It’s a pretty simple strategy as the Washington Commanders target the top free agents. But who they chase below the top of the wish list is a different story. And here are two free agents the Commanders must avoid signing in 2026 NFL free agency.
Washington needs plenty of help on the defensive side of the ball. They need players to get after the quarterback. They needed a stabilizing linebacker. And they needed a secondary piece.
One player who doesn’t make sense for the Commanders is a future Hall of Famer.
Commanders must avoid WR Mike Evans
If the Commanders entered the 2026 offseason needing just one or two pieces to put them over the top, Evans might be a good fit. But they aren’t. Far from it.
And Father Time says Evans doesn’t have any more standout NFL seasons remaining. The six-time Pro Bowl standout played only eight games in 2025. He caught only 30 passes and scored a career-low-tying three touchdowns.
Hear that laugh? That’s Father Time.
Sure, if Evans could play 17 games, he would surely threaten 1,000 yards receiving. But while Evans can still ball out, it’s hard to bet free-agent dollars that the body will cooperate.
Evans will likely cost $26.6 million over two seasons. Now, let’s get down to the nuts and bolts of that money. The Commanders, some say stupidly, committed $97 million to Terry McLaurin. If they signed Evans, they would have two receivers with a combined 2026-season age of 64 years old, and they would be over $40 million on the books for that geriatric duo.
Yes, when you put it that way, Father Time is horse laughing.
Evans is too old. And if the Commanders are really committed to getting younger and faster, Evans is older and slower. No, thank you.
Sure, some believe in Evans, still, according to The Athletic.
“He still has a rare size-speed-physicality blend,” Daniel Popper wrote. “Evans is elite at the catch point in 50-50 situations. He is tough to handle at the line of scrimmage, even for bigger corners. And he is a three-level threat who can win in the short, intermediate, and deep parts of the field.
“Evans was finally healthy for a Week 15 game against the Atlanta Falcons. He caught six passes for 132 yards. This game showed he still has the goods, though health will be a factor as Evans enters his age 33 season.”
Yes, Evans can still deliver 100-yard games. But 1,000-yard seasons? What do you think, Father Time? Stop laughing. It’s cruel.
Commanders should avoid CB Riq Woolen
Blame it on Marshon Lattimore. The Commanders spent big in a trade to get Lattimore, and he turned out to be awful at the cornerback position.
And here comes Woolen. NFL observers are talking him up. But let’s consider the overall picture. After collecting six interceptions in his rookie year, Woolen got some things done in the 2023 season. In 15 starting assignments, he had two picks and 11 passes defended.
Then in 2024, he excelled with three interceptions and 14 passes defended.
However, in 2025, he flopped to the point of being benched. He appeared in 16 games but started only seven. There were rumors that the Seahawks wanted to trade him.
Woolen made a comeback and did much better down the stretch, according to heraldnet.com. Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald, genius that he is, moved Woolen to the sixth defensive back position.
“And (Woolen) improved, to the point of excelling,” Gregg Bell wrote back in mid-January. “He has eliminated his penalties. He is making plays on passes in the air. And he has been making sure tackles immediately after catches, part of a key trend on the NFL’s best scoring defense of limiting yards after catches.”
And Macdonald praised Woolen for handling the benching.
“I think those are kind of expectations you have for your guys,” Macdonald said. “That’s how we want to handle those situations. Sometimes it comes different ways, and guys have different ways of reacting to it. But that’s kind of the types of guys we want around here. And Riq is one of those guys. He’s done a great job.”
But the problem with signing Woolen is expecting him to excel as THE GUY. Nobody is giving him over $8 million, according to Spotrac, to be a good No. 6 defensive back. They would expect him to be a No. 2 guy, at the least.
And then you might see Woolen backtrack into the guy the Seahawks seemed to want to get away from.
And keep this in mind. Woolen nearly cost his team a Super Bowl title. He probably should have. Woolen made a great play with his team leading 31-20 late in the third quarter of the NFC Championship game. But Woolen taunted the Rams and drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
On the next play after his penalty, Woolen got smoked by Puka Nacua for a touchdown, and the game changed dramatically.
The Seahawks won, somehow denying the Rams and Matthew Stafford at the goal line late in the fourth quarter.
Sure, all players make mistakes. But a terrible start to the 2025 season, a demotion, and then a boneheaded play in a huge game made Woolen look less than desirable.
And it goes back to Lattimore. The Commanders already had their fill of Lattimore being unable to control his emotions from the cornerback. They don't need another guy who would come in and perhaps do similar things.
No, thank you.
