While Clowney is well removed from his third and last Pro Bowl appearance in 2018, his production has long been more about run defense and a stable presence than sheer sack production. The Commanders could use him to stabilize their defensive line, and signing Clowney may keep also him out of the hands of a division rival.
One of the aspects the Commanders liked about Wise was his versatility. While a bit undersized at 6’2”, 262 pounds, Lawson also has the strength and power to be used on the interior from time to time. Drafted in the 4th round of the 2017 draft by the Bengals, the majority of Lawson’s career has been marred by injuries. He did appear in 15 games last year with the Cowboys, recording 5 sacks in 15 games despite only starting three games. While he will always be an injury risk, vested veteran contracts are no longer required to be guaranteed after Week 1, so Lawson could be added with minimal investment.
While I don’t see Adam Peters willing to part with significant draft capital to acquire a player in a trade, he should definitely be scouring practice squads for possible additions. The Ravens have a glut of talent on their defensive line, which forced them to move some potentially roster worthy players to the practice squad. While not a game-changing talent or young prospect, Brent Urban has been a trusty player for the Ravens’ defense and a quality depth piece in the defensive line rotation. He’s played between 23% and 29% of defensive snaps for the team over the past three seasons while chipping in on special teams as well. Urban is not a stat sheet stuffer but is a good space-eater and stalwart presence at 6-foot-7.
Defense & Fumbles Table Def Interceptions Fumbles Tackles Season Age Team Lg Pos G GS Int Yds IntTD Lng PD FF Fmb FR Yds FRTD Sk Comb Solo Ast TFL QBHits Sfty AV Awards 2015 24 BAL NFL DE 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 11 6 5 1 1 0 1 2016 25 BAL NFL DE 16 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2.0 10 7 3 3 2 0 2 2017 26 BAL NFL DE 3 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 4 3 1 1 0 0 1 2018 27 BAL NFL RDE 16 16 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.5 27 17 10 2 1 0 9 2019 28 2TM NFL DE 13 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 16 10 6 1 1 0 1 2019 28 TEN NFL DE 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2019 28 CHI NFL DE 9 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 16 10 6 1 1 0 1 2020 29 CHI NFL DT 16 8 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.5 36 17 19 2 4 0 4 2021 30 DAL NFL DE 6 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 3 0 3 0 0 0 2 2022 31 BAL NFL DE 16 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 21 10 11 2 1 0 1 2023 32 BAL NFL DE 17 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 3.0 22 16 6 5 6 0 3 2024 33 BAL NFL DL 13 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 20 9 11 0 0 0 1 10 Yrs 122 34 0 0 0 0 16 0 0 1 0 0 10.0 170 95 75 17 16 0 25 17 Game Avg 17 5 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1.4 24 13 10 2 2 0 3 BAL (7 Yrs) 87 22 0 0 0 0 12 0 0 1 0 0 7.5 115 68 47 14 11 0 18 CHI (2 Yrs) 25 8 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 2.5 52 27 25 3 5 0 5 DAL (1 Yr) 6 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 3 0 3 0 0 0 2 TEN (1 Yr) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
He also has some familiarity with Dan Quinn, as their careers intersected on the 2021 Cowboys, where Urban was considered to be a fit for the “Red Bryant” role in Quinn’s scheme. Unfortunately, he only played in six games that season before suffering a season-ending injury. Still, there is some thought Quinn might be interested in a reunion, as Urban tweeted “Sry DQ” when the Ravens announced his decision to stay with the team in 2024.
While these are all solid options for rotational depth and role players for the Commanders the rest of the way, it will be hard to replace Deatrich Wise and what he brought to the team in his limited time here. Best wishes to him for a speedy recovery.