Tag: Charles Leno

NFL analyst suggest Minnesota Vikings sign free agent OT

What will the Minnesota Vikings do in the wake of the Christian Darrisaw injury? One NFL analyst suggests looking to a former division rival

The Minnesota Vikings are reeling after losing two games in five days. The defense—the Vikings’ strong suit during the first five games of the season—has faltered in a big way the last two weeks. Quarterback Sam Darnold has started to show cracks in his armor, and perhaps worst of all, the Vikings lost Christian Darrisaw for the season.

Late in the first half of the Vikings’ loss to the Rams, Darrisaw was injured when the Vikings handed the ball off to running back Aaron Jones to get out of their own endzone and Rams’ safety Jaylen McCollough fell into Darrisaw’s knee. That collision resulted in Darrisaw tearing his ACL and MCL, and leaves the Vikings with a huge hole to fill along the offensive line.

Just how they go about filling that hole remains to be seen, but one NFL analyst is suggesting the Vikings look to a former division rival as the answer. In their weekly column at Bleacher Report, NFL analyst Matt Holder suggests the Vikings sign former Chicago Bears left tackle Charles Leno.

The Vikings should be plenty familiar with Leno and his game, as the left tackle spent seven seasons with the Bears before being released in 2021 and spending three seasons with the Washington Commanders.

Leno has yet to sign with a team and play in the 2024 season, but last season with the Commanders, Leno gave up just 34 pressures in more than 600 snaps of pass protection at left tackle, and allowed just three sacks on the season. Those numbers led Leno to a PFF grade of 72.5 that season, making Leno a strong option for a team suddenly looking at a major hole in their offensive line.

NFL analyst says the Vikings bringing in a free agent OT “makes sense”

Should the Minnesota Vikings bring in a free agent to replace Christian Darrisaw? Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer thinks it “makes sense”.

On Thursday night, things quickly went from bad to worse for the Minnesota Vikings against the Los Angeles Rams. It wasn’t enough that the Vikings defense got bullied for the second straight week, and the team lost their second game in a row after winning their first five.

The football gods had to add injury to insult—quite literally—as the Vikings lost their starting left tackle, Christian Darrisaw, for the season with a torn ACL and MCL. Darrisaw was playing at a Pro Bowl level this season and was a big reason why the Vikings offense—and the team in general—got off to such a hot start.

The injury has left many wondering what the Vikings plan on doing at the position in the wake of Darrisaw’s absence, and they have plenty of options. Swing tackle David Quessenberry came into the game on Thursday after Darrisaw’s injury, and has plenty of experience at tackle in the NFL. However, there was a clear difference in the level of play of the offense post-Darrisaw injury with Quessenberry in.

If the Vikings don’t trust Quessenberry full-time at the position, they also have Blake Brandel as an option. Brandel is currently playing left guard for the team, but also has experience at tackle. With Dalton Risner expected to return, head coach Kevin O’Connell could opt to swing Brandel outside and put Risner at tackle.

The third option — and one that Sports Illustrated’s NFL analyst Albert Breer says “makes sense” in his Week 8 Takeaways column for the outlet — is signing a tackle off free agency. Breer suggests the likes of D.J. Humphries, David Bakhtiari, and Charles Leno as options.

All three players have extensive experience at the position and would make for a solid rental option to finish out the season. As Breer points out in the column, Darrisaw is still just 25 years old, and there’s no reason to think he won’t make a full recovery from this injury, so there’s no need for the Vikings to go out and make a drastic move at the position for someone who would be a long-term solution. However, Breer believes bringing someone in for the short term could be the right move for Minnesota.

Wife of ex-Commanders OT roasts former OC

Wife of former Commanders OT roasts ex-offensive coordinator.

Former Washington offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy is in his first year of working in the same role at UCLA. The Commanders moved on from Bieniemy after one season when Dan Quinn was named head coach earlier this year and appointed Kliff Kingsbury as his new offensive coordinator.

Bieniemy’s UCLA Bruins played their first game on Saturday night, and despite winning the game, Bieniemy’s offense had its share of issues.

During the game, a Los Angeles-area sportswriter commented about UCLA’s offense at halftime on X. As you might expect, the comment section, including Washington fans, had some fun.

Charles Leno started at left for the Commanders for the past three seasons, including last season. His wife, Jen, saw the original X post and offered the ultimate response.

That pretty much sums up Washington’s 2023 offense. So much of the Commanders’ lack of offensive success was unfairly blamed on quarterback Sam Howell or the offensive line. While the entire offense struggled, the structural issues, namely refusing to run the ball, fell at the feet of Bieniemy.

After the season, several veteran Washington players, including Leno, right guard Sam Cosmi and tight end Sam Cosmi, shared their frustrations.

In case you were wondering, the Bruins passed the ball 38 times, with quarterback Ethan Garbers completing just 50% of his passing attempts and ran the ball only 20 times — in the three-point win over Hawaii.

NFL Films review/previews the 2024 Commanders

NFL Films didn’t have a lot of good to say about 2023, but thinks the Commanders will be better in 2024.

NFL Films released their preview of the 2024 Commanders on Monday; they didn’t have much good to say about the 2023 Commanders.

Here are some excerpts:

“They were an unwatchful offensive product…25th in points per game, 24th in yards per game, 29th in turnovers, 28th in the red zone, it was bad.”

“They threw more than any team; they ran less than any team.”

“The O-Line 65 sacks taken, tied for 30th; their tackles were rough as Charles Leno and Andrew Wylie gave up ten sacks each.”

“Terry McLaurin is a star waiting for a quarterback.”

“Washington’s offense may not have sparkled; Washington’s defense was worse.”

“The offense will have seven new faces starting for it this season. with just as many changes for the defense.”

“Washington’s pass defense was probably the easiest to pass on.”

“Checking the last box on the defense, Washington didn’t defend the run well, either.”

“(Clelin) Ferrell’s track record makes it hard to assume anything with him.”

“Their secondary probably carries the biggest question mark outside of the quarterback spot.”

“A 6.5 over/under (wins total) does indicate improvement. They only play one team that has a lower over/under (Carolina Panthers 5.5). The Giants are their equal, so give them a home win there. They get the Tennessee Titans at home, and their preseason expectations are similar.”

“Their schedule, plus a rookie quarterback, is why their floor is a 3-14.”

“But if you look at their year from the glass-half-full perspective, all the changes make this an 8-win type team maybe.”

Here’s the full preview:

 

Could the Commanders reunite with a familiar face before training camp?

Could the Commanders look to reunite with a familiar face?

Everyone on the outside believes the Washington Commanders must still address the offensive tackle position.

Ahead of this offseason, the Commanders released veteran left tackle Charles Leno Jr. — their left tackle for the past three seasons. Washington already needed help at the position, so releasing Leno ensured that the new general manager, Adam Peters, would be busy adding a new starter through free agency or the NFL draft.

Peters was busy in free agency, including adding new starters at center and left guard. However, Washington’s only free-agent move at offensive tackle was re-signing veteran Cornelius Lucas. Lucas has been with Washington since 2020 and has been a reliable swing tackle for the past four seasons, often filling in at both tackle positions.

Surely, the Lucas signing was to retain him for depth purposes.

In the 2024 NFL draft, Washington selected quarterback Jayden Daniels at No. 2 overall. No surprise there. Many assumed the Commanders would use some of their draft capital to move back into the first round to select an offensive tackle. They tried but to no avail.

Instead of reaching on a tackle in the second round, the Commanders stuck to their board and selected TCU’s Brandon Coleman with the No. 67 overall pick.

Both Coleman and Lucas worked with the first team throughout the offseason program. Washington believes Coleman has big-time potential at offensive tackle.

With a rookie quarterback, though, do the Commanders have enough?

Lorenzo Reyna of Pro Football Network recently named one free-agent signing every team should make before training camp. Reyna said the Commanders should re-sign Leno.

Like the Tennessee Titans, the Washington Commanders have a young passer to keep intact in Jayden Daniels. Charles Leno Jr. can be brought back for experience and depth reasons, having spent the last three years in D.C., starting in 47 total games.

On paper, this sounds plausible. But, remember, one week after he was released, Leno underwent hip surgery. How is Leno these days? Does he still want to play? He will be 33 in October.

Washington’s offensive line struggled in recent seasons, and Leno often received too much blame. He was much more solid than some fans realized. However, a reunion doesn’t appear to be in the cards. The Commanders seem content to head into camp and see how the current roster shapes up before adding another veteran.

ESPN says the Saints still have a major roster hole ahead of 2024 draft

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell says the Saints have yet to address a major team need going into the 2024 NFL draft. It’s obvious they need more help at offensive tackle:

It’s hardly a surprise to see someone suggesting the New Orleans Saints aren’t good enough at offensive tackle — watching any of their games from last season will give them all the proof they need to back that statement up. Still, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell took a deeper dive than most in exploring why this is such a problem, and how the Saints can clean it up.

The good news is that the Saints have just one outgoing free agent at the position, and it shouldn’t be hard to re-sign them; the question is whether Andrus Peat will agree to return to New Orleans at a price point that makes sense for the team, or if he’ll try to find a better offer in free agency. Barnwell says that’s the easiest solution for their problem at left tackle, where Trevor Penning hasn’t met expectations.

But James Hurst had a rough year at left guard and Ryan Ramczyk’s degenerative knee condition makes leaning on him tricky. So far, the team has only added Oli Udoh, one of first-year offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s former players on the Minnesota Vikings. Here’s how Barnwell laid it out:

Hurst and Ramczyk took pay cuts to stay as opposed to the sort of classic contract restructures the Saints use in which they pay a player in full but spread the money over five seasons. The only addition they have made on the edge is Udoh, who had served as a utility lineman for the Vikings before tearing his quadriceps muscle in September and missing most of the 2023 season. He’s more likely a replacement for Hurst as the swing lineman (with Hurst penciled in as the full-time left guard) than a potential starting tackle. Landon Young, who took over for Ramczyk in December before getting injured himself, is also on the roster.

Young was less-than-impressive when stepping in for Ramczyk, and he suffered his own injury that sidelined him for the last two weeks of the season; veteran backup Cameron Erving (an unsigned free agent, at the moment) came up from the practice squad to take his place. If nothing else, the Saints need more depth than they worked with a year ago. Signing Peat could achieve that but the Saints could have already brought him back if they viewed him as a priority. Head coach Dennis Allen has left the door open for a reunion but it doesn’t sound very likely.

So what’s the best path forward? Again, Barnwell argues, re-signing Peat could make the most sense. But it’s not the only option. Here’s what he proposes with the 2024 NFL draft on the horizon:

It would have made sense to agree to a deal with Peat before the start of the new league year to mitigate the dead money on his deal, but the Saints might have been more optimistic then about Ramczyk’s chances of being healthy. Peat’s market hasn’t developed, and there aren’t many other players left in free agency with a track record of playing left tackle. David Bakhtiari and Mekhi Becton have significant injury histories, and Peat might have been better than Charles Leno and Donovan Smith a year ago. Reuniting with Peat would also afford New Orleans the flexibility of moving Hurst to left tackle and bumping Peat back inside to guard.

The Saints also have the 14th overall pick and could use that on a tackle prospect, but would there be any hesitation on their end after seemingly swinging and missing on Penning? This organization has used five first- or second-round picks on offensive linemen going back to Peat’s selection in 2015, and while that’s a perfectly reasonable way to build a football team, they have needs elsewhere that they can’t fill with high-end veterans in free agency. At the same time, if they’ve given up on Penning and Ramczyk can’t play, they might need to re-sign Peat and use their top pick on an offensive lineman.

The Saints have invested a ton of draft capital into their offensive line over the years and going back to that well might be their best path forward. We’ll have to see if they make any more additions in free agency over the next month, or if they’re counting on one of their early-round picks (at Nos. 14 and 45 overall) to cure what ails them.

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Commanders re-sign offensive tackle Cornelius Lucas

Cornelius Lucas is returning for his fifth season in Washington.

The Washington Commanders have finally signed an offensive tackle. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the Commanders are bringing back Cornelius Lucas on a one-year deal worth up to $4 million.

Lucas, who will turn 33 in July, is entering his 11th NFL season and fifth in Washington. Before signing with the Commanders in 2020, Lucas spent time with the Lions, Rams, Saints and Bears.

Since coming to Washington, Lucas has been a valuable addition. He has appeared in 62 games with 31 starts, making starts at both right and left tackle.

As of now, Lucas would be at the top of Washington’s depth chart at left tackle after the release of Charles Leno Jr. Andrew Wylie remains atop the depth chart at right tackle — for now. The Commanders are expected to address the offensive tackle position high in the 2024 NFL draft. The offensive tackle class is deep, and Washington could target at least two tackles with its nine picks.

Commanders to host Yale offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie on top 30 visit

The Commanders will host one of the draft’s most intriguing prospects on a top 30 visit.

We know the Washington Commanders need help at offensive tackle. The Commanders entered the offseason, possibly needing to upgrade at both tackle positions. Washington then released left tackle Charles Leno Jr. ahead of free agency, meaning the Commanders needed a new left tackle in 2023.

Washington has yet to sign an offensive tackle in free agency. As of now, Andrew Wylie, who struggled at right tackle last season, is slated to start again on the right side

The Commanders will address the offensive tackle position in the draft. They’ve already scheduled a top-30 visit with Arizona offensive tackle Jordan Morgan. Now, we can add another name to that list.

According to Justin Melo of The Draft Network, the Commanders will host Yale offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie on a visit.

Amegadjie is a fascinating prospect. He has tremendous size (6-foot-5, 326) with over 36″ arms. With a background in basketball, Amegadjie also possesses excellent footwork. The FCS All-American told Dane Brugler of The Athletic that he was the “most interesting prospect in the draft.”

Amegadjie is an exciting prospect due to his size, athleticism and pedigree. He is also still relatively new to football, meaning he could be one of the more undervalued prospects in this class.

Commanders to host top offensive line prospect on a top 30 visit

The Commanders will begin hosting top 30 visitors, including one of the draft’s top offensive tackles.

The Washington Commanders were active in free agency during the first week but failed to sign an offensive tackle. After releasing left tackle Charles Leno Jr., the Commanders need help at offensive tackle.

Many believe Washington should have two new starting offensive tackles, with last year’s right tackle, Andrew Wylie, moving inside to guard. The Commanders will likely sign a veteran free agent at some point, but it will be a starting-caliber player or a swing tackle?

General manager Adam Peters will likely look toward the 2024 NFL draft to secure Washington’s future left tackle. The Commanders hold the No. 2 overall pick, which they will likely use to select a quarterback, but have two early second-round picks and three third-round picks, making it easy to move back into the first round to target an offensive tackle in what is believed to be a deep group.

Every NFL team has 30 visits it can use to bring draft prospects in for a visit. It gives teams a chance to get more one-on-one time with prospects than they would get at the NFL combine.

We now know of one player coming to Washington. According to Ryan Fowler of the Draft Network, Arizona offensive tackle Jordan Morgan will visit the Commanders on a top-30 visit.

The 6-foot-5, 311-pound Morgan was a three-year starter for the Wildcats in the Pac-12, finishing as a first-team All-Pac-12 performer in 2023. Morgan had a strong combine and put together good tape for multiple seasons. However, there are some who believe he may eventually move inside to guard as his arms measured in at 32 7/8.”

 

After one week of free agency, what is the Commanders biggest need?

The Commanders still need help at different positions, but one stands out.

With the first week of the 2024 NFL free agency cycle winding to a close, what is the Commanders’ biggest area of need?

Washington signed 14 new unrestricted free agents: QB Marcus Mariota, RB Austin Ekeler, TE Zach Ertz, C Tyler Biadasz, G Nick Allegretti, DL Dorance Armstrong, DL Dante Fowler Jr., DL Clelin Ferrell, LB Bobby Wagner, LB Frankie Luvu, LB Anthony Pittman, S Jeremy Chinn, K Brandon McManus and LS Tyler Ott.

The Commanders also signed three of their own unrestricted free agents: DL Efe Obada, S Jeremy Reaves and WR Jamison Crowder.

Adam Peters has done a great job of being able to sign players to meet needs at center, guard, edge rusher and linebacker. With Jacoby Brissett wishing to reunite with offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt in New England, Peters also signed Mariota to be a veteran who has lived under the pressure of being the second overall draft selection (2015).

At this point, there is an area of concern, and that would be at offensive tackle. After all, they will need to protect their quarterback better in 2024. The tackles currently on the roster are Andrew Wylie, Alex Akingbulu, Trent Scott, and Braeden Daniels. Mason Brooks is another possibility right now listed simply as “OL.”

The new administration and coaching staff could choose to re-sign Cornelius Lucas. Lucas has served well as a swing tackle, moving wherever needed.

Interestingly, for those who have not yet noticed, the current Commanders roster lists Sam Cosmi as a tackle. Cosmi was switched inside from tackle to guard for 2023 and was arguably the best offensive lineman on the team last season.

The Commanders really need to find some tackles soon and in the draft as well.