NFL Insider Blasts Commanders Front Office for ‘Playing Games’ With Roster
If this truly ends up being a lost season for the Washington Commanders, it’s not a stretch to say there is one particular incident we can look at as the source.
That thing? The franchise’s unwillingness to cut a deal with NFL All-Pro wide receiver Terry McLaurin.
The decision to not sign McLaurin immediately after the season — when the price would have been lowest — and drag it out until right before the regular season seems to be the biggest culprit in the Commanders getting off to a 3-4 start in the 2025 regular season.
The Commanders eventually signed McLaurin to a 3-year, $97 million contract extension on August 25 — less than 2 weeks before the season opener against the New York Giants — but not after costing themselves and second year quarterback Jayden Daniels an entire offseason of training and throwing with his top target.
Now, McLaurin is in the middle of the worst season of his career and has missed the last 4 games with a quad injury/hip flexor. Daniels is also hurt, once again, after injuring his hamstring in a 40-22 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 6 and has already missed 2 games with a knee sprain.
The whole situation is made even worse after the Commanders went 12-5 and made the NFC Championship Game in 2024 for the first time since 1991 and entered this season as legitimate Super Bowl contenders.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith went on “First Take” on Tuesday, October 21, and placed the Commanders’ struggles squarely on the shoulders of ownership and general manager Adam Peters who trying to outmaneuver McLaurin in negotiations.
“The Commanders have messed this season up,” Smith said. ” … They really messed it up. The Washington Commanders messed up because they took for granted what happened last year. They thought they could play games. I’m blaming their front office for anything that’s happened this season. Take into account the quad (injury) as being in football shape and being in proper condition (for McLaurin). They let business get in the way of the business of winning games and now it’s messing with them on the football field.”
Commanders Made Bizarre Personnel Moves
Not signing McLaurin when it was obvious to everyone in the football world that was the right move was just part of a series of roster moves the Commanders made that didn’t totally make sense.
While the knee jerk reaction by the front office was to revamp and improve the roster, there wasn’t a lot of thought seemingly given to keeping some of the players they’d had so much success with in the first place.
Most notable among those moves — or non-moves by the Commanders — was allowing veteran edger usher Dante Fowler Jr. to return to the Cowboys on a 1-year, $6 million contract after he led Washington with 10.5 sacks in 2024.
The Commanders waited until way too late to get an edge rusher and had to pick from the free agent scraps, signing 36-year-old former Super Bowl MVP Von Miller to a 1-year, $6.1 million contract on July 17.
Another befuddling move was trading away veteran running back Brian Robinson Jr. to the San Francisco 49ers on August 22 — most contenders don’t trade away proven offensive weapons right before the start of the regular season.
1 Quiet Reason the Raiders' Offense Has Struggled This Season
The Las Vegas Raiders' offense has struggled this season for various reasons, mainly subpar play along the offensive line and at quarterback. However, the lack of playmakers at skill positions, for various reasons, have held the Raiders' offense back.
Raiders Rookies Must Improve
The Raiders invested a second-round pick into drafting Jack Bech, proving how much they believed in him before he ever put a Raiders jersey on. However, Bech must do his part and work through the growing pains only the Raiders' coaching staff knows about.
Bech and Dont'e Thornton were brought in to be two of those playmakers but have yet to make much of an impact. Bech's lack of playing time on an offense in desperate need of help at wide receiver speaks volumes about where Las Vegas' coaching staff believes he is developmentally.
“The more plays that we can log with the new guys, Jack [Bech] and Dont'e [Thornton Jr.], we can show them the things that they need to improve on and the things that they're not quite as sharp on. It helps them. And there's some pain in that too. There's some pain in there that we have to undergo. But it's how you do it,” Carroll said.
“By the time you get to the middle of the season, these guys should have things really cleaned up, and they should be ready to go and we can count on them and they can come through and not be error repeaters, you know? And that's what we're working hard at."
During the Bye Week, Raiders' Wide Receivers Coach Chris Beatty gave an update on the development of both of Las Vegas' wide receivers. If the Raiders can get Bech and Thornton up to speed quickly, it could alleviate some of the issues they are having on offense.
"Some ups and downs. We have got to be more consistent. Both of those guys are learning a lot. Theres good and bad in everything. First couple of games, Dont'e had an explosive play in every game," Beatty said.
"He has kind of fell back a little bit and some of the fundamentals, we have got to continue to build on. Same thing with Jack. They have done okay but there is a lot more out there. So, we will keep pushing them and getting the most out of them."
