The Washington Commanders have amassed quite a bit of talent in the last few years. However, they still have the same old Washington football problem of not having a quarterback. This Commanders' offseason, if the team can figure out the QB position and make a few moves with Commanders' free agents and in the draft, there is no reason the team can’t improve on its 8-8-1 record from last season and make the NFL playoffs in 2023. Here are the three major fixes the Commanders must make this offseason to reach the postseason next year.
3. Cut Carson Wentz
With the NFL announcing the new 2023 salary cap at $224.8 million, it puts the Commanders smack dab in the middle of the league with just over $6 million in salary cap space heading into the Commanders offseason.
The good news is, it is incredibly easy to get that cap number way up by making one move.
Carson Wentz is currently on the books for $26.1 million in 2023, but his contract doesn’t have any dead cap money attached to it. That means that cutting Wentz — which won’t break any Commanders fans’ hearts — will save the team the full $26.1 million against the cap.
There is no way that Wentz will be the starter next season, especially at over $25 million. It is time to admit the experiment failed and move on. That doesn’t mean a veteran QB like Wentz is a bad idea, but Wentz isn’t the guy.
After that, the team can also part ways with offensive linemen Cornelius Lucas, Chase Roullier, and Andrew Norwell, as well as tight end Logan Thomas. That, along with restructuring Jonathan Allen, Terry McLaurin, Charles Leno, and Tress Way will save the team over $50 million and make them major players with any potential Commanders free-agent targets.
So, addition (of money) by subtraction (of highly-paid, ineffective players) is the first step on the road to the 2023 NFL playoffs.
2. Re-sign Commanders free-agent Daron Payne
Speaking of Commanders free agents, there are a few the team can consider bringing back once the salary cap is in check. This includes offensive linemen Trai Turner and Wes Schweitzer along with Taylor Heinicke (more on that below).
The big fish this offseason, though, is Daron Payne.
Payne was a 2018 first-round pick who played out his four-year rookie deal and his fifth-year option in Washington. He’ll likely want to test the market to see if he can get a deal for over $20 million per season somewhere. Whether he can or not, though, the Commanders should consider beating the best deal he finds.
If this team makes the 2023 NFL playoffs, it will be on the strength of the defense, especially the defensive line.
Payne is one of the four first-round picks on the defensive front along with Chase Young, Montez Sweat, and Jonathan Allen. With Young out for most of this year after a knee injury toward the end of the 2021 season, the full force of the Commander DL wasn’t out there this season.
After using all those picks to create what could become one of the best units in the league, the Commanders owe it to themselves and their fans to keep the band together and try to run it back next season.
1. Figure out the quarterback situation
As with most teams that don’t have a franchise quarterback, the biggest fix of the offseason to lead to an NFL playoff run next year has to address the most important position on the field.
There are a few options this Commanders' offseason for QB. The team could splurge a bit on one of the better QBs available and get Jimmy Garoppolo or Derek Carr to come to Washington. That’s not a bad idea, and Carr would be the better choice of the two. However, that would cost draft capital, which isn’t ideal.
The other option is to make it a three-way competition in training camp and let the best signal-caller win.
In this Commanders' offseason scenario, in one corner is second-year QB Sam Howell. The former North Carolina passer started one game this year (a 26-6 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 18, and didn’t look great. With a full season in the pros under his belt, though, maybe he could improve this offseason enough to challenge for the job.
Behind door No. 2 is a veteran QB picked from a list of Commanders free-agent targets. This could be Taylor Hienicke, but Ron Rivera seems over the Cinderella story after pulling him and giving Wentz his job back in 2022.
If Rivera wants to give another Heinicke-level signal-caller a shot (but not Hienicke) there are plenty of options available. Gardner Minshew, Jarrett Stidham, Tyler Huntley, the Allens (Brandon or Kyle, no relation), Mike White, Sam Darnold, and Baker Mayfield are all available.
So, now that we have Howell and Heinicke 2.0, the Commanders can also draft another late-round QB in this year’s draft and put him in the competition as well. Hendon Hooker (Tennessee), Tanner McKee (Stanford), and Jaren Hall (BYU) are all intriguing prospects.
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