently are very interested. What would this mean for the Washington Commanders?

Despite Rodgers getting a pay raise making him the NFL’s highest-paid player, averaging $50,271,667 per year, Rodgers determined in the 2022 offseason, he would not help out the Packers’ young receivers in the offseason workouts. Great leadership from your highest-paid player, huh?

Seeing the Packers’ front office apparently is ready to remove all of the offseason drama, Rodgers might actually be motivated now to not be so aloof and actually be the team leader he is being paid to be.

If Rodgers were to go to the Jets, Jordan Love becomes the starter. Who might the Packers pursue to strengthen their quarterback room? A logical response would be Taylor Heinicke.

Logical because Heinicke has already made it known publicly he grew up a Packers/Brett Favre fan, and he did not hesitate to say on the Pat McAfee Show that he would love to become a Green Bay Packer.

In the comment, Heinicke revealed he has some foresight. His boldly proclaiming he wanted to be a Green Bay Packer has surely made its way to each of the desks of the Packers’ front office.

The Packers may not have to work hard to find a quality backup for Love. Heinicke is already selling the Packers on the idea.

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Raiders release Derek Carr; Should Commanders pursue Carr?

Derek Carr is a free agent and would be an upgrade at QB for Washington. Should the Commanders pursue?

Derek Carr, a 4-time Pro Bowl quarterback is now a free agent; might the Washington Commanders have interest in Carr?

Carr, who has passed for 35,222 yards in his nine NFL seasons as an Oakland and Las Vegas Raider, was released by the Raiders Tuesday. The Raiders and Carr were at odds with one another. Las Vegas had attempted to trade Carr in the last week, but when those efforts were thwarted, the Raiders made sure to release Carr one day prior to $40.4 million that was to be guaranteed to Carr.

Commanders head coach Ron Rivera just last week told Pro Football Talk host Mike Florio that he had determined Sam Howell was going to be given every opportunity this offseason to secure a hold as the No. 1 starter for the Commanders in the 2023 season.

Rivera was also clear that Washington, unlike last offseason, was not going to shop for any quarterbacks where they would be required to invest a good amount of capital.

First-year Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels determined during the 2022 season that Carr would not be his quarterback moving forward. Carr is not a top-tier All-Pro, no. However, Carr has been a Pro Bowler four times, completed 64.6 percent of his passes, and he is certainly no check-down Charlie quarterback.

Carr’s touchdown to interception ratio is 217:99, he led four fourth-quarter comebacks and three game-winning drives in 2022. However, Carr’s passing yards per game were down to 234.8, his lowest since his 233.1 ypg in 2017. His career won / loss numbers as a starter are 63-79-0.

Carr’s 2022 QBR of 55.6 was actually higher than his 2021 of 52.4. Carr will become age 32 in March.

Carr is not elite, but he will draw interest which may make him more expensive than the Commanders might be interested in paying a quarterback next season.

Look for the Commanders to pass on Carr, select another veteran to sign, to come and mentor Sam Howell, who, for now, appears to be the most likely starter for 2023.

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What salary cap space is available for the Commanders in 2023?

How much cap space do the Commanders have in 2023?

How responsibly have the Commanders been managing the salary cap, moving into next season?

In comparison with other NFL teams, how do the Commanders rank, involving available cap space for next season?

The agreement between the NFL and its players regarding the amount of money a team can spend on player contracts is the NFL salary cap.

The Commanders and all other teams will not be permitted to exceed this salary cap for any reason whatsoever. Consequently, unlike other pro sports, it is a legitimate cap, an actual cap.

Washington is currently in the middle of the pack at No. 16 among NFL teams regarding 2023 cap space available. The Commanders, for now, will have $12,549,082 accessible.

As for the NFC East, the New York Giants are sitting somewhat wealthy right now with all sorts of flexibility. The Giants have the most cap space ($54,771,480) open in the division and currently the third most in the entire NFL.

Immediately following the Commanders (2nd in the division, 16th in the NFL) is the Philadelphia Eagles. $192,839,463 is allocated to the salary cap for next season, meaning the Eagles have $10,204,438 existing cap space remaining.

The Cowboys currently have $214,102,207 designated in contracts toward next season’s cap. As for cap space available, the Cowboys are last in the division and 19th overall in the league, with $5,858,346 open to them.

The dreaded contracts that are overpriced and lead to dead-cap money are again a place where Washington needs to improve in how it approaches signing players.

Commanders no longer on the roster whom we know will count as hefty dead money against the 2023 cap are: William Jackson III ($9,000,000) and Landon Collins ($4,650,000).

Salary-cap numbers are courtesy of Spotrac. 

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