{"id":135170,"date":"2025-06-16T20:03:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T20:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/135170\/"},"modified":"2025-06-16T20:03:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T20:03:10","slug":"3-commanders-in-danger-of-getting-cut-after-2025-minicamp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/135170\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Commanders in danger of getting cut after 2025 minicamp"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s getting closer to critical preseason time for the Washington Commanders<\/a>, and there\u2019s good news with Brian Robinson. Also, the Commanders have a couple of underrated players<\/a> who could shine this year. However, some guys won\u2019t make it. And here are three Commanders in danger of getting cut after the 2025 minicamp.<\/p>\n

At the forefront of the bullseye is wide receiver K.J. Osborn. The Commanders grabbed him late in the 2024 season off the waiver wire. The need-based move didn\u2019t provide any results. Osborn appeared in one game and didn\u2019t catch any passes.<\/p>\n

The Commanders signed him to a one-year deal, but it seems unlikely Osborn will be able to make an impact in an improved receiver room. Head coach Dan Quinn<\/a> and the Commanders will have to make some tough decisions on who to keep, and Osborn could be on the bubble.<\/p>\n

Commanders WR K.J. Osborn might be gone\"NewKirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Terry McLaurin stands at the top of the wide receiver group. He\u2019s one of the NFL\u2019s best. In the No. 2 slot is Deebo Samuel, who came over in a trade with the 49ers.<\/p>\n

The No. 3 spot is up for grabs, especially with the injury to Noah Brown. He\u2019s still in the mix along with Luke McCaffrey, impressive rookie Jaylin Lane, and Michael Gallup, who is also injured.<\/p>\n

But all hope is not lost for Osborn, a five-year veteran and former fifth-round pick of the Vikings. He caught 48 passes or more in each of three seasons from 2021-23. And when he came to the Commanders, he received good words<\/a> from offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, according to Sports Illustrated.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I’ve liked him,\u201d Kingsbury said in December. \u201cEvaluated him when I was in Arizona and liked what I saw. I’ve heard tremendous things about the type of person he is. So, he’s a guy who can play inside, outside, and give you a lot. And so, we gotta see kind of how he fits in with us and try to get him up to speed. But from what I’ve seen on tape, he’s definitely a guy that we can use.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, it didn\u2019t pan out that well, as the Commanders didn\u2019t use him.<\/p>\n

But a big problem for Osborn is the fast ascension<\/a> of Lane, who is turning heads, according to commanders.com.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery aspect of being a better receiver, honestly,\u201d Engram said. \u201cJaylin’s a super smart guy. He’s a coach’s son, so he gets to exercise on a different level. Love his work ethic, but my job is to help him prepare just to kind of tap into every ounce of potential that he has, and he’s willing to work and do that. So, I’m excited about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Article Continues BelowRB Jeremy McNichols on the bubble?<\/p>\n

The Commanders re-signed him in the offseason, and McNichols said it made sense for him<\/a>, according to Sports Illustrated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was here the whole time,\u201d McNichols said. \u201cThere (were) a few teams interested \u2013 but the Commanders (were) in my heart. And this is where I want to be. And this is where I want to play football for the future. I love my coaches, love this culture, love my teammates, and I couldn’t see myself wearing another jersey.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just love playing football, so whatever that is, special teams, running back, whatever the case may be to help my teammates win and to go out there and play just hard and play physical every single Sunday. That’s what type of player I am. It really doesn’t matter where I play or how they want to use me or situations, just always be ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, McNichols is also in a situation where a rookie could push him off the roster. Seventh-round pick Jacory Croskey-Merritt might be a thorn<\/a> in McNichols\u2019 side, according to nytimes.com.<\/p>\n

\u201cCroskey-Merritt isn\u2019t a roster lock, let alone a rotation fixture,\u201d Ben Standig wrote. \u201cBut the 5-foot-11, 208-pounder has the goods to get there despite sitting out nearly the entire 2024 college season with eligibility issues. If Kingsbury falls for this competitive runner\u2019s one-cut burst, there could be a running back room shake-up.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe that\u2019s veering into a true running-back-by-committee or moving Robinson off the roster so multifaceted backs are on the field with Daniels more often. There\u2019s a chance Washington seeks an outside addition, though the free-agent pool is weak. Seeing Croskey-Merritt blast his way into the conversation with social media-worthy moments is a fun outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also, McNichols\u2019 age is an issue. He\u2019s a seven-year veteran who has played for five teams. His 55 carries in 2024 set a career high, as did his 261 yards and four touchdowns.<\/p>\n

With Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler locking down nearly all of the touches, McNichols finds himself in a battle not only with Croskey-Merritt, but also Chris Rodriguez Jr. It\u2019s going to be a tough push for McNichols to earn an eighth NFL season, unless his hooks on with another team if the Commanders decide to go another direction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s getting closer to critical preseason time for the Washington Commanders, and there\u2019s good news with Brian Robinson.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135171,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2069],"tags":[427,7291,7,6,18732,855,111,2480],"class_list":{"0":"post-135170","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-washington-commanders","8":"tag-commanders","9":"tag-dan-quinn","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-nfl-editorials","13":"tag-washington","14":"tag-washington-commanders","15":"tag-washingtoncommanders"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114694835688471682","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}