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The “Alabama Wall” is no more; the Commanders, on Friday, released Jonathan Allen, bringing an inglorious end to the career of one of Washington’s cornerstone players. In a draft that Daniel Jeremiah describes as being so thick with starting quality defensive tackles that they can be picked up like fallen apples in an orchard, Adam Peters may be hoping to take advantage of that depth in a draft where he has no picks at all between #80 and #200.
2024 roster
Jonathan Allen was released on Friday, giving him a couple of days’ head start on pending free agents whose contracts will expire on Wednesday, March 12th. Allen was drafted 17th overall in the 2017 draft when he was considered a ‘steal’ due to unfounded medical concerns regarding arthritis in his shoulders. Allen, who, prior to his release had been one of only a handful of players whose tenure dated back to the Jay Gruden era, built a good career in DC and a very strong reputation among NFL fans and opposing players.
Jon Allen wasted his best years with bad coaching and bad teams.
Gave us a lot of "this sh-t needs to change" post game speeches, and when it finally started to chang,e he's gone
Cold world#RaiseHail
— Denton Day (D-Day) (@TheDentonDay) March 7, 2025
His on-field impact had been reduced over the past couple of seasons, particularly with a pectoral tear in ‘24 costing him more than half the regular season. His work ethic, desire and leadership remained points of pride, though frustration flared several times in 2023.
This is how I will remember Jonathan Allen
You have no idea how many times I said this as a Fan
I feel bad for him but wish him nothing but the best! Thank you for everything #RaiseHailpic.twitter.com/s1bVh9P88i
— Simone Love (@SimoneBett) March 7, 2025
He will unquestionably land a roster spot playing a significant role with another team in 2025, but, similar to now-assistant coach Ryan Kerrigan — a Washington first round pick who played 10 seasons with the burgundy & gold before finishing his career with the Eagles — his time as a starter in Washington had run its course.
The other half of the “Alabama Wall”, Daron Payne, is basically following the same career track as Allen. Payne has two years remaining on his contract, but, absent a massive upswing in on-field impact in 2025, it’s easy to imagine Payne being released in 2026, the final year of his contract, when the team would realized a $16.8m cap savings. To avoid that fate, Payne needs to rediscover his form from 2022 when he tallied 11.5 sacks, 5 batted passes and a fumble recovery. He will also need to be part of an overall improvement in run defense this season.
Johnny Newton, a second-round pick in last year’s draft who, not unlike Jon Allen, was also seen as a ‘steal’ when he slid in the draft due to medical concerns about his foot (later, feet), was adversely impacted by those health concerns during training camp and the early part of his rookie season. However, Newton, partly due to the injury to John Allen, played 55%+ of the defensive snaps in 7 of the final 10 regular season games, and averaged 38% of the defensive snaps in the 3 playoff games. Despite being undersized from a physical standpoint, Newton is seen as a young player with a high ceiling, and the Commanders will be looking for him to play a key role in 2025 alongside of Payne and (probably) a drafted rookie to replace Jon Allen.
Sheldon Day is a 7-year veteran signed a one-year, $1.2m deal with Washington last season, and he played 272 defensive snaps. I thought he provided good value as a backup and would welcome the 31-year-old back on a similar deal in 2025 if he wants to return; however, Adam Peters will have opportunities to potentially upgrade this roster spot.
Norell Pollard was an undrafted free agent out of Virginia Tech a year ago who ended up spending his entire rookie season on IR with an undisclosed (preseason) injury. As a UDFA, Pollard signed a 3-year contract, so he should be with the team again this offseason. Pollard is smaller than Johnny Newton, but he’s an elite athlete and put up some of the best pass rushing metrics in college football as a senior. In fact, his pass rush win rate was better than even Newton’s in 2023.
2025 Estimated cap space and free agency options
Following the release of Jonathan Allen on Friday, the Commanders have an estimated Effective Cap Space of about $74.1m.
NOTE: Earlier this week, Washington announced the re-signing of kicker Zane Gonzalez, and it was confirmed that All Pro LB Bobby Wagner has been re-signed as well.
Both contracts were reported to be one-year deals — Gonzalez for an estimated $1.2m and Wagner for a reported $8m guaranteed plus incentives. Neither has (yet) been added to the Over the Cap database and so neither is included in these figures.
It seems probable that the two signings (together) will reduce Commanders estimated cap space by just over $9m.
The breakdown looks like this:
Current estimated available cap space (46 players): $80.76m
Less: Cap space required to sign draft picks: $8.32m
Add back: Rule of 51 offsets/other adjustments: $1.67m
2025 Effective Cap Space: $74.11m
Less: allowance for injury replacement during season: $5.11m
2025 Cap space available for signing/re-signing veteran free agents: $69m
(If you reduce the available space for the extensions for Wagner & Gonzalez, roughly an estimated $60m in cap space would remain for free agency at the moment.)
The Commanders have two clear pieces to the 2025 DT puzzle in Daron Payne and Johnny Newton. It seems likely that one of the team’s April draft picks will go to another big-bodied defensive lineman who can help bolster the run defense and pass rush, providing immediate help and future upside.
While Sheldon Day provided good value on a low-dollar contract, look for Adam Peters to sign another veteran to help the Commanders build a roster bridge between the 7-year veteran Daron Payne and younger players like Newton and any rookie(s) that may be added in April/May.
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 defensive tackles 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
Poll
In which round will Adam Peters first draft an interior defensive lineman in the 2025 draft?
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1
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2
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3
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4th or 5th received in trade
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6
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7
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he won’t draft one this year
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0 votes total Vote Now
Poll
Will Daron Payne be on the Commanders 2026 roster?
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Yes
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No
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0 votes total Vote Now