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It's no secret that the Washington Commanders are in dire need of an upgrade in the quarterback position for 2022. Taylor Heinicke did not exactly have an outstanding campaign last term and it comes as no surprise that the front office is currently in search for a new signal-caller for the upcoming season.
Even Commanders general manager Martin Mayhew was not shy about making it known that his team is in a somewhat desperate state to find their new quarterback:
“We feel we have canvassed the league effectively,” Mayhew told reporters at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, via Jack Keim of ESPN. “We've spoken to every club that has a quarterback who might be available.”
Talk about being an open book, right? Mayhew's declaration here can also be a bit of a power play to give them a bit more leverage in the negotiation table. Other teams might be willing to give in to their demands now that he's publicly stated that he's in active negotiations with pretty much the entire league as well.
Mayhew went on to say that they are currently looking at a number of alternatives at the moment:
“There aren't three dozen upgrades to what we have. There are numerous options available to us and we're trying to work through that now,” Mayhew said.
Mayhew's sentiments were echoed by Commanders head coach Ron Rivera, who himself revealed how active Washington has been in the market:
“Every time you hear something, you're checking into it,” Washington coach Ron Rivera told reporters Tuesday. “And so we've got to do our work. We've got to do our due diligence.”
According to Rivers, they are currently looking at four options. The first would be trading for a new QB. The second option is to sign one from free agency. Another alternative would be scooping up a new quarterback via the draft and finally, the fourth, and perhaps most undesirable option would be to stick it out with Heinicke.
“It is very challenging,” Rivera said of finding a franchise quarterback. “I was very fortunate in Carolina. We found our franchise quarterback [Cam Newton] right away. We drafted him. … When you get that guy, it makes things a lot easier. Not having that guy has really put the onus on us.”
Clearly, this hasn't been the case for Washington. How they wish they could get their hands on a guy like Cam Newton.
Mayhew then spoke about the Commanders' lack of success in the market. They appear to be facing the same dilemma they did this time last year. As it turns out, Mayhew is still feeling a bit salty about being beaten out by the Los Angeles Rams in the Matthew Stafford sweepstakes.
“If you don't have a franchise quarterback, you have to have urgency about [finding one] every year,” Mayhew said. “We were very urgent about it last year. I'm not sure that was a fair fight for Matthew last year, I'll leave it there. We did everything we could to find the right guy.”
Well, Stafford did lead the Rams to their first Super Bowl in two decades so it's no surprise that Mayhew is feeling regretful about not being able to land the Pro Bowl quarterback.
At this point, the Commanders are willing to try their luck in the draft. Mayhew seems to like what he's been seeing in the combine and it's very much possible that Washington ends up finding their next cornerstone quarterback in the 2022 NFL Draft:
“This is a quality quarterback class this year,” Mayhew said. “As of right now, I think there may be some separation here at the combine. We may see some of that happening. But we're aware of what our options are as far as next year too. We are looking to address it now, if possible. And that's where our focus is.”
With a record of 7-10, the Commanders finished last season third in the NFC East. Only the lowly New York Giants had a worse record in the conference compared to Washington. Needless to say, it was another forgettable year for the Commanders and it is clear that they are looking to improve significantly for the season ahead.
It also just isn't the quarterback post the Commanders should be worried about. There are a number of issues that need to be addressed in their roster if they hope to put up a more formidable challenge in 2022. Then again, it's only right that they're keeping their focus on their quarterback right now. Once this is out of the way, everything else should fall into place.
