Tag: Dorance Armstrong

Commanders release DE Shaka Toney

Toney was just reinstated last week.

That didn’t take long. Days after the NFL reinstated defensive end Shaka Toney from an indefinite suspension for gambling, the Washington Commanders released him on Monday.

Toney, a seventh-round selection in the 2021 NFL draft from Penn State, played two seasons for the Commanders, appearing in 26 games, finishing with 16 tackles, including two for loss, three quarterback hits and 1.5 sacks.

The 6-foot-2, 240-pound Toney faced long odds at making Washington’s roster in 2024. While the Commanders are without their top four edge rushers from a year ago, new general manager Adam Peters rebuilt the position this offseason, adding veterans Dorance Armstrong, Dante Fowler Jr. and Clelin Ferrell.

Armstrong and Fowler are close with new head coach Dan Quinn, while Ferrell followed Peters and new defensive line coach Darryl Tapp to Washington from San Francisco. The Commanders also re-signed veteran Efe Obada.

Additionally, Washington returns second-year edge defenders K.J. Henry and Andre Jones Jr., both of whom showed potential at times last season.

With nine picks in this week’s 2024 NFL draft, the Commanders are expected to select an edge rusher at some point. Washington hosted multiple edge defenders on top 30 visits.

NFL reinstates Commanders DE Shaka Toney after suspension

Toney was a seventh-round pick in 2021 and returns to a completely different team.

You can add one more name to the mix at defensive end for the Washington Commanders in 2024. The NFL reinstated five players who were suspended indefinitely last year for violating the gambling policy, and one of those players was Washington edge rusher Shaka Toney.

Things have changed dramatically since the last time Toney was in Ashburn. The 26-year-old was a 2021 seventh-round pick out of Penn State who appeared in 26 games with one start, recording 16 tackles and 1.5 sacks from 2021-22.

Toney was suspended on April 21 last year. Since then, Washington has added a new draft class, a new owner, a new GM, a new coaching staff, and over 30 new teammates.

The defensive end room is completely changed, and Efe Obada is the only familiar face from Toney’s previous time in Washington. Gone are Chase Young, Montez Sweat, James Smith-Williams and Casey Toohill. In are K.J. Henry, Andre Jones Jr., Dorance Armstrong, Dante Fowler Jr. and Clelin Ferrell.

Toney faces long odds making the roster, with the Commanders also likely to add a pass rusher in next week’s NFL draft.

Commanders to host Kansas edge rusher Austin Booker on top 30 visit

The Commanders will host a raw but talented pass rusher next week.

The Washington Commanders are using several of their 30 pre-draft visits on specific positions, such as offensive tackle and defensive end. Outside of Penn State’s Chop Robinson, none of the edge rushers the Commanders are bringing to Ashburn ahead of the 2024 NFL draft are considered potential first-round picks.

Washington general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn are bringing in players with high-quality athletic traits on visits. The latest is Kansas edge rusher Austin Booker.

According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, Booker will visit Washington next week.

After beginning his college career at Minnesota, Booker transferred to Kansas. In his one season with the Jayhawks, the 6-foot-4 1/2, 240-pound Booker played in 12 games with one start and finished with 56 tackles, including 12 for loss and eight sacks. He was named first-team All-Big 12 Conference and was the Big 12 top newcomer.

There was some buzz around Booker entering the NFL combine, where he ran a disappointing 4.79 seconds in the 40-yard dash. The good thing for Booker is teams love his film. He plays much faster than his speedwatch time. However, his lack of overall snaps may concern some. He is extremely raw and could be a boom-or-bust pick.

The Commanders signed Dante Fowler Jr., Dorance Armstrong and Clelin Ferrell this offseason, and re-signed veteran Efe Obada. Washington returns second-year players K.J. Henry and Andre Jones Jr.

Booker is expected to go sometime in the second or, most likely. the third round. The Commanders currently have three third-round picks.

Formern Commanders DE James Smith-Williams signs with Falcons

Smith-Williams’ departure makes it official. The book on the 2020 NFL draft is closed in Washington.

In the latest free agent signings, James Smith-Williams has departed the Commanders to join the Falcons on a one-year deal.

Drafted in the seventh round (No. 229) in the 2020 draft by Washington, the former North Carolina State Wolfpack defensive end played four seasons for the Burgundy and Gold.

When Chase Young went down in 2021 with a season-ending knee injury, Smith-Williams noticeably improved the Commanders defense for the remainder of the season. His defense against the run proved to be a contributing factor to the team winning four consecutive games when he entered the lineup.

He started the last six games of that 2021 season, recording 30 tackles (11 solo, 19 assisted), including four for a loss, 2.5 quarterback sacks, and five additional QB hits.

Smith-Williams started 14 games in the 2022 season, contributing 23 tackles (12 solo, 11 assisted), including five tackles for a loss, three QB sacks and 16 QB hits.

In his final season (2023) in Washington, injuries limited him to 13 games (7 starts), 22 tackles (11 solo, 11 assists), two tackles for a loss, one quarterback sack, and eight quarterback hits.

Here are highlights from his last two Washington seasons.

When the 2024  free agent signing period launched in March, the Commanders new administration determined to sign Dorance Armstrong Jr. and Dante Fowler Jr. both defensive ends who had played for new head coach Dan Quinn in Dallas.

Then, the Commanders signed Clelin Ferrell, a former 49ers defensive end, whom new GM Adam Peters knew from his time as the assistant general manager in San Francisco.

The Commanders had also determined, this offseason, to re-sign Efe Obada over Smith-Williams. Obada has played both inside and outside on passing downs, accumulating 15 career sacks in his 74 NFL games played.

A couple of things are noteworthy. New Falcons free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins has the same agent as Smith-Williams (Priority Sports & Entertainment), and current Falcons assistant general manager Kyle Smith was with Washington and ran the draft board during the 2020 draft, Ron Rivera’s first with Washington.

Commanders to host Western Michigan DE Marshawn Kneeland on pre-draft visit

The Commanders bringing in another defender on a pre-draft visit.

The Washington Commanders have six picks in the first three rounds of this month’s 2024 NFL draft. While Washington is expected to take a quarterback at No. 2 overall, it must address other areas on the roster, too.

One of those positions is defensive end. The Commanders traded defensive ends Chase Young and Montez Sweat at the trade deadline last fall and allowed backups Casey Toohill and James Smith-Williams to depart via free agency.

Under new head coach Dan Quinn, Washington signed veterans Dorance Armstrong, Dante Fowler Jr. and Clelin Ferrell in free agency. They join a room that includes second-year edge rushers K.J. Henry and Andre Jones Jr.

With Ferrell and Fowler only signed to one-year deals, the Commanders could use some of their draft capital to address the position. One player Washington has shown interest in, according to NFL draft analyst Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda, is Western Michigan’s Marshawn Kneeland.

Pauline says Kneeland has 16 visits scheduled, with Washington being one of those visits.

Kneeland played in 37 career college games, and while he didn’t post eye-popping sack numbers, he was productive. A former high school tight end, Kneeland is athletic and is known more as a power rusher than a speed rusher.

The Commanders continue to focus on bringing in players on top-30 visits who have high-level traits. Kneeland is expected to be drafted on the second day of the draft.

 

Commanders have the 11th-most expensive defense in 2024

Adam Peters is slowly reshaping the NFL’s worst defense.

The Washington Commanders entered free agency with over $90 million in available salary cap space. Washington general manager Adam Peters had some money to spend but several holes to fill on both sides of the ball.

Early in free agency, Peters aggressively filled some of the Commanders’ needs on the offensive line, at linebacker and edge rusher. He even worked to shore up Washington’s special teams by signing a new kicker and long snapper.

However, Peters spent wisely across the board. There were no record-setting deals that reset the market at their respective positions. Instead, Peters and head coach Dan Quinn worked to improve the 2024 roster while remaining flexible in 2025 and beyond.

On Saturday, we looked at Washington’s offensive spending for 2024. Currently, the Commanders have the fifth-cheapest offensive roster for next season. That will change after the 2024 NFL draft when Washington likely selects a quarterback at No. 2 overall.

But what has Washington done to improve the defense?

Per Over the Cap, the Commanders have the 11th-most expensive defense in 2024. Washington has significant money tied up in defensive tackles Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen. Also, linebacker Jamin Davis and cornerback Emmanuel Forbes are on first-round contracts.

To improve the NFL’s worst defense, Peters signed linebackers Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu — both will start. At edge rusher, the Commanders signed Dorance Armstrong, Dante Fowler Jr. and Clelin Ferrell. Armstrong signed a three-year deal, while Fowler and Ferrell agreed to one-year pacts. Washington also re-signed defensive end Efe Obada.

Washington has almost $106 million committed to the defense in 2024. The Pittsburgh Steelers have the NFL’s most expensive defense ($160.3 million) but the NFL’s cheapest offense ($64.8 million). The Commanders currently have $82.8 million committed to the offense thus far for 2024.

Wagner ($6.5 million), Armstrong ($4.9 million), safety Jeremy Chinn ($3.9 million) and Luvu ($3.9 million) have four of Washington’s top 12 cap hits for 2024.

Payne ($21.6 million) and Allen ($21.4 million) have the second and third-highest cap hits for 2024 behind wide receiver Terry McLaurin.

What does Cowboys announcer think of Commanders’ Dan Quinn?

More praise for Quinn from Dallas as a coach and person.

With new Commanders head coach Dan Quinn leaving Dallas for Washington, what does Dallas think of Quinn?

Brad Sham has been calling Cowboys football games as their play-by-play announcer for 45 seasons. He was a guest on the “Al Galdi Podcast” on Friday.

Quinn the Dallas defensive coordinator for the previous three seasons, was named the Commanders head coach and promptly hired Joe Whitt Jr. as his defensive coordinator and Sharrif Floyd as assistant defensive line coach, both away from the Cowboys staff.

Then he signed four Cowboys on his Dallas teams when Tyler Biadasz (center), Dorance Armstrong (defensive end), Dante Fowler (defensive end) and Noah Igbinoghene (cornerback) each agreed to make the Commanders their new team.

Sham had high praise for Quinn not only as a coach but as a person.

“He’s a genuine people person,” Sham said. “He does have that kind of magnetic enthusiasm. And it is not just his players who love him. Most people around him enjoy being around him. He treats everyone with such respect that it is impossible not to return that.”

Seeing how Quinn had previous head coaching experience and improved the Cowboys defense, Sham was confident Quinn would soon be moving from Dallas.

“So, I think it was inevitable that he was going to get another opportunity as a head coach. I think it is a very positive move for the Commanders.”

Sham believes Quinn will be a better head coach the second time around.

“My guess is he is a better coach than the one who left Seattle several years ago,” Sham continued. “The experience in Atlanta made him a better coach. His last three years here (Dallas) made him a better coach. I think he is not just a defensive coach, though he is very much that. He is interested in the whole team, and it’s a very positive move for the Commanders.”

Though Whitt has not garnered much publicity, Sham believes in Whitt taking on this responsibility for the Commanders. “Joe Whitt is a guy who is kind of under the radar. He is quiet but a phenomenal football coach who has really great football intelligence.”

Sham told Galdi of how the Dallas defense was horrible in the 2020 season, and the hiring of Dan Quinn saw the Cowboys defense improve tremendously during Quinn’s three seasons as the Cowboys defensive coordinator.

“He will come in and look at the personnel following the free agency and the draft. He will then decide the best way for those players to play. He finds a way to maximize the players he has.”

Sham told of how Dallas defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence injured a foot during practice week of the second game of the 2021 season. Quinn went to Micah Parsons and asked him what he thought of moving around more on defense, being on the line in pass-rushing downs. And that is why we see how the Cowboys have used Parsons in multiple positions. It came about because Quinn saw an opportunity when one of his better linemen was injured.

Sham summed it up, saying about Quinn, “He’s pretty creative, inventive, and sees the big picture.”

 

Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones talks players following Dan Quinn to Commanders

The Cowboys’ EVP understands why players and coaches want to follow Dan Quinn.

When Dan Quinn left the Dallas Cowboys after three seasons as defensive coordinator to become the head coach of the Washington Commanders, it was clear that some would follow.

Whether it be Quinn’s fellow coaches or players, Quinn was popular in Dallas, with star linebacker Micah Parsons often discussing Quinn’s impact on him. Unfortunately for Washington, though, Parsons is not available.

Since Quinn was named head coach, Dallas secondary coach Joe Whitt Jr. and assistant defensive line coach Sharrif Floyd followed him to the Commanders. Whitt is Washington’s new defensive coordinator, while Floyd is the assistant defensive line coach. Quinn tried to pry other assistants from Dallas, but the Cowboys refused to give Washington permission to interview them.

Free agency opened last week, and Quinn wasted no time looking to his former team to help his new team. On the first day of the legal tampering period, the Commanders quickly agreed to terms with center Tyler Biadasz and defensive end Dorance Armstrong. Then Washington agreed to terms with defensive end Dante Fowler Jr.

On Sunday, Washington signed cornerback Noah Igbinoghene. A former first-round pick of the Dolphins in the 2020 NFL draft, Igbinoghene spent last season in Dallas.

Last week, Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones spoke about those coaches and players following Quinn to Washington.

“Yeah, I mean that’s part of being, if you choose to go to Washington, Philadelphia or New York, that’s what we’re going to have,” Jones said. “It’s nothing but respect off the field, but when it comes time to compete against each other, then that’s what’s going to happen. It’s no surprise when we were having our farewells to him, which no one thinks more of DQ than our organization and what he brought to the table here. And obviously, the players enjoyed playing for Dan, so it doesn’t surprise me a bit that they (want to follow him).”

Jones was speaking of how fans were upset with Dallas’ disappointing offseason thus far after his father, owner and GM Jerry Jones, said the Cowboys would be “all in” this offseason. The Cowboys have watched multiple key players depart while remaining mostly inactive in free agency.

Commanders agree to terms with 49ers defensive end Clelin Ferrell

More depth to the defensive end room for the Commanders.

The Washington Commanders added more depth to the defensive end rotation Tuesday morning by agreeing to terms with 49ers defensive end Clelin Ferrell.

Ferrell, 26, was the Las Vegas Raiders’ No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft out of Clemson. He played four seasons with the Raiders, appearing in 58 games with 30 starts and recording 105 tackles, 15 for loss, and 10 sacks.

The Raiders declined Ferrell’s fifth-year option, making him a free agent last offseason. He signed with San Francisco, where he started all 17 games. Ferrell played in a rotation for the 49ers and finished with 28 tackles, including six for loss and 3.5 sacks.

Ferrell is Washington’s seventh expected signing and second defensive end, following Dorance Armstrong (Cowboys). A Richmond native, Ferrell played for Washington defensive line coach Darryl Tapp with the 49ers last season.

He will likely play in a rotation for Washington. Ferrell and Armstrong join second-year defensive ends K.J. Henry and Andre Jones Jr. as the defensive ends on the Commanders’ roster.

Washington will still likely search for a high-upside edge rusher in next month’s 2024 NFL draft.

A successful opening day of free agency for the Commanders

The Commanders made good, smart moves on Monday with an eye on the short-term and long-term future.

There was some anticipation on how new general manager Adam Peters would approach his first free-agency period in charge of the Washington Commanders.

No team had more cap space in the NFL than Washington, and Peters cautioned weeks ago not to expect splashy moves. Some took that as Peters saying the Commanders would not be active.

That couldn’t have been further from the truth, as Washington agreed to terms with six new players on the first day of the NFL’s legal tampering period.

Here are the moves:

  • DE Dorance Armstrong: 3-year deal
  • C Tyler Biadasz: 3-year deal
  • LB Frankie Luvu: 3-year deal
  • RB Austin Ekeler: 2-year deal
  • K Brandon McManus: 1-year deal
  • G Nick Allegretti: 3-year deal

Of those names, Ekeler’s probably stands out above the rest. However, all six of Washington’s expected new signings (players can’t officially sign with their new team until Wednesday) will either start or play a significant role in 2024.

Gone are the days of Washington winning the offseason. That title belongs to the Eagles these days. The Commanders entered this version of free agency with a lot of cash and a lot of needs. So, instead of sinking significant money into one player, Peters used that cash to find starters at several positions, improving Washington’s overall talent level without sacrificing the team’s future.

Brilliant.

Of these six new signees, only McManus — a kicker — is over 30. All are on manageable contracts with no commitments beyond the 2026 season. If any of these players thrive, the Commanders can sign them to an extension.

Peters’ strategy was precisely what Washington needed to do. The roster’s lack of overall talent meant the Commanders needed to make moves. As we expected, the new additions involved some familiarity.

Armstrong and Biadasz followed head coach Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. to Washington. Ekeler was with running backs coach Anthony Lynn for four seasons with the Chargers.

The Commanders were clearly focused on improving the pass rush. Adding Armstrong does that and Washington isn’t done there. Also, this regime wouldn’t ignore the offensive line, especially with a rookie quarterback expected to arrive next month. Biadasz gives the Commanders a good, young, reliable center to work with a young quarterback.

Luvu answers a significant need at linebacker, which should benefit Jamin Davis. Luvu does everything well and is the type of linebacker the Commanders have lacked for years.

Ekeler is a perfect complement to Brian Robinson Jr. and can be a safety valve for a rookie quarterback with his pass-blocking and receiving skills out of the backfield.

We’ll break down each of Washington’s signings once they become official, but overall, it’s an excellent beginning for Peters.