The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII to win their second consecutive championship.
Now, all eyes focus on the 2024 NFL season. While the season is less than seven months away, we are less than one month away from the new league year.
With the new league comes the start of free agency. Players will switch teams and 2024 rosters will begin to look much different. There is no team in the NFL with more salary cap space heading into next season than the Washington Commanders.
There is plenty of optimism surrounding the Commanders currently. They have a new owner (Josh Harris), a new general manager (Adam Peters) and a new head coach (Dan Quinn). In addition to Washington having the most cap space, it also holds the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
The Commanders are hoping for a Houston Texans-like turnaround in 2024.
With the Super Bowl over, ESPN recently unveiled its first power rankings for 2024. Where will the Commanders be after their changes?
No surprise, Washington comes in at No. 31.
Here’s what ESPN’s John Keim says about the Commanders:
Washington has a new owner (Josh Harris), general manager (Adam Peters) and head coach (Dan Quinn) hoping to revive a franchise whose fan base has endured one tough season after another; the team has won three playoff games since winning a Super Bowl after the 1991 season. The Commanders can help themselves more by spending wisely in free agency (they’re projected to have the most cap room in the NFL this offseason) and by drafting well (they have the No. 2 pick, which they can use to find a quarterback of the future, and own five picks in the top 100).
This is fair. How can you rank Washington any higher when the roster hasn’t changed?
The Commanders will be much much improved in 2024. How much? We shall see. We have a feeling Peters and Quinn see this roster differently than those on the outside. What some of Washington’s players need, specifically younger players, is coaching. The Commanders’ new coaching staff is already a massive improvement over the previous regime.
In case you were wondering about the NFC East:
- Dallas Cowboys: 7th
- Philadelphia Eagles: 8th
- New York Giants: 27th