Tag: DE Jalyn Holmes

Adam Peters continues strengthening Commanders

Adam Peters continues to make all the right moves.

On Wednesday, in his press conference, Commanders’ general manager Adam Peters said, on more than one occasion, that he wanted to do what was good for the team.

Who could dare argue that Peters has done a fantastic job of repeatedly addressing the roster and seeing what changes he can make that are good for the team?

When hired, David Aldridge of The Athletic asked Peters what he thought of the roster. Peters didn’t reply immediately. He paused, took a breath, and replied that there were a few cornerstone pieces to the roster, and he had a lot of work to do.

And work is what Peters has done. He did not tweak Ron Rivera’s roster. Peters overhauled Rivera’s roster. After training camp, when the roster was reduced to 53, 30 were those brought in by Peters since taking the job.


Rather than being satisfied with his efforts,  Peters immediately returned to the driver’s seat and made quite a few decisions in the next week. He signed receiver Noah Brown (cut by the Texans), traded defensive tackle John Ridgeway to the Saints, signed linebacker Nick Bellore (released by the Seahawks), re-signed tackle Sam Cosmi to a four-year contract, and released receiver Byron Pringle; these all before the opener.

Once the season began, Peters released kicker Cade York, but the Jets released kicker Austin Seibert, so Peters quickly grabbed Seibert.

A few weeks later, veteran DT Jonathan Allen was lost for the season, and DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste was placed on injured reserve for at least four weeks. Well, the Jets had just released DE Jalyn Holmes. Instead of promoting a DE from the practice squad, Peters felt that the best thing for the team was to sign Holmes to the active roster. Holmes played only 11 defensive snaps against the Bears, but one of those, he had a quarterback sack.

Two weeks ago, Peters released Jamin Davis, a first-round draft choice by Rivera in 2021. This week, he traded for veteran Saints corner Marshon Lattimore and released DE Efe Obada, making room for Lattimore.

On Wednesday, Peters released WR Mike Strachan. Why? With DE Clelin Ferrell’s knee still not 100%, Peters brought back Obada to the practice squad, doing what he thinks strengthens the Commanders.

Commanders make no practice squad elevations: What does that mean?

Commanders make no practice squad. What does that mean for Jayden Daniels?

The Commanders passed on elevating anyone this week from the practice squad to the 53-man roster.

The deadline, 4 p.m., passed, and the Commanders made no moves this week. League rules stipulate that a player can only be elevated twice during the season from the practice squad to the active roster. They must be signed to the active roster when elevated a third time.

Understandably, there was much speculation and anticipation, wondering if quarterback Sam Hartman might be elevated to be a third quarterback for Sunday. If the move had been made, it most likely would have revealed the Commanders’ intention to list starter Jayden Daniels as “inactive” against the Bears.

Daniels is listed as “questionable” for Sunday’s game against the Bears. He suffered a rib injury on Washington’s first offensive possession in their Week 7 win over the Carolina Panthers.

Additionally, the Commanders have already signed two to the active roster in the last ten days. DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste and DT Jonathan Allen were injured and sent to the injured reserve list, and the Commanders signed DT Sheldon Day from the practice squad. Then, GM Adam Peters signed DE Jalyn Holmes to the active roster. Holmes had just been released by the Jets.

Finally, the Commanders activated rookie LB Jordan Magee this week (October 23) from injured reserve to the 53-man roster. So, they have been making plenty of moves and apparently felt they didn’t need another roster move for this week.

Commanders releasing Davis reminds of Ron Rivera’s poor leadership

Wonder what Ron Rivera thought of Tuesday’s news?

Wonder what Ron Rivera’s reaction was to Tuesday afternoon’s breaking Commanders news?

The Commanders (5-2) had just released four-year veteran linebacker/defensive end Jamin Davis.  In April 2021, Rivera, the Washington GM/head coach, surprised all who closely followed the team when he reached on the Kentucky linebacker.

Rivera then doubled down, declaring Davis the highest-rated available player on Washington’s draft board. We shook our heads at that statement, but we all certainly hoped Rivera was right and that Davis would play up to his being selected 19th overall.

Davis’s release by Adam Peters and Dan Quinn on Tuesday speaks volumes. Just last week, rookie DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste was injured and placed on injured reserve, meaning he will miss at least four weeks.

The Commanders released Davis anyway. To do so at this time indicates that the Commanders’ defensive staff simply didn’t even believe they had a need for Davis, though they are without Jean-Baptiste.

Last week, they signed DT Sheldon Day to the active roster from the practice squad, responding to DT Jonathan Allen’s loss for the season with a torn pectoral muscle.

In addition, the Commanders signed DE Jalyn Holmes last week, who had just been released by the Jets after appearing in their first six games this season. Though no longer needed by the Jets, the Commanders have chosen to go with Holmes over Davis. Also, DE Efe Obada has returned from injured reserve and is on the active roster.

If another NFL team does not claim Davis, then he could conceivably return to the Commanders’ practice squad.

Davis’s release can’t help but remind us of how woeful Ron Rivera’s drafting was during his four seasons in Washington. His four first-round choices (Chase Young (2020), Davis (2021), Jahan Dotson (2022), and Emmanuel Forbes 2023) have all massively underperformed, and only Forbes remains with the team—and he doesn’t even start for the Commanders.