Commanders links
Articles
Washington Post (paywall)
Bobby Wagner, the Commanders’ defensive leader, is staying put
His return keeps the middle of the Commanders’ defense intact amid another year of potential upheaval. Wagner and Frankie Luvu worked well in tandem at linebacker in their first season together, but the Commanders still have 26 players headed for free agency.
“Bobby Wagner is somewhere getting better today,” Quinn said at the NFL combine last month in Indianapolis. “I don’t know where it is or what it looks like or how he’s doing it, but that’s the type of attitude that we want to chase. Constant improvement, digging for it hard. And if he can do it, then everybody else in the organization kind of follows suit into that space.”
Wagner, who will turn 35 in June, brought leadership from the start — just as Quinn anticipated. He was instantly respected for his résumé — a Super Bowl XLVIII win with the Seahawks, multiple years of leading the league in tackles and a slew of accolades — and his work ethic.
NFL.com
Charles Davis 2025 NFL mock draft 1.0
Pick 29 - Washington Commanders - Matthew Golden - Texas · WR · Junior
The Commanders’ receiver room could be undergoing an enticing makeover, with the trade for Deebo Samuel being the first move. Golden would be a tremendous addition, fitting well alongside Samuel and WR1 Terry McLaurin.
Commanders.com
2025 free agency preview | Defensive skill players
The opinions expressed in this article do not reflect those of the team.
The Commanders also have 28 pending free agents on their roster, including several players who contributed to their success. So, Peters said, the team will be active in free agency because “we have to” in order to put together a roster. That means much of Washington’s capital will be dedicated to retaining its own talent.
Still, there are opportunities for the Commanders to improve their roster in 2025, so in anticipation of free agency opening on March 13 at 4 p.m., Commanders.com is going to look at some of the top players set to become available on each side of the ball. After starting with the offensive skill players, we’re moving on to the cornerbacks, safeties and linebackers.
— CB Charvarius Ward: Ward dealt with tragedy last year when his 1-year-old daughter passed away due to heart problems, so it’s understandable that his production took a dip from the Second Team All-Pro year he had in 2024. Ward had five interceptions and led the league with 23 pass breakups that season, and at 28 years old, he still had some quality seasons in front of him.
— CB D.J. Reed: Reed has been one of the New York Jets’ bright spots since he signed there in 2022. He recorded two double-digit pass breakup campaigns with them and had 220 tackles with them. He could be a good option for a team looking to acquire a No. 2 cornerback.
Riggo’s Rag
Trey Hendrickson offers an ideal alternative to a Myles Garrett trade for Washington
Trey Hendrickson is a name to watch. The Cincinnati Bengals have permitted the defensive end to seek a trade, focusing their attention on retaining the offensive playmakers around Joe Burrow. Jordan Schultz from FOX Sports revealed that the Commanders are among the teams expected to show interest. Whether they can get something worked out is another matter.
Hendrickson’s been among the league’s most prolific edge defenders for the last five seasons. He’s taken his game to new heights over the previous two, gaining 35 sacks and becoming a relentless force against the run for good measure.
Hitting the sweet spot from a compensation perspective is the tricky part.
Hendrickson would make any team better. This is a business decision by the Bengals — a calculated risk done with no intent other than to keep Burrow happy. There will be a robust market for the Florida Atlantic product, who emerged from relative obscurity over his first two seasons with the New Orleans Saints to rack up 77 career sacks to date.
Peters will make a call. Hendrickson’s on-field production, leadership, and relentless mindset represent an outstanding fit for the Commanders. Washington might be put off by the compensation, but they have to try.
If Peters managed to pull this off, it’s the biggest trade he’s made since taking the job, clearing Marshon Lattimore and Samuel by a considerable margin. It would also make the league sit up and take notice — not for the first time in his brief tenure.
Commanders Wire
How much will it cost Commanders to trade for Bengals’ Trey Hendrickson?
CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones discussed what it would take to acquire Hendrickson.
“So, in terms of trade compensation to secure Trey Hendrickson, talked with a couple of executives via text earlier and it came back almost unanimous where it would be the Khalil Mack-like trade,” Jones said. “So, go back to when Khalil Mack was dealt to the Chargers, the Chargers got Khalil Mack, and really it was about a second-round pick. There was a sixth-round pick involved there. But for all intents and purposes, let’s just say it’s the player for a second-round pick. Well, Khalil Mack was also already under contract. Because Trey Hendrickson, no matter where he gets dealt, will certainly have to get an extension, you’re probably going to lessen the trade compensation. So, let’s just say it’s a third-round pick. Go back to last year. Brian Burns got dealt; he was a high second-round pick, but he also got paid. He’s also much younger than Trey Hendrickson. So, I think, probably a fair, you can call it a conservative estimate, but probably a fair estimate, is if the Bengals can get a high three, they would love a low two, but at the end of it, if they are going to deal Trey Hendrickson, it’s probably going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of a high three to ship him out.”
Podcasts & videos
Command Center Wrapped! Best Plays of 2024, Offensive Breakdown, and MVPs | Command Center
NFC East links
Bleeding Green Nation
The Saquon Barkley contract is probably bad. So what?
In the early days of the football analytics movement, Football Outsiders (RIP) published the polemic “Curse of 370.”
A running back with 370 or more carries during the regular season will usually suffer either a major injury or a loss of effectiveness the following year, unless he is named Eric Dickerson.
Terrell Davis, Jamal Anderson, and Edgerrin James all blew out their knees. Earl Campbell, Jamal Lewis, and Eddie George went from legendary powerhouses to plodding, replacement-level players. Shaun Alexander struggled with foot injuries, and Curtis Martin had to retire. This is what happens when a running back is overworked to the point of having at least 370 carries during the regular season.
While there were some issues with this, such as arbitrary endpoints–which they acknowledged–and survivorship bias, the general point was true: running backs are not the bellcow that we thought they were. The league took notice. In the four season prior to the Curse of 370 being published in 2004, six players had had 370 or more rushing attempts in the regular season, since then, only six have.
Something must be the least important position on offense, and for years it has been the running back. The position is enjoying a bit of a renaissance with Saquon Barkley topping 2000 yards, Derrick Henry nearly hitting that mark for a second time, and high draft picks Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs being successes.
But nothing can change that a back who takes a beating eventually pays the price. Saquon Barkley had 370 touches in the regular season, and 104 in the playoffs.
A year ago signing Barkley was seemingly against the grain, Howie Roseman did not invest in running backs because they weren’t worth the money. But Barkley didn’t get the kind of big contract that made Roseman stay away from the position, he got WR3 money. Roseman pounced because the market came to him. Now, giving Barkley a big contract extension after one high usage season negates the advantages of having an elite RB at the cost of a complimentary WR.
But so what. The Eagles are defending Super Bowl winners. Every year teams double down on a roster that has no chance. No team has a better chance than the Eagles to win the Super Bowl next year. They’re not locking up the core of a 9 to 11 win team and hoping to catch a break. They’re not locking up an aging roster hoping for a swan song season. This is the best team in the league, and they have a trophy to prove it.
Big Blue View
Report — Giants ‘seriously considering’ Aaron Rodgers
Sides said to be “significantly down a road” that could make it happen
Giants beat writer Art Stapleton said Thursday on the ‘Pat McAfee Show’ that the Giants and Rodgers are “pretty significantly down a road” that could lead to the 41-year-old Rodgers being the team’s quarterback in 2025.
“If Aaron Rodgers ends up as a Giant before the start of the league year it would not be a shock,” Stapleton said.
“My understanding is, yes, they have talked about what it would take to get Aaron here with the Giants. My understanding is that at every turn the Giants have yet to be scared off ... I think from a football fit this is something that they’re seriously considering.”
Big Blue View readers know that I recently came out as strongly opposed to the idea of Rodgers being the Giants’ quarterback in 2025. Here is part of what I wrote:
Signing Rodgers would be a desperation play by Schoen and Daboll. It would be the kind of short-sighted, self-preservation ‘Hail Mary’ that Schoen promised not to make this offseason despite understanding fully the kind of heat he would be under to field a better product in 2025.
More importantly, a move for the egotistical, spotlight-seeking, shell of the quarterback he once was 41-year-old Rodgers would almost certainly fail spectacularly. And get Schoen and Daboll fired.
NFL league links
Articles
Front Office Sports
NFL Free Agency Hasn’t Begun, but Biggest Pay May Come to Traded Stars
Seattle is seeking a first- and third-round pick in exchange for Metcalf, according to The Athletic.
While this is likely the Seahawks’ initial asking price, a first- and third-rounder for Metcalf is similar to the haul the Titans received when they traded A.J. Brown to the Eagles in 2022. However, Brown was 24 at the time. Metcalf is currently 27.
Another complicating factor in a potential Metcalf trade is his contract. He is entering the final year of a three-year, $72 million deal and has a $31.8 million cap hit—currently the highest in the NFL, per Over The Cap.
The Athletic reported Metcalf is seeking a deal that would pay him $30 million a year, which would put him in a tie with Tyreek Hill and Brandon Aiyuk as the fifth-highest-paid wide receiver in terms of average annual value.
Hendrickson was one of their few bright spots on [the Bengals’] defense, leading the league with 17.5 sacks last season.
The 30-year-old was on a four-year, $60 million deal that ran through 2024, but he signed a one-year extension in 2023 for $21 million. Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby just became the highest-paid non-quarterback in football, signing an extension worth $35.5 million per year. Hendrickson clearly noticed.
Discussion topics
Barstool Sports
The Jets Aren’t Saying It Out Loud But The Tanking Seems To Have Already Started
For a fan base very familiar (the most familiar?) with bad football, things look like they are going to be horrific for the Jets next year.
It’s not just losing Davante Adams. Cornerback D.J. Reed (The Athletic has him as the 11th best free agent. it has Adams as the 4th) is out of here. So is Haason Reddick (26th) and likely Allen Lazard. Oh yeah, Aaron Rodgers (24th) is gone too. That’s a lot of players to lose from a shitty team that went 5-12 last year. This isn’t like losing some pieces from the ‘85 Bears. This Jets team sucked ass already.
But what really struck me was this report by Rosenblatt. You’re telling me a team with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback and all of these pieces going out the door…the first moves the Jets are looking at making are Tim Patrick and Josh Palmer?
Poor Tim Patrick over the past three years total has the following stat line:
1 ACL Tear
1 Achilles Tear
394 Receiving Yards
Oh, he’s also going to be 32 years old.
Don’t get me wrong. I give Patrick a ton of credit for coming back from those injuries and working so hard. He was a really nice player for a very good Lions team last year. He’s a perfect extra piece for a good team. He should be no one’s free agent priority.
All aTwitter
The #Commanders are re-signing standout LB Bobby Wagner, as the leader and playmaker is back with Washington, per me and @MikeGarafolo.
A key piece, Wagner and the team agreed on a strong 1-year deal worth up to $9.5M with $8M guaranteed. Wagner represented himself on the deal. pic.twitter.com/Z3fT4ZeCZf
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 6, 2025
Bobby Wagner in the 2024 season - his age-34 season:
No. 1 among NFL LBs in PFF pass-rush grade at 91.0
No. 3 among NFL LBs in PFF run-defense grade at 90.8
No. 1 on Commanders in defensive snaps at 98.98%
And he did all of this while working toward an MBA at Howard.
Legend.
— Al Galdi (@AlGaldi) March 7, 2025
Wagner played far better than I expected him to last year. Still a good run defender and the #Commanders managed to mitigate his coverage concerns by blitzing him a lot, which he was good at. But his leadership is huge in that locker room. Had to be back
— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) March 6, 2025
Would love to see them bring someone along behind Wagner. Might well be Jordan Magee. Don’t necessarily want Wagner playing 100% of the snaps again and want someone ready to take over when he does call it a day. But this was a key re-signing
— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) March 6, 2025
Have to imagine Ertz is next. Understand fans want to get younger, but the vets were almost all hits last year. Brought the right culture. Ertz often spoke about at his age it’s about impact not stats. Selflessness like that was huge part of team identity and why they went so far
— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) March 6, 2025
Dianna here reporting that DK wants to get paid, play somewhere warm and desires a “more stable” quarterback situation. https://t.co/tSphlCUFTt
— Dugar, Michael-Shawn (@MikeDugar) March 7, 2025
It’s all love Jax. But they just let a mf dog loose! Excited for what’s next! #BeEazy
— Evan Engram (@eazyengram) March 7, 2025
Trey Hendrickson is so much more than just a sack-compiler. Although, that's a pretty good thing to be.
He's a star pass rusher and a disruptor. He hits QBs and generates TFLs in the run game. (Via @fball_insights). pic.twitter.com/hFAM55eJUj
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) March 7, 2025
The first major #RAS update in quite some time is LIVE!
The Position Switcher, which is beneath every player card on the site, now contains brand new positions we haven't looked at before!
This will allow us to bring in positions like ED (EDGE), NT, NB, and others! pic.twitter.com/dSES2CUIK9
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 7, 2025
Right now, it only contains positions that we created by combining other positions. This gives us useful insight on things like comparing all interior offensive linemen (IL), all safeties (TS), or combining WR and CB to compare like for like (OP).
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 7, 2025
Wednesday was supposed to be "Tyler Lockett Day" in Seattle. It became "D.K. Metcalf Could Be Traded Day." And the Seahawks aren't happy about that. https://t.co/3IAZBuzgb9
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 7, 2025
: A young 49ers fan gets trolled by Megatron at Universal Studios:
“Maybe you will grow to be a winner unlike the 49ers... the Eagles got it done but you didn't”
pic.twitter.com/H0nB4BeEcv
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) March 7, 2025