The Washington Commanders had a decent season in 2022 but missed the playoffs with an 8-8-1 record. This NFL offseason, the franchise is making some big moves, though, that started with hiring Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. That is just the first step toward the playoffs in 2023, and we’ll cover the rest in these bold Commanders offseason predictions.

The Commanders are a team will lots of playoff-caliber pieces on the roster but they don’t have the most important piece, a franchise quarterback. This NFL offseason, the team will have to do two things to improve next season. They need to keep building on the solid foundation they have and find a quarterback.

Hiring Eric Bieniemy, who helped develop Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City, is a good step on the quarterback front for Sam Howell. The rest is up to general manager Martin Mayhew and head coach Ron Rivera. Here are four bold Commanders offseason predictions as to what this Commanders' brain trust will do in 2023.

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4. Cut Carson Wentz

In 2022, the Commanders learned a lesson that the Indianapolis Colt learned in 2021, and the Philadelphia Eagles learned before that. Carson Wentz is not a franchise quarterback.

Last season, Washington took a flyer on Wentz, and it did not go well. The QB was 2-5 as a starter last season and lost his job for the majority of the season (both due to injury and performance) to Taylor Heinicke.

The good news is that it didn’t cost the Commanders a ton to take a chance on Wentz. They sent the Colts two second-round picks (2022, 2023) and a third (2022) for Wentz and 2022 second- and seventh-round picks.

And now, Wentz’s contract has a $26.1 million cap hit but no dead cap. That means the Commanders will cut the QB this NFL offseason and save the entire $26.1 million.

Not having a second-round pick this NFL offseason isn’t ideal, but overall, getting out of the Wentz deal relatively unscathed isn’t the worst outcome for the Commanders.

3. Pay Daron Payne, Wes Schweitzer, and Trai Turner

The Commanders don’t have a ton of free agents this offseason, but they do have two key ones.

Defensive tackle Daron Payne and offensive linemen Wes Schweitzer and Trai Turner are all unrestricted free agents this NFL offseason, and the bold Commanders offseason prediction here is that the team re-signs them.

Payne is part of an all-first-round-pick defensive line that wasn’t at full strength last season with Chase Young out recovering from an ACL tear for most of the year. Bringing Payne back keeps the D-line a strength of the team, and the Commanders need that in 2023.

The same is true on the other side of the trenches, as the Commanders offensive line struggled with injuries last season. That means depth must be a priority, and re-signing Schweitzer and Trai Turner is a good start to building that depth.

2. Draft a cornerback

The Commanders had a top-10 scoring defense (No. 7) last season and a top-five passing D (No. 4). That doesn’t mean the franchise should stop building on the unit in the 2023 NFL offseason, though.

Washington has Kendall Fuller on the outside and Benjamin St-Juste, who is best in the slot. That leaves the team lacking at the CB2 spot.

With the No. 16 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, there should be several potential shutdown cornerback prospects available, and the Commanders should jump on them. That’s the bold Commanders offseason prediction for the draft that the team takes a CB.

Joey Porter Jr. from Penn State, Christian Gonzalez from Oregon, and Devon Witherspoon from Illinois could all be available when Washington drafts. Of that trio, Witherspoon is the best fit as a lockdown cover man who can patrol the opposite side from Fuller.

1. Develop Sam Howell as a franchise QB

All the above bold Commanders offseason predictions are fine, but they may all be for naught if the team doesn’t find a viable QB in 2023.

With Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke likely gone, that leaves last year’s fifth-round pick, Sam Howell, as the only QB on the roster after the team cuts Wentz.

Howell made one start last season and played well. In Week 18, the former North Carolina signal-caller went 11-of-19 for 169 yards with a touchdown and an interception in a 26-6 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

With Eric Bieniemy now on board, look for him to develop Howell and have the Commanders roll into training camp with the youngster at QB1. That said, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if the team drafts another later-round QB in this year’s draft and signs a veteran like Teddy Bridgewater or Andy Dalton.