BY NOAH KRAVITZ
Staff Writer
It has been a thrilling offseason for the Commanders, to say the least. They have taken advantage of every opportunity thrown at them this offseason.
After another disappointing season, the team’s new ownership—led by Josh Harris and well-known NBA legend Magic Johnson—went right to work. They had a task at hand: to find their new general manager to help put a winning team together. They had many names in mind, but no one better than former 49ers assistant general manager Adam Peters.
Peters, who has nearly 20 years of experience in the NFL, is widely considered as one of the most coveted front office executives in the NFL today. From that perspective, it was a no-brainer to promote Peters to Washington’s general manager position. This was a big step towards a new era of Commanders football.
After the hiring of Peters, the team began its search for the head coaching position, after they relieved Ron Rivera of his duties last season. Candidates for the position included former Super Bowl winning head coach Bill Belichick, Mike Macdonald, and Aaron Glenn, among others.
They went with Dan Quinn as their new leader. He was most recently the defensive coordinator for the Cowboys, whose defense allowed the fourth-lowest completion percentage against opponents last year. He was, however, also the head coach for the Atlanta Falcons when they went to the Super Bowl in 2016, and blew the largest lead in history during the big game: 28-3, to be exact.
Despite all that, Quinn is sure to provide a new perspective in Washington, for a team that is desperate to put a winner on the field.
Not to be outdone, Kliff Kingsbury also got hired to the team to oversee the offensive coordinator duties. He formerly coached for the USC Trojians in college football, and was the Arizona Cardinals’ head coach for four seasons prior.
The free agency tampering period began back on March 13, and since then, teams have completed lots of moves.
The Atlanta Falcons gave out the richest contract this offseason so far, with Kirk Cousins agreeing to a massive 4-year contract worth up to $180 million.
Entering the offseason, the Commanders had one of the biggest amounts of salary cap in the NFL. This being due to the NFL announcing that the official salary cap figure for the 2024 season would be set at $255.4 million, a $30.6 million increase from last season.
Especially for a team that had a lot of holes to fill on their roster, having a lot of money on hand to spend would be a big benefit.
Their two most expensive signings so far consisted of Dorance Armstrong and Frankie Luvu. Armstrong last played for the Dallas Cowboys as a defensive end, where he recorded 7.5 sacks last season, and received a three-year deal with Washington.
Luvu also signed a three-year deal with the Commanders. He recorded his career highs in sacks and in forced fumbles last season. Luvu could be a very good piece in the middle of that Washington defense in the 2024 season.
On the offensive side of the ball, Adam Peters had a big task at hand: to improve his offensive line. Last season, their offensive line ranked 30th in all the NFL according to ProFootballTalk. Every offense in the NFL is primarily built off of the offensive line, which makes it such a key component in today’s game.
Former Kansas City Chiefs’ guard Nick Allegretti and former Dallas Cowboys center Tyler Biadasz filled two big glaring holes on the offensive line.
Another significant move on the offense was the signing of Austin Ekeler, who formerly played running back for the Los Angeles Chargers. Ekeler had a down year last season, only putting up just beyond 600 yards rushing, as well as 5 rushing touchdowns. He’ll be given the opportunity to compete for the #1 running back spot on the depth chart, against Brian Robinson.
It’s been a ‘Free Agency Frenzy,’ as some Commanders fans would describe this offseason so far.
A bigger frenzy was arguably the 2024 NFL Draft, which was witnessed last week. The biggest task at hand for Peters, Quinn, and Kingsbury was to draft the team’s franchise quaterback for the foreseeable future. They held the 2nd overall selection, behind the Chicago Bears, who took the unanimous #1 quarterback in the draft: Caleb Williams.
Following them, the Commanders had to decide between UNC QB: Drake Maye, and reigning Heisman Trophy winning QB from LSU: Jayden Daniels.
They ultimately went with the 6’4″ dual threat QB, Jayden Daniels at #2. Daniels shows elite athleticism, not only as an experienced passer, but as a very dangerous and speedy runner as well. Daniels is still a work in progress in terms of his footwork and his frame. But if he can gain a few pounds and work on some of the intangibles, he could be a very dominant quarterback in the NFL for years to come.
Following the first round, the Commanders scooped up what many believed to be at least a first round target, in Jer’Zhan Newton. The big D-lineman from Illinois fell all the way to the 40th overall pick where Adam Peters just couldn’t pass up a talent in Newton.
Later on, Washington took Michigan corner Mike Sainristil, tight end Ben Stinott, and tackle Brandon Coleman from TCU. One of the more underrated picks of the draft was Luke McCaffrey out of Rice. You may recognize the last name, with his brother Christian McCaffrey playing running back for the 49ers.
Luke was taken at 100th overall. He plays wide receiver, who was a First Team All American in the AAC.
Overall, it’s been a really entertaining offseason for the Washington Commanders. They’ve added a ton of talent on both sides of the ball, and we are sure to see more of that later in the offseason.
May 2024
The Prowler 