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Washington’s defensive end position is an almost empty glass glass as we near the NFL’s annual free agency period. The Commanders have only three players under contract at the position. Adam Peters will need to dig his Harry Potter wand out of the back of the closet and work a bit of magic over the next three months.
2024 roster
Dorance Armstrong was signed from the Cowboys to a 3-year, $33m contract last offseason. Twenty-eight edge rushers earned more per-season than Armstrong, who was in a salary group with Za’Darius Smith, Matt Judon, Frankie Luvu, Josh Sweat and a few others.
You can see that this group of players tended to produce 4 to 8 sacks each in 2024. Armstrong seems to slot in correctly a this contract price point. Known for his athleticism, Armstrong has shown the ability to pressure the quarterback and contribute to the defensive line. While not always a standout, he is consistent and reliable.
Anrde Jones Jr and Javontae Jean-Baptiste were both drafted in the 7th round; Jones in 2023 by Ron Rivera and Jean-Baptiste in 2024 by Adam Peters. Jones was active for just 2 games and played just 17 defensive snaps last year. He was almost a ghost on the 53-man roster. Jean-Baptiste missed 5 games in the middle of his rookie season (and played just 11 snaps in 2 weeks in early December) but in the other 10 regular season games, both early and late, he played between 10 and 30 snaps per game, and had 54 defensive snaps in 3 playoff games. Jean-Baptiste seems to have used his rookie season to set the table for a stable career as a rotational defensive end.
Clelin Ferrell, Dante Fowler, and Jalyn Holmes (a DT who often lined up outside the OT) are all pending free agents who will need to be re-signed or replaced.
2025 Estimated cap space and free agency options
The NFL announced last week that the league-wide salary cap will be $279.2m. Following the trade for Deebo Samuel, which Over the Cap is treating as a $17.46m cap charge for Washington in 2025, the Commanders have an estimated Effective Cap Space of about $58.65m.
The breakdown looks like this:
Current estimated available cap space (46 players): $64.45m
Less: Cap space required to sign draft picks: $8.32m
Add back: Rule of 51 offsets/other adjustments: $2.52m
2025 Effective Cap Space: $58.65m
Less: allowance for injury replacement during season: $5.65m
2025 Cap space available for signing/re-signing veteran free agents: $53m
The Commanders need to acquire 2 or 3 players capable of playing DE at a high level.
One possibility that has been much-discussed is trading for Myles Garrett. We won’t consider that possibility here since it has been the subject of numerous other articles and, for the moment, the Browns continue to insist they aren’t trading him.
Washington will need to sign at least one talented veteran free agent, and maybe two, given the limited number of early-round draft picks the team has (3 picks in the 80, and then nothing until after 200).
Last year’s acquisition of Dante Fowler on a budget contract worked out well, but the signing of Clelin Ferrell on a similarly priced contract was less successful. Many fans observed that the Commanders defensive struggles to contain opposing running backs may have been a function of below-par DE play that needs to be corrected in 2025.
For a full list of upcoming free agents, CLICK HERE
The list can be sorted by team or position.
Of course, some — maybe even most — of the most talented of these players will re-sign with their current teams, but Washington should be a popular destination for free agents looking for an opportunity to get to the playoffs with a dynamic quarterback. Washington should offer more appeal to high-quality free agents than at any other time in this century.
Options in the NFL Draft
Below is a list of college edge rushers who will be entering the NFL via the draft in April, ranked by CBS Sports.
The overall rank in the left column can provide some general guidance about which round each player is expected to be drafted in, though such rankings are highly subjective and likely to change substantially between now and the end of April.
Washington holds the following draft picks (per Tankathon):
POLL QUESTION
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How will Washington acquire the player who starts opposite Dorance Armstrong in 2025?
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Veteran free agency
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