Tag: Benjamin St-Juste

Commanders sign former Chargers cornerback Michael Davis

Michael Davis spent his first seven NFL seasons with the Chargers.

Heading into the weekend, the Washington Commanders had signed 14 outside free agents but had to address two critical positions: Cornerback and offensive tackle.

On Sunday, the Commanders signed former Dolphins first-round pick Noah Igbinoghene to a one-year deal. Igbinoghene spent last season with Dan Quinn and the Cowboys. While he’s considered a depth signing, there’s hope that the 24-year-old can still fulfill his potential.

On Monday, Washington general manager Adam Peters continued adding to the cornerback room, signing former Chargers cornerback Michael Davis to a one-year deal.

Davis, 29, is entering his eighth NFL season in 2024, having spent the first seven years with the Chargers. An undrafted free agent out of BYU in 2017, Davis has appeared in 107 career games with 74 starts. The 6-foot-2 cornerback has 349 career tackles, 69 passes defended and eight interceptions.

The signings of Igbinoghene and Davis do not prevent the Commanders from addressing the position in the draft but does give Washington some veteran depth with Kendall Fuller gone. The Commanders’ top two cornerbacks are currently 2021 third-round pick Benjamin St-Juste and 2023 first-round pick Emmanuel Forbes.

2 recently released cornerbacks named as possible fits for the Commanders

Two veteran cornerbacks were named as potential fits for the Commanders, including one of the NFL’s best in recent years.

How will the Washington Commanders improve the cornerback position under new head coach Dan Quinn?

Washington spent a first-round pick on cornerback Emmanuel Forbes in the 2023 NFL draft, and he struggled. Third-year cornerback Benjamin St-Juste took a step back in 2023 after a promising second season.

As he had been for the previous three seasons, veteran Kendall Fuller remained the Commanders’ top cornerback.

Now, Fuller is a free agent. He’s also 29, and his knee has some injury concerns. Additionally, Fuller wants a raise from the $10 million he earned annually over the past four seasons, and that raise would be warranted. While the Commanders would love to keep Fuller, he likely makes more sense for a contender on a short-term deal.

Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. come from Dallas, where a Cowboys cornerback led the NFL in interceptions in two of the previous three years. DaRon Bland set an NFL record for most interceptions returned for touchdowns in a single season.

Whitt and secondary coach Tom Donatell’s primary goal is to fix Forbes. In his introductory press conference, Whitt said he liked Forbes coming out in last year’s draft.

Regardless, the Commanders must bring in veteran help. Some options exist depending on how much Washington wants to pay.

CBS Sports named 10 recent salary cap casualties and where they could best fit. Two cornerbacks, including Xavien Howard, were named potential fits for the Commanders.

Cornerback is a premier position in today’s NFL, and Howard has been one of the best for years now. He turns 31 in July, but is a four-time Pro Bowler and led the league in interceptions twice — including a 10-interception campaign in 2020. Howard’s streak of three straight Pro Bowls was snapped this past season, but he still recorded 12 passes defensed and one interception in 13 games played.

Howard seems like a long shot for Washington. He will probably earn more than the Commanders are willing to pay. General manager Adam Peters and Quinn will likely target a cheaper veteran and use the draft to add another corner as high as the second round. 

The other potential target was Darious Williams, recently released by the Jaguars.

One of the more underrated cap casualties so far. Williams was set to enter the final season of a three-year, $30 million contract with the Jags. He didn’t have any guaranteed money left on his deal, and his release saves Jacksonville $11.5 million against the cap. While Williams turns 31 this month, he tied for the team lead in interceptions this past season with four. He will absolutely have a market.

Williams is absolutely the type of player Washington could target on a one- or two-year deal with the Commanders.

Washington will be active in free agency, but don’t expect the Commanders to go big-game hunting, instead focusing on team fits and familiarity.

Could the Commanders be interested in a pair of recently released cornerbacks?

Two veteran cornerbacks were released on Friday. Could either help the Commanders in 2024?

Christmas came early for all 32 NFL teams Friday when the league revealed the 2024 salary cap would be $255.4 million — an increase of $30 million from 2023.

Not only does the higher cap give teams more cash to spend in free agency next month, but it also helps some of those teams needing to create cap space ahead of the new league year.

Some of those teams needing to clear began releasing players this week in preparation for free agency. One of the NFL’s top cornerbacks, Xavien Howard, was released by the Miami Dolphins Friday.

Howard, who will turn 31 in July, was slated to count over $25 million against Miami’s salary cap in 2024. He spent the first eight seasons of his NFL career with the Dolphins, is a four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, and has led the NFL in interceptions twice.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Howard can still play. He will receive significant interest from around the NFL. Howard played in 13 games last season but scored the lowest grade of his career, according to Pro Football Focus (55.1).

The Washington Commanders need help at cornerback. Kendall Fuller is a free agent, and Emmanuel Forbes and Benjamin St-Juste struggled in 2023.

Does Howard make sense for Washington?

No, for multiple reasons. First, his age. While a different player than Fuller, Howard is almost two years older than Fuller. Also, he doesn’t offer the versatility that Fuller does. Fuller can play outside, in the slot, or at safety. The Commanders could bring Fuller back for what Howard would cost.

But there was another recently released cornerback who could help Washington.

The San Francisco 49ers released cornerback Isaiah Oliver on Friday. Oliver, 27, spent the first five seasons of his NFL career with the Atlanta Falcons before spending the 2023 season in San Francisco. New Washington head coach Dan Quinn in Atlanta drafted him. Oliver played for Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. in 2020.

The 6-foot-0, 210-pound Oliver isn’t Howard, but he could provide much-needed veteran depth and stability to the cornerback room. In addition to Quinn and Whitt, Commanders GM Adam Peters was San Francisco’s assistant GM last season. Also, new defensive line coach Darryl Tapp was with the 49ers last season, too.

Oliver would be a cheap addition to the secondary and wouldn’t make a dent in Washington’s NFL-leading salary cap space. Per PFF, he received a 67.6 grade in 2023.

The good news is there are enough voices in the organization to know if Oliver would be a worthwhile addition for 2024.

The Commanders will add to the cornerback room, likely through free agency and the draft. St-Juste and Forbes remain an integral part of Washington’s plans, but after last season, the Commanders shouldn’t count on either.

Jamin Davis, Benjamin St-Juste are named in wrongful death lawsuit

Davis and St-Juste, along with former Washington safety Deshazor Everett were named in a wrongful death lawsuit from a 2021 fatal car crash.

Washington Commanders linebacker Jamin Davis and cornerback Benjamin St-Juste were named in a wrongful death lawsuit filed on Dec. 22 in the Loudoun County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Kathleen Peters filed a $25 million wrongful death lawsuit against Davis, St-Juste, former Washington safety Deshazor Everett and another friend, Shadidul Islam, alleging the football players were racing their cars in an accident that killed Peters’ daughter, Olivia, on Dec. 23, 2021. Olivia Peters was the fiance of Everett, who played for Washington from 2015-21.

Everett was charged with involuntary manslaughter in Feb. 2022 and released by Washington afterward. Everett pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless driving and was sentenced to three months of house arrest. Davis and St-Juste weren’t charged in the accident.

Here are more details from the suit, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.

The lawsuit alleges that Everett, St-Juste and Davis, who were all on Washington’s roster at the time, planned that evening “to ‘show off’ and race their cars on the public roads.” According to the lawsuit, Everett’s car was equipped with nitrous oxide, which can boost a car’s horsepower and is illegal in Virginia, along with racing tires and a roll cage. Davis drove a McLaren, and St-Juste drove a customized Audi A6.

The suit claims the three met at an auto shop in Loudoun County owned by fellow defendant Shahidul Islam, then went driving. Everett had a GoPro Camera attached to his car, recording the events. According to the suit, the defendants “drove at high rates of speed well in excess of the posted speed limits,” “changed lanes erratically and without signaling,” “crossed over double yellow lines and drove in the opposite lane of traffic” and “raced each other on multiple occasions.”

Olivia Peters, 29, was from Rockville, Md., and worked as an occupational therapist.

Davis was charged with reckless driving just days before the crash in a separate incident. Three months later, Davis was again charged with reckless driving after allegedly going 114 mph in a 45 mph zone. He was initially convicted and sentenced to 30 days in jail but appealed and is awaiting another hearing which is scheduled for March.

Davis and St-Juste are both in their third NFL season and were a part of Washington’s 2021 NFL draft class.

Commanders cornerback Benjamin St-Juste leaves game vs. Jets with concussion

St-Juste departed Washington’s game against the Jets with a concussion.

Washington Commanders cornerback Benjamin St-Juste battled injuries during his first two NFL seasons. A third-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft, he missed a total of 13 games in his first two seasons.

In 2023, St-Juste has yet to miss a game, remaining healthy all season in what has been an up-and-down year for him. St-Juste is often targeted by opposing quarterbacks, and while that has led to several pass breakups, he has given up his share of big plays all season.

In Washington’s Week 16 game against the New York Jets, St-Juste was often matched up with Jets star wide receiver Garrett Wilson. The pair went back and forth, with St-Juste called for two penalties, but in the second half, the third-year cornerback was injured and left the game.

It was revealed that St-Juste was being checked for a concussion. Shortly afterward, St-Juste was confirmed out for the game.

The Commanders have two games remaining in the 2023 season, and St-Juste will enter the NFL’s concussion protocol.

 

What was with Emmanuel Forbes’ usage in Week 15 game vs. Rams?

Forbes played just six snaps after missing the last two games. And he was healthy.

After missing two games with an elbow injury, Washington Commanders cornerback Emmanuel Forbes returned to action in Week 15 vs. the Los Angeles Rams. Washington had a bye in Week 14, giving Forbes another week of rest before returning.

In preparation for Forbes’ return, Washington made a move at cornerback, releasing reliable veteran Danny Johnson last week and claiming 2023 draft pick Kyu Blu Kelly off waivers.

Ultimately, this move meant nothing for Forbes, as the Commanders saw an opportunity to claim a talented cornerback off waivers. When Washington released its inactive list against the Rams, Forbes was one of five cornerbacks active, joining Kendall Fuller, Benjamin St-Juste, Quan Martin and Tariq Castro-Fields.

However, in Sunday’s game, a fully healthy Forbes played just six snaps. Fuller, St-Juste and fellow rookie Martin played every snap.

Why the lack of playing time for Forbes?

Head coach Ron Rivera offered the following explanation after the game.

“That was a lot more about what Quan was doing and really what we had as a matchup going into this game,” Rivera said. 

So, was Rivera saying the Commanders chose to play Martin (the 2023 second-round pick) over Forbes (the 2023 first-round pick)?

Washington is a bad football team with a terrible defense. Both of the young defensive backs should be on the field for close to 100% of the snaps. The way Rivera has handled Forbes this season is puzzling. After passing on every other cornerback but one, Washington chose Forbes, and released an in-house video regarding its excitement over the move.

It hasn’t worked out. That doesn’t mean Forbes will not be a good player, but he hasn’t received much help from Washington’s coaches this season.

 

 

Studs and duds from Commanders’ 28-20 loss to Rams

The good and mostly bad from another Commanders’ loss.

The Washington Commanders lost their fifth consecutive Sunday, falling 28-20 to the Los Angeles Rams. It’s also Washington’s seventh loss in its last eight games and 10 of its last 12.

Everyone knows head coach Ron Rivera will be fired at the end of the season. Rivera himself is reportedly at peace with his future. Sunday’s loss dropped his record as Washington’s coach to 26-37-1.

New owner Josh Harris has made it clear Rivera will remain Washington’s coach until the season of the season. But when you are performing as poorly as Washington is, continued losses with a coaching staff that will be gone make it difficult to evaluate the current roster. The current staff wants to win games, while management wants to evaluate young players.

That’s the case again after Sunday’s loss to the Rams. Some players stood out, others struggled. Which ones?

We do our best to find some positives from Sunday’s loss to the Rams. Here are the studs and duds from Week 15. We could do a longer list of duds, but we’ll keep it shorter.

Commanders’ 7 most disappointing players in 2023

The Commanders are 4-9 and having a terrible season. Which players have been the most disappointing?

The Washington Commanders are off in Week 14. At 4-9, the Commanders have lost four games in a row and six of their last seven. Washington fired defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio after a 45-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day, and we appear to be heading into the final four games of the Ron Rivera era.

The Commanders opened the season 2-0, but it’s been downhill ever since. While there were expectations that quarterback Sam Howell would have ups and downs in his first season as the starter, everyone expected Washington’s defense would keep them in games. Instead, Howell has shown more positives than negatives, but the defense — a consensus top-10 unit in 2022 — hasn’t been able to do anything right.

The offense has shown signs of progress under offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, but even that promise has tailed off recently. Washington has struggled along the offensive line, and the receivers have taken a step back in 2023.

It would be easy to name every Washington offensive lineman as its most disappointing player, but quite frankly, there wasn’t a lot expected from the group as a whole in 2023.

With the Commanders off in Week 14, we look at seven players who have been the most disappointing for a variety of reasons.

Doc Walker would like Commanders next coach to be Jim Harbaugh

But Doc believes a GM is the more important hire. And on Sam Howell: he has “it.”

Rick “Doc” Walker found one positive out of the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day massacre of the Commanders.

Washington embarrassingly lost 45-10 to Dallas, but Walker stated on the “Sports Junkies” 106.7 The Fan that one thing was positive. He pointed out that QB Sam Howell was under duress all day, but “the guy doesn’t collapse. You can’t break him. He’s unflappable.”

Walker expanded a bit, declaring that there have been NFL quarterbacks who were beat up early in their careers but fought through it, becoming premier players. He then stated, “This kid has it, whatever ‘it’ is. Now, what would it be like if he had an offensive line? What if he had a defense that could get him the ball?”

Walker pointed out how the Thanksgiving massacre had huge ratings. “41 million, one of the largest crowds ever to watch THAT?”

He feels the Commanders must respond. “You have to come out and avenge yourself. If not, I wouldn’t want them on my team next year.”

He declared the linebackers can’t cover anyone, asked, “What happened to Benjamin St-Juste? I thought he was promising. Regarding the defensive line, Walker said, “I thought it was an area of strength. Obviously, it is not.”

Regarding the defense as a whole, Walker summed up his observations, saying, “Somebody has to be responsible for it.”

When asked what type of coach he might like to see come, replacing Ron Rivera, Walker pointed to Jim Harbaugh, “he’s won more than our whole group here now.”

But he was quick to clarify, “I do believe in the general manager being the dog in the group, the real K9, not the (head) coach. The coach has too many relationships with the players. That’s why some players play hard for a coach. But someone over there has to be the bearer of bad news. What strikes me is they have nobody that can deliver bad news.”

Walker also pointed to a problem he sees in today’s players. “The object used to be to win. Now, it’s to get rich.”

“I get it; it’s the end of an era. Eventually, they’ll be playing flag (football) from across the board, the way I see it. In the meantime, I’m just trying to enjoy the remains of pro football.”

5 takeaways from the Commanders’ loss to the Cowboys

Five thoughts and observations after Commanders’ blowout loss to Cowboys.

Things continue to spiral out of control for the Washington Commanders and head coach Ron Rivera. On Thursday, the Dallas Cowboys spanked the Commanders 45-10, pushing Washington to 4-8 this season and 0-5 in the NFC East.

This was a close game at the beginning of the third quarter, with Dallas holding a 20-10 lead. However, Washington’s failures on offense led to easy opportunities for the Cowboys offense. Of course, Washington’s defense made it far too easy for Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott with wide-open receivers running free in the secondary.

On those six second-half possessions, Washington punted once, turned the ball over on downs three times, had an interception returned for a touchdown and its final possessions ended when time expired.

That’s ugly.

Speaking of ugly, here are five takeaways from the Commanders’ loss to the Cowboys.