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<\/a><\/p>\nThat is 6 more players than the Commanders had on February 3rd a year ago, which means that in comparing year to year, Washington has fewer roster spots to fill now than they did at this time last year.<\/p>\n
The three units that make up the team are all in different situations at the moment<\/p>\n
In February last year, the Commanders entire roster \u2014 both offense and defense (outside of quarterback) \u2014 was an almost blank canvas.<\/p>\n
The situation is a little different this offseason. After two drafts and two free agent classes, the Commanders have the makings of an offense, with a talented quarterback, a proven wide receiver, a competent running back room, and an offensive line that was in the top third of the league in 2025.<\/p>\n
Since February last year, on the offensive side of the ball, the following changes have taken place:<\/p>\n
Starting LT Laremy Tunsil acquired via tradeStarting RT Josh Conerly drafted in the 1st roundStarting RG Sam Cosmi returned from ACL injuryAndrew Wylie, Nick Allegretti & Brandon Coleman all \u2018demoted\u2019 from starters to backupsChris Paul (who will be a free agent in March if not extended) was promoted from backup to starting LGBill Croskey-Merritt was added to the backfield (and Austin Ekeler lost to major injury & unlikely to return)Deebo Samuel was added to the WR unit, but he will be a free agent in March if not extendedWR Treylon Burks was signed as a free agentWR Jaylin Lane was drafted<\/p>\n
In short, Adam Peters and Dan Quinn worked together to fill in nearly half the canvas with key changes on the offensive line and additions at running back & wide receiver. While the team certainly needs to add a talented wide receiver this offseason and may also need to bolster the running back and tight end positions, the core talent is in place for newly-promoted offensive coordinator David Blough to hit the ground running.<\/p>\n
Special teams play was good in 2024 and elite in 2025 under coordinator Larry Izzo.<\/p>\n
The front office and coaches have taken a very healthy approach to special teams for two seasons now and seem to have figured out an approach that puts Washington firmly near the top of the league in kickoffs, kickoff returns and punts.<\/p>\n
The big empty space that needs to be colored in is on the defensive side of the ball<\/p>\n
The defense, as poorly as it performed in 2024, actually regressed in 2025, ending the season ranked 32nd in yards allowed and 27th in points allowed.<\/p>\n
It is hard to identify a true defensive \u2018core\u2019, though the players who are not pending free agents and most \u2018established\u2019 on the roster probably comprise the following:<\/p>\n
CB Trey AmosDE Dorance ArmstrongDE Javonte Jean-BaptisteDT Daron PayneDT Javon KinlawDT Johnny NewtonLB Frankie LuvuLB Jordan MageeCB Mike SainristilS Will HarrisS Quan MartinS Jeremy Reaves<\/p>\n
The unit will have new leadership in 2026. The defensive coordinator from 2024 & 2025, Joe Whitt, is gone, replaced by Daronte Jones, the former defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator for the Vikings. Gone too are several assistant coaches<\/a>, with the best-known probably being former Redskins player and franchise all-time sack leader, Ryan Kerrigan.<\/p>\n Talent injection is badly needed<\/p>\n While there are some players to work with in the list above, the defensive unit lacks elite playmakers; Adam Peters has stated publicly that he will be looking to add youth, speed and talent<\/a> in free agency and the draft. At a minimum, the Commanders need to add a highly-skilled pass rusher, a talented linebacker, one or two skilled and versatile safeties, and an elite-level cornerback. One or two of those needs might be filled via the draft, but the others will probably need to be found in free agency.<\/p>\n Fortunately, the Commanders are blessed with quite a lot of cap space, and the opportunity to \u2018create\u2019 more.<\/p>\n In a recent article<\/a>, I outlined the Commanders projected cap situation before any roster moves are made, and stressed the dynamic (that is, constantly changing) nature of the salary cap.<\/p>\n Just a day after that article was published, the NFL updated its advice about what the league-wide salary cap is expected to be<\/a>. In just the last 24 hours, Over the Cap changed the projected 2026 cap space for the Commanders, requiring all the cap calculations in this article to be updated prior to publication. The salary cap picture is constantly evolving.<\/p>\n It seems useful, in this space, to discuss the current projections for Washington\u2019s available cap space along with possible roster moves and contract situations that could affect it between now and the March 11th start of free agency<\/a> \u2014 while remembering that all these numbers will change with every roster decision and each new salary cap data entry.<\/p>\n Please note that all salary cap numbers that I quote in this article come from Over the Cap<\/a>. OTC is one of two major sources of publicly available salary cap information (Spotrac is the other). Over a dozen or so years of careful study of the NFL salary cap, I have found that the two sources typically differ somewhat in their salary estimates as the NFL season progresses, and that by January or February each year, there is a difference of several million dollars between the two. This is one of the many reasons why salary cap reporting is often confusing for fans \u2014 especially in terms of headlines or Twitter reporting, which, by their nature, lack detail and nuance.<\/p>\n On two occasions, I have done \u2018deep dives\u2019 where I looked at the line-by-line calculations to find the source of the differences, and on both occasions I have found data missing from the Sportrac calculation that mean that Over the Cap was the more accurate estimate. <\/p>\n Projected cap space available before any roster moves<\/p>\n Over the Cap estimates at the moment that the Commanders will have about $76m in cap space available for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n However, when Deebo Samuel\u2019s contract voids shortly after the new league year begins, it will trigger a $12.4m dead cap hit that will decrease the cap space available for free agency to about $63.7m. This dead cap hit can be avoided\/delayed if the Commanders re-sign Deebo to a new contract, but that contract will have to be paid for out of the $76m.<\/p>\n Thus, the starting point for free agency using current estimates is $63.7m before any roster moves are made.<\/p>\n Potential salary-cap saving roster cuts<\/p>\n I see 8 players who could be cut because the team doesn\u2019t think the on-field performance justifies the cap space devoted to the player. Only one of these players is on offense (Nick Allegretti, backup G\/C).<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to remember that every player released is one more roster spot that needs to be filled. I don\u2019t see any circumstances under which the Commanders would release all 7 of these defensive players.<\/p>\n I have organized the list in 3 color-coded tiers from those players I see as most-likely to be released to those least-likely to be released.<\/p>\n The only player in Tier 1 (bright green) is Marshon Lattimore. I think his release is academic at this point.<\/p>\n I see the chances of release for the three Tier 2 yellow-coded players to be roughly 50\/50, depending on the combined perceptions of Adam Peters and the coaching staff. Daron Payne, in particular, could be offered a contract extension that would keep him on the roster at a lower cap hit. I think the decisions on Harris and Allegretti would come down to whether their new coordinators have roles for them, and whether or not they could be replaced by better players at the same (or lower) salary cap cost.<\/p>\n The three players that comprise Tier 3 are ones that I expect to be retained, but whose value at current cap hits may merit discussion between the front office and the coaching staff. Again, the key question for each of these players will be whether they fit into the new defensive scheme and whether they can be replaced by a better player at the same price.<\/p>\n If we assume that the ONLY current player to be released is Marshon Lattimore, then the roster would fall from 52 players to 51, and the adjusted cap space available would rise from $63.7m to $82.2m<\/p>\n Typically, extending a player \u2014 that is, signing a contract that keeps him on the team for additional years \u2014 provides the opportunity to lower a player\u2019s immediate cap hit by deferring cap dollars to later years when the salary cap will be higher (and when the player might be cut, meaning that he won\u2019t be paid his salary in those later years).<\/p>\n When Terry McLaurin\u2019s contract extension was signed last year, prior to the regular season, $13.75m of Terry\u2019s 2025 base salary was converted to signing bonus, reducing the 2025 cap hit by $11.3m ($25.5m – $14.2m)<\/p>\n Terry\u2019s old contract was set to expire at the end of the 2025 season. While the team converted most of Terry\u2019s affected \u201825 base salary at the same time the contract was signed, the extension added 3 seasons \u2014 \u201826, \u201827, and \u201828 (plus a void year) \u2014 it did NOT cancel or replace the existing contract signed in 2022.<\/p>\n This is typical in contract extensions that Washington has done with other veterans.<\/p>\n Adam Peters has already confirmed that he plans to engage in extension talks with Tunsil this offseason, and Peters further indicated that he will try to expedite the process more efficiently than the process he went through with McLaurin last year.<\/p>\n Tunsil\u2019s contract with the Commanders was \u2018inherited\u2019 when he was acquired via trade from the Texans last offseason.<\/p>\n However, in order to open up additional 2025 cap space, the team added 3 void years and converted $18m of his base salary in 2025 to signing bonus, creating $14.4m in cap space for 2025. His contract, following that restructure, currently looks like this:<\/p>\n In a 2026 offseason extension, the current contract will run its course and the $10.8m dead cap in the 3 void years will accelerate into the 2027 salary cap calculation (See 2025 extension for Panthers player Austin Corbitt for reference<\/a>; Spotrac used because the site lists details for all contracts signed by the player).<\/p>\n Hypothetical contract extension for Laremy Tunsil<\/p>\n Let\u2019s keep the numbers fairly simple and assume that Tunsil:<\/p>\n signs a 4-year extension (2027-2030),worth $30m per year ($120m total),with $18m of his 2026 salary converted to signing bonusroster bonus of $25m paid at the start of the 2027 season<\/p>\n The new structure could look something like this:<\/p>\n Under this structure, Tunsil\u2019s CASH FLOWS would be:<\/p>\n 2026 – $31.35m2027 – $27.0m2028 – $27m2029 – $27.5m2030 – $28.5m<\/p>\n Impact on 2026 salary cap<\/p>\n As you can see, under this hypothetical 4-year, $120m extension, Tunsil\u2019s 2026 cap hit drops from $24.9m under the current contract to $12.5m \u2014 a savings of $12.4m.<\/p>\n Other potential contract extensions\/restructures<\/p>\n A few other players who could be extended prior to the start of the \u201826 season (with estimated potential cap savings):<\/p>\n Daron Payne ($11m)Dorance Armstrong ($5m)Franke Luvu ($4m)Tyler Biadasz ($4m)<\/p>\n Number of players on the roster<\/p>\n When you scan the current 52-man offseason roster, it\u2019s easy to see that, not counting Marshon Lattimore, perhaps 18 names belong to guys who are marginal NFL players that populate roster bubble and practice squads spots. They are on short-term, low-dollar, non-guaranteed contracts that make them easily replaceable. In essence, the team has around 33 quality NFL players that would be likely to make any NFL roster as either a backup or starter.<\/p>\n Of course, Washington has a long list of impending free agents that can be re-signed \u2014 coincidentally, there are 33 of them as well (including Deebo Samuel), according to Over the Cap<\/a>.<\/p>\n This number also includes 3 RFAs Chris Rodriguez Jr, Tyree Jackson, and Jake Moody.<\/p>\n Re-signing some of these players would make the offseason roster look a bit healthier.<\/p>\n Pending free agents likely to be re-signed<\/p>\n Of these 33 impending free agents from the 2025 Commanders roster, I think only 5 are likely (i.e., more than 50% chance) to return for the 2026 season:<\/p>\n P Tress WayRB Jeremy McNicholsWR Treylon BurksRB Chris Rodriguez JrLG Chris Paul<\/p>\n The first 4 players on that list had a combined 2025 cap hit of $4.74m; I think they could all be re-signed in 2026 at a cap space cost of no more than about $6.5m.<\/p>\n Opinions vary on the cost to extend Chris Paul. I think we can all agree that the Commanders have sufficient cap space to extend him at market cost if they want to keep him.<\/p>\n If all 5 of these players were to be re-signed this offseason, it would increase the total number of players under contract to 57 (including Deebo Samuel & Marshon Lattimore), and the number of NFL roster-caliber players to 38 (excluding Marshon Lattimore).<\/p>\n Some other pending Commanders free agents who could get consideration in 2026<\/p>\n A few other players set to become free agents in March \u2014 like Marcus Mariota, Von Miller, Andrew Wylie, Deatrich Wise, Jacob Martin, Deebo Samuel and Jake Moody \u2014 may get consideration, but none of them seem better than 50\/50 (in my opinion) to get contract extensions.<\/p>\n So, what\u2019s the big picture overview of free agency needs?<\/p>\n With 6 scheduled draft picks, to reach the offseason limit of 90, the Commanders would need to sign around 27 free agents, with many of those being \u2019camp bodies\u2019.Roughly speaking, less than half of those 27 free agents \u2014 about a dozen \u2014 would need to be good enough to make the 53-man rosterOf that dozen, probably 5 or 6 need to be capable of starting or playing a significant role as a rotational player.<\/p>\n Per tankathon<\/a>, Washington currently has 6 picks in April\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n