A familiar dilemma
As usual, the Commanders face some massive offseason questions.
Associated Press photo
Anyone who’s celebrating the fact that the Washington Commanders are unbeaten in 2026 while teams like the 49ers, Bears, Chiefs, Chargers and Ravens are winless should put away the Kool-Aid and get their meds adjusted.
Yes, Sunday’s road 24-17 victory over the disinterested NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles put a happy face on a disastrous 5-12 season. But you could argue that it actually cost Washington two spots in the first round of next spring’s NFL draft, when the Commanders will desperately need to replenish an aging roster.
And let’s be clear: this franchise is begging for a makeover. The optimism from 2024’s remarkable run to the NFC championship game has been discarded like a dry Christmas tree, and cold reality has set in.
Even amidst last season’s glory, the difference between the Commanders and the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles was obvious in the 55-23 NFC title game rout. A year later, the gap is cavernous, since Washington finished five games behind Philadelphia even with Sunday’s pyrrhic victory.
Coach Dan Quinn survived “Black Monday,” even as Kevin Stefanski, Pete Carroll, Raheem Morris and Jonathan Gannon lost their jobs around the league. Quinn and general manager Adam Peters might not be so fortunate if they’re in the same position next year.
Yes, a plague of injuries sabotaged the Commanders’ hopes in 2025 — especially the ones that limited star quarterback Jayden Daniels to seven appearances and decimated his receiving corps. That doesn’t explain everything, though.
Despite upgrades like left tackle Laremy Tunsil and receiver Deebo Samuel, Washington’s offense sputtered, even on the rare occasions when Daniels was healthy. The defense allowed more yards (384 per game) than any NFL team, ceding 4.8 yards per carry and 33 touchdown passes (third-most in the league). That’s a recipe for six double-digit losses in a league where most games come down to the final possession.
Aside from ensuring Daniels’ health, what can the Commanders do in the offseason to prove that 2024, not 2025, will be more indicative of the team’s trajectory?
First and foremost, they have to get younger and faster. That probably means saying difficult farewells to 30-something veterans like Bobby Wagner, Zach Ertz and Von Miller, whose locker-room presence was valuable but whose on-field performance diminished. Wagner will be a first-ballot hall of famer who became something of a big brother to Daniels, but he was often a liability in pass coverage this season.
The Commanders need a reliable pass rusher, preferably one as dangerous as Miller was a decade ago. The draft features a slew of highly-regarded college edge rushers like Ohio State’s Arvell Reese, Auburn’s Kedric Faulk and Texas Tech’s David Bailey who could be available when Washington picks seventh overall.
Then again, the Commanders sent their second- and fourth-round picks to Houston in the Tunsil deal, so they might consider trading down in the first round if they can find a partner.
The pressure will be on Peters to maximize the few picks he possesses. Although it’s too soon to fully evaluate 2025 draftees Josh Connerly, Trey Amos and Jaylin Lane, Peters’ first two drafts haven’t exactly been overwhelming. Daniels was clearly an instant success, but if he can’t stay healthy, it’ll be worth asking whether the wiser choice might have been Drake Maye, who went one pick after Daniels and is favored to win NFL MVP honors in his second season.
Washington also has an estimated $60 million in effective salary cap space, according to Spotrac, the website that measures sports economics. That number could grow if the Commanders part ways with cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who’s been a major bust since his acquisition in 2023, and inconsistent defensive tackle Daron Payne.
Peters’ high-profile veteran roster moves in his two seasons in charge have ranged from shrewd (Tunsil) to disastrous (Lattimore), with Samuel earning a “Meh” rating. He’ll need to be more on-target this spring, upgrading the secondary, linebacking corps, receivers and tight end. The goodwill that made Washington a desired destination for free agents a year ago has faded a bit.
Then there’s the team’s coaching situation.
Quinn will almost certainly be back, albeit with less job security than he had a year ago. He’ll need to hire a new defensive coordinator after this season’s debacle. Morris, dismissed as Atlanta’s head coach on Sunday night, would be a strong candidate after he served as Quinn’s DC in Atlanta.
Despite this season’s offensive struggles, Kliff Kingsbury reportedly remains a candidate for one of the league’s six (and counting) head coaching vacancies. He did a masterful job of tailoring the Commanders’ attack to fit Daniels’ skills in 2024, but rival defenses seemed to have a better idea of how to contain him early this season, and it’s not clear Kingsbury ever evolved in response. (It’s similar to his early success with Kyler Murray in Arizona.)
It’s been reported that the Commanders are considering moving on from Kingsbury even if he’s not hired elsewhere, but Daniels’ mother, Regina Jackson, praised him on social media Sunday night. Time will tell if that carries any weight.
Anyone who’s watched this franchise over the past few decades recognizes the familiar challenges ahead. The 2025 season looked an awful lot like 2013, when Washington followed up a magical 10-6 division championship behind Robert Griffin III with a 3-13 implosion. The franchise didn’t reach double digits in victories again until 2024.
Sustained success has been fleeting for this team. If the Commanders’ brass doesn’t ace the offseason, 2024 will look like just another aberration. And “Black Monday” in 2027 won’t be pretty.