Philly Front Office

It is easy to say that the Washington Commanders’ dreadful 4-10 season went off the rails the moment Jayden Daniels went down in Week 2. That certainly didn’t help and robbed the team of its uber-talented young leader. Without question they would be better with him. However, this completely ignores all of the roster building mistakes the Commanders made in the offseason.

The big deal was trading for Laremy Tunsil and it is emblematic of all the Commanders problems. This isn’t on Tunsil as he has been very good and hasn’t missed a game. However, Washington gave up 4 draft choices to get him including a 2nd and a 4th in the 2026 draft. That’s a big price, but not too much for an All-Pro level tackle for a team just a player away from contention. That’s the rub. Washington was not a player away.

EAGLES at Washington Commanders

Saturday, December 20 at 5p on FOX

Northwest Stadium in Landover, MD

Last year Washington over achieved big time with a rookie QB, a ton of vets, and a great 8-3 record in one score games. Then they beat the very injured #1 seed Lions in the playoffs to advance to the NFC Championship Game where they got their doors blown off by the eventual champs. Washington took that as being one of the league’s elites rather than the result of a well-aged cocktail of luck and circumstance. They doubled down.

In came Tunsil from Houston, Deebo Samuel from SF, Javon Kinlaw from the Jets, and Von Miller from Buffalo. Plus, they brought back 34-year-olds Zach Ertz and Bobby Wagner. Leaving was a ton of draft picks. In fact, Washington only has 2 picks in the first 4 rounds after only having 3 picks in the first 5 rounds last year. That’s how a team gets old, FAST. All of these guys were starters this season. According to Jimmy Kempski, Washington went into the season with damn near half their roster at age 29+. They were almost a full year older collectively than the second oldest team in the league, Pittsburgh. While the Steelers were running out 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers, Washington was building a geriatric squad around 24-year-old Jayden Daniels (happy birthday by the way).

NFL Tank Rank: Fall of the Titans

That last part is the problem. Many teams go very young across the board when they have a rookie QB, choosing a full rebuild. Lucky teams fall into a good rookie QB when the rest of the roster is in their prime (like Denver now and SF previously). That let’s the team contend right away on a cheap contract. Washington seemed to assume that was them, ignoring just how damn old the whole team was. These guys weren’t entering their primes, they were/are leaving it. Tunsil is 32, recently extended WR Terry McLaurin is 30, Von Miller is 36, Bobby Wagner is 35, Zach Ertz is 35, Marshon Lattimore is 29 (and regularly injured), and Deebo is 29. While several have been injured, the real problem is that they simply are not someone younger developing with Daniels. In fact, many of these guys are Washington’s best players. Now they need to be replaced with no one ready to step in.

Compare that to the Eagles. In 2022, the offense was completely in its prime while Jalen Hurts was on his rookie contract, allowing them to contend. The defense had just enough juice left and they made it to the Super Bowl. They have since been able to reload that defense into one of the best units despite being the second YOUNGEST in the league. The offense is now the one getting older and will probably need to start shedding players before they even think about approaching the advanced ages of Washington’s guys (Lane is 35, he’s on borrowed time). Damn near the entire Eagles team is considerably younger than their Washington counterpart and yet Washington still went with their strategy. Where has it left them?

The 2026 Washington Commanders will probably lose Ertz (damn that injury sucks), Bobby Wagner, Von Miller, and other starters. That will certainly make the team younger, but it also robs the team of its best players. They are missing the infrastructure of prime athletes that are supposed to take over for their veterans. That’s what they forfeited last year. Who is Washington’s best player under 30 after Daniels? Not easy, is it? That’s not good.

NFC East Preview ’25: Washington Commanders

They will have a ton of money to spend in free agency, almost $82m with easy access to even more with some cuts¹ and restructures. Washington can and will spend. However, teams can’t fill all their problems through free agency, and the Commanders have holes EVERYWHERE. The offensive line is about the only group not predicted to go into the offseason on life support.

One unexpected position group in need of a lifeline is QB. It’s great having a rookie QB salary to work with, but considering Daniels’ slight frame and injury history, Washington needs a high-end backup. Marcus Mariota cost $8m this year. Is he good enough? Probably not. Kirk Cousins maybe??? Cheaping out on the position is at their own risk.

Washington should have invested in getting younger this offseason. When the season died early, they needed to trade away every vet possible for any draft choices in order to pivot. They did neither. Now they have year 3 of their franchise QB on a cheap salary and don’t know what they are other than untalented. Even if they do everything right this offseason, they will not be a contender again until Daniels is ready for a league breaking extension. It worked for the Eagles, but something tells me Washington isn’t being run by Howie Roseman.

1. Lattimore is good as gone with his $16.5m non-guaranteed salary. ↩︎