Where does roster rank after free-agency moves?

March 28, 2026, 7:30 a.m. ET

Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters has been busy this offseason. First, he had to replace his offensive and defensive coordinators, and then he was tasked with finding the right talent at the right price during free agency. We won’t really know how his efforts will affect the team until they get on the field, but overall, he’s answered a lot of questions.

ESPN’s Ben Solak recently ranked all 32 NFL teams based on how much they improved their rosters during free agency. He used specific criteria like value, flexibility, contract details, and other intricacies to rank each team’s improvement. The Commanders landed on his list as the 8th most improved roster so far.

After writing what he loved about the Commanders’ free agency activity, which was how Peters filled out the roster with rotational players who can start in a pinch, and a few who could earn starting jobs. What he didn’t love? Odafe Oweh’s contract.

The Oweh signing. Going to $25 million per year for Oweh, who was the third edge rusher in Los Angeles and played only about 50% of the snaps, is an enormous bet. It felt at the time and still feels now that the Commanders got priced out on Jaelan Phillips and pivoted to Oweh with a ton of cash at the table.

It’s not the worst thing, and it happens a bunch in free agency. But I’m interested to see the sort of defense that first-time coordinator Daronte Jones runs, because spending this much money on an edge rusher who doesn’t really defend the run on a defense that blitzes a ton just doesn’t make sense to me.

He’s not alone in that assessment of Oweh’s contract, and he’s probably right about how they got there. Maybe the Commanders saw something that made them believe he was worth it, but we won’t know until the season starts. Some believe that Peters missed the mark with this one, though, and that cap hit could come back to bite them. However, Oweh’s play over the last two seasons is encouraging as he enters his age-27 season.

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.