March 21, 2026, 5:31 a.m. ET

The Washington Commanders entered free agency with a plan to get younger and faster. Two weeks in, Washington has accomplished that feat, adding 12 outside free agents, and giving the defense an infusion of under-30 talent it severely lacked the past two seasons.

The Commanders also brought back or extended several of their own free agents, including guard/center Nick Allegretti. Allegretti had one year remaining on his contract, and Washington extended him through 2027. After the Commanders surprisingly released center Tyler Biadasz before free agency, Allegretti became the top internal candidate to replace him at center.

Allegretti is excited to play in Washington for a third season, particularly for new offensive coordinator David Blough. Allegretti has an interesting perspective on Blough. He played his college football at Illinois, while Blough was at Purdue. They were Big Ten rivals from 2014-18, meeting each season. And the Purdue/Illinois rivalry is heated. That still never stopped Allegretti from appreciating Blough.

“I competed against him for five years in college, Illinois vs. Purdue, and then got the opportunity actually at the East West Shrine Game, he was my quarterback coming out in the draft process, and immediately was like, this guy is special,” Allegretti recently told The Team 980 in Washington, D.C.

“Really, really loves ball. Obviously played for five years and was sitting in an office coaching just three weeks after his career ended. He’s one of those guys, and I may not have been able to guess it would happen this quick, but you could talk to guys in the locker room. I’ve been a huge proponent of his since I got to D.C. and I think everyone’s, you know, shocked. He’s a 30-year-old coordinator. Everyone’s going to be shocked when he’s a mid-30s head coach as well, because I think that’s coming down the pipe for him soon.”

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It’s interesting to hear about Blough from this perspective. We’ve heard other coaches, such as Ben Johnson, Dan Campbell, and, of course, Dan Quinn and Kliff Kingsbury, sing Blough’s praises. We’ve heard quarterback Jayden Daniels discuss his relationship with Blough. But to hear a former college rival who has known him for years offer a different perspective is interesting. Allegretti saw it from afar.

While there are some concerns about the Commanders having two new coordinators in 2026, almost everyone agrees that Blough will be a home-run hire for Quinn.