Wake up, Commanders fans. The NFL trade deadline is over.
The Washington Commanders lived up to their lack of trade deadline buzz.
The Commanders, as expected, made no moves ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline.
League sources told “Last Man Standig” over the past several days, including as recently as Tuesday morning, that Washington would listen to offers but was not initiating conversations and was unlikely to send players away.
At 2-5-1, the Commanders are three games behind the first-place Giants entering Week 10. Washington and New York meet Thursday night at MetLife Stadium in a rematch of their infamous 27-27 tie in Week 5.
A win keeps the Commanders’ division title hopes alive with eight regular-season games remaining — and gives them the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Giants. New York isn’t some juggernaut. If it were, the oddsmakers wouldn’t have a Washington team that is 4-15-1 over its last 20 games as a mere 2.5-point underdog.
Return from East Rutherford victorious, and talk of a second-half rally past the Giants and Cowboys (4-5) would resume. The upcoming schedule mixes playoff contenders with teams already focused on the 2027 NFL Draft. Dream the impossible dream, why not. Quarterback Jayden Daniels is playing at a high level, and the defense has shown stretches of formidability.
General manager Adam Peters, during his weekly appearance on 106.7 The Fan, said, “We looked to find guys that could help us short- and long-term. We made some efforts, but ultimately those guys weren’t moved. … Nothing really made sense in the end that was of great value for us, and other teams decided to hold onto their guys.”
The rub is that almost any sober analysis of Washington’s chances of winning the NFC East comes up with long odds.
The Commanders aren’t getting blown out. In their three losses in which the starting quarterback played all four quarters, the average margin of defeat was five points. Sunday’s 20-13 setback against the Rams came down in many ways to an inability to stop wide receiver Puka Nacua (14 receptions) and defensive end Myles Garrett (three sacks, forced fumble). Join the club.
And yet, Washington hasn’t shown enough prowess in nearly any facet to warrant optimism about getting hot.
Neither side of the ball has been statistically dismal in most categories since Daniels returned in Week 5 following an elbow injury. Neither has produced sustained periods of excellence.
The offense’s mounting injuries to playmakers reached a breaking point against Los Angeles, compounded by spotty offensive line play and pre-snap penalties. Defensively, the pass rush remains hit-or-miss, and the secondary has rarely quieted opposing pass catchers.
Washington’s end-of-game performances have been an endless run of head-scratchers. The latest involved failing to throw the ball into the end zone from the Rams’ 32-yard line on either of the final two plays while trailing by seven points.
Even if the Commanders smooth out certain concerns, their ceiling is lower than desired. Making the playoffs each season is a worthy goal, but the expectation is to do so with some oomph. Hard to envision that happening with the aforementioned struggles and a severely shorthanded roster.
Starters Terry McLaurin, Laremy Tunsil, Daron Payne, Javon Kinlaw, Jacory Croskey-Merritt and others are on injured reserve. Of those names, only Croskey-Merritt is expected to return this season, possibly by Week 11 against the Bengals.
All of which makes Washington’s deadline inactivity harder to justify. Acquiring draft picks for players on expiring contracts would have helped. In this case, the cause is the future.
Despite all of that headwind, the Commanders stayed the course.
Dismiss acquiring a late Day 3 pick if you want. You know those blockbuster trades that include a sixth- or seventh-round pick as a tiebreaker over other interested parties or a cherry on top? This is where those picks come from.
That also means thumbing your nose at the possibility of landing future starters (Alfred Morris, Kam Curl, Chris Paul), rotational options (Croskey-Merritt, Chris Rodriguez), core special teams players (Kain Medrano), a potential backup quarterback (Athan Kaliakmanis) or lottery tickets.
Losing Payne to a season-ending foot injury removed Washington’s top trade chip. The Commanders didn’t have players worthy of significant returns like the first- and second-round picks Philadelphia acquired for DT Jordan Davis (though the Jaguars overpaid for a run stuffer).
They also didn’t, according to league sources, take the trade value of WR Stefon Diggs, edge defenders K’Lavon Chaisson and Dorance Armstrong, and a smattering of others on expiring contracts out for a spin.
Peters said calls went both ways and that “there was a lot of Interest in our players.” Ultimately, Washington didn’t love the value coming back in potential deals, and that some “fishing” inquiries were based on the Commanders dumping at the deadline. (Narrator: they were not.)
He declined to name names in either direction. The obvious buy target, Jags WR Brian Thomas, was not dealt.
Oh, well. On to the remainder of the season. Fingers crossed for better days ahead. New York is expected to have recently injured QB J.J. McCarthy and RB Cam Skattebo available. The Giants defense, starting in Week 5, is second in opponents’ third-down percentage (28.1) and third in sack percentage per dropback (11.1)
Although, with a loss Thursday, the focus shifts to the future — a potential outcome the Commanders’ deadline inactivity suggests they largely ignored.
Ben Standig is the founder and publisher of Last Man Standig, where he covers the Washington Commanders and NBA’s Washington Wizards. He has covered the Commanders full-time since 2015, with previous work appearing in The Athletic, the Associated Press, USA Today, NBC Sports Washington and other national and regional outlets.