Bullock\u2019s Film Room (subscription)<\/p>\n
Commanders Free Agent Fits: Running Back<\/a><\/p>\n [A]s the Commanders only currently have one back on the roster, running back becomes a need. Regular readers of mine will know that I\u2019m not necessarily one for spending a lot of resources on the running back position. I won\u2019t argue that running backs are worthless because I think they can have great value, but I think it has become a position where it\u2019s better off being a final piece of the offense rather than a foundational piece.<\/p>\n When you look at the top backs in the NFL, guys like Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffrey, they were drafted in the top 10 to bad teams and while they were productive early in their careers, they weren\u2019t difference makers because their respective teams were bad. But as soon as they joined good teams, they put them over the top. McCaffrey has helped the 49ers be one of the best offenses in the NFL while Barkley led the Eagles to a Super Bowl in 2024.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure the Commanders as a team are there yet for a running back to put them over the top. Perhaps the offense is close to being a very powerful unit, but the defense needs an overhaul. So personally, I\u2019d rather stick with cheaper backs that have been productive than spend big on a free agent back. However, the team could obviously view things differently and if they wanted to make a big splash in free agency, there\u2019s a strong group of running backs available to pick from.<\/p>\n Five Commanders ranked among top 100 free agents in 2026 offseason<\/a><\/p>\n [F]ive impending free agents were named among the top 100 free agents this offseason by CBS Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n One of the most controversial free agents for the Commanders, the veteran linebacker made history in what could be his final game with the team after notching his 2,000th career tackle<\/a> to become the third player in NFL history to achieve the feat. It speaks volumes to the career for the future first ballot Hall of Fame linebacker, who was also named the Walter Payton Man of the Year<\/a> earlier this month. But all signs have pointed to Wagner likely headed back to the West Coast, maybe even a reunion with the Seattle Seahawks.<\/p>\n The most debated free agent for Washington this offseason, a divorce may be most likely after the Commanders\u2019 front office traded for the veteran wide receiver. Both Los Angeles teams – Chargers and Rams – have been viewed as potential suitors for Samuel in a reunion on the West Coast, similar to Wagner. ESPN\u2019s John Keim pointed to Samuel\u2019s price tag as reason why he could find himself in a different uniform this offseason. It\u2019s also notable that the wide receiver market is already thin even before franchise tag decisions for both Dallas and George Pickens, along with the Colts and Alec Pierce. Samuel could be in position to cash in this offseason.<\/p>\n After repeatedly being transparent about his interest in returning to Washington<\/a> toward the end of the 2025 season, Miller drastically changed his tune once the offseason hit, taking to his podcast to express his interest in returning to the Denver Broncos. Miller quietly finished the 2025 season with a team-high nine sacks, but with a need to get younger in the room this offseason, Miller\u2019s updated wish to land elsewhere could materialize.<\/p>\n Maybe the biggest question mark of them all, Martin stepped into an injury-ridden defensive line for the Commanders to finish with 39 tackles, 5.5 sacks, one fumble, one pass deflection in 2025.<\/p>\n The biggest question for Mariota will be whether a starting role emerges this offseason, but if not, there shouldn\u2019t be much debate for a third season to serve as the backup to Jayden Daniels. Mariota proved to be serviceable after Daniels struggled with injuries through 2025, while there\u2019s familiarity in the room having worked with former assistant quarterbacks coach David Blough over the last two seasons. No one will have clear familiarity within the new-look Commanders offense, expected to feature much more under center than the Kliff Kingsbury system, but Mariota would add stability to the room.<\/p>\n Commanders need to retain own key free agents before spending top-5 cap space in \u201826 free agency<\/a><\/p>\n Jacob Martin was a sneaky free agent signing last offseason, who came in and produced where the Commanders needed it the most. The Commanders lacked a pass rush, but Martin filled in, especially when Dorance Armstrong went down for the season. Martin finished with 5.5 sacks and 45 pressures in 2025, and is for sure worth bringing back as a rotational pass rusher while the Commanders look to land a big starter.<\/p>\n The Commanders have some underrated EDGE free agents to target, and of course, they have a high chance of drafting one with the No. 7 overall pick, depending on how the board falls. Having a veteran who can produce is important to have when the room gets much younger. Martin is predicted to make $3 million this offseason, which will be easy for the Commanders to do.<\/p>\n Commanders\u2019 top free agent targets may not even be available until teams start releasing \u2018cap casualty\u2019 players<\/a><\/p>\n Michael Pittman Jr, WR, Indianapolis Colts<\/p>\n Yes, cutting Michael Pittman Jr. would be insane, but the Colts may have no choice with Alec Pierce expected to either get a massive contract or a very pricey franchise tag soon. The Colts also have a very expensive cloud over their heads with QB Daniel Jones, who is also recovering from an Achilles injury.<\/p>\n Pittman is rumored to be the odd man out at just 28 years old, but carries a $29 million salary cap hit next season. Releasing Pittman Jr. would save the Colts almost $24 million in salary cap space in 2026. He would instantly be the Commanders\u2019 top target as a younger, big-bodied target for Jayden Daniels, and an offseason miracle for Washington.<\/p>\n Rashan Gary, EDGE, Green Bay Packers<\/p>\n Rashan Gary is another player at a premium position who could be an unexpected addition this offseason. The Commanders have said that they will add an EDGE rusher this offseason<\/a>, and they should honestly add one before and during the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n The Packers traded for Micah Parsons and still have Lukas Van Ness, so Gary could be out with a $28 million cap hit in 2026. Gary might not be worth his current contract, but he had 7.5 sacks and 54 pressures in 2025, and could be the next starter for the Commanders as a sure run-stopper as well.<\/p>\n Blough wants to elevate personnel in first year as play caller<\/a><\/p>\n Blough has seen, and participated in, several of the league\u2019s top offenses over the last five years — it\u2019s one of the main reasons why he got promoted in the first place — but this will be his first crack at trying to blend them all into something unique. While he doesn\u2019t need to start completely from scratch, he\u2019s tasked with improving a group that dropped in production from 2024 to 2025. His solution: be collaborative and take all insight into account to craft something that will maximize the talent on the roster.<\/p>\n Much of Blough\u2019s NFL experience as a player was split between stints with Kevin O\u2019Connell, who runs a version of the West Coast scheme with the Minnesota Vikings, and Ben Johnson\u2019s Erhardt-Perkins style with the Detroit Lions. While West Coast schemes emphasize creating yards after the catch using complex, scripted plays, the Erhardt-Perkins is a more adaptable, quarterback-centric scheme that uses simpler terminology to encourage quicker play calls.<\/p>\n Over the last two seasons, Blough has been helping quarterback Jayden Daniels adapt to Kliff Kingsbury\u2019s Air Raid system, which operated almost exclusively out of the shotgun or pistol formation with no huddles. It was highly effective in 2024, when the Commanders had one of the best and most high-scoring offenses in the league. Last year was a different story, however, as Daniels and other players suffered injuries throughout the season. Teams also took advantage of the Commanders\u2019 no-huddle style with late substitutions to slow the unit down.<\/p>\n A potential blend of all three schemes could be potent if executed correctly, but Blough hasn\u2019t revealed much about how that marriage could work. Instead, he has shifted focus to the player and making sure they are put in the best spots to succeed, no matter what the philosophy might be.<\/p>\n \u201cWe get to kind of build it up from the studs around what Jayden and Terry [McLaurin] and Laremy [Tunsil] and all these guys do really well to put them in the best position to be successful,\u201d Blough said. \u201cBeing able to pull the collective so that we can all collaborate together and make this the best possible thing is what\u2019s really stimulating right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Cowboys waive LB Logan Wilson, save $6.5M in salary cap space<\/a><\/p>\n Acquired at the trade deadline with the hope of shoring up the linebacker spot, veteran Logan Wilson was waived by the Cowboys on Friday.<\/p>\n The move saves the Cowboys $6.5 million in salary cap space.<\/p>\n In seven games, Williams was credited with 28 tackles and a forced fumble, but he started just once. Despite the struggles at the position and the defense in general, the Cowboys kept Kenneth Murray Jr. as the starter over Wilson. In the Christmas Day win against the Washington Commanders, he did not play a snap, which was called a coaches\u2019 error in the days after the game.<\/p>\n The Cowboys gave up a 2026 seventh-round pick to the Cincinnati Bengals for Wilson. In Cincinnati, where he was voted a captain in 2025, Wilson was benched in favor of rookie Barrett Carter and led to the trade.<\/p>\n It might take the richest contract ever given to a center to bring Linderbaum to New York. Is he worth it?<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cEverybody\u201d wants Linderbaum, according to NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah.<\/p>\n \u201cI love my job, but if I could switch jobs for just the next couple months I\u2019d want to be Tyler Linderbaum\u2019s agent,\u201d Jeremiah said Thursday on a pre-NFL Scouting Combine call with media. \u2018Everybody that I talk to seems to be in on Tyler Linderbaum. It sounds like he\u2019s going to have a robust market.\u201c<\/p>\n Linderbaum, of course, was the center for Giants coach John Harbaugh with the Baltimore Ravens for the past four years. The 25th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Linderbaum was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his last three seasons.<\/p>\n Entering his age 26 season, Linderbaum is about to be a very rich young man. Creed Humphrey of the Kansas City Chiefs is the league\u2019s highest-paid center. He signed a four-year, $72 million contract, an average of $18 million per year.<\/p>\n Linderbaum\u2019s contract, especially with a \u201crobust market,\u201d figures to equal or exceed that figure.<\/p>\n Pittsburgh at NFL combine: QB reset in store for Steelers?<\/a><\/p>\n Another NFL season, another massive quarterback question looms for the Pittsburgh Steelers.<\/p>\n Since Ben Roethlisberger\u2019s retirement in 2022, the lack of stability at the position has become a frustrating tradition for the organization that hasn\u2019t won a playoff game in a decade.<\/p>\n This time around, there\u2019s an extra layer of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu as the Steelers once again await a decision from Aaron Rodgers about his future.<\/p>\n The Steelers\u2019 quarterback plan for 2026 isn\u2019t quite Rodgers or bust, but coach Mike McCarthy\u2019s old friend from Green Bay appears to be the Steelers\u2019 best option if the team continues to be set on contending next season.<\/p>\n McCarthy was clear in his opening news conference<\/a>: He\u2019d like to have Rodgers back if Rodgers is amenable to returning.<\/p>\n Rodgers isn\u2019t a long-term solution, but he could be yet another bridge as the Steelers look for their next franchise quarterback — a search that has persisted since Roethlisberger retired following the 2021 season.<\/p>\n If Rodgers doesn\u2019t return, the Steelers\u2019 realistic options to finding a franchise-elevating signal-caller for 2026 are slim.<\/p>\n Operating under a scenario in which Rodgers doesn\u2019t return, the Steelers will need to bring in at least one quarterback in either the draft or free agency. With the combine in Indianapolis this coming week officially kicking off draft season, let\u2019s focus on this draft class and which prospects can help Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n In his latest mock draft, ESPN\u2019s Field Yates has the Steelers using their No. 21 pick on Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. The Steelers have closely watched Simpson, who threw for 3,567 yards, 28 touchdowns and five interceptions in his lone season as a full-time starter for the Crimson Tide.<\/p>\n But while there is an upside to Simpson, he also struggled with decision-making late in the season. He completed a season-low 49% of pass attempts in the SEC championship loss to Georgia, and four of his five interceptions came in the final six games.<\/p>\n The NFL Players Association is keeping very quiet<\/a> regarding its plans to replace former executive director Lloyd Howell. It\u2019s believed that the union will emerge from next month\u2019s annual meetings with a new director.<\/p>\n Whenever it happens, here\u2019s a safe bet: The NFL will contact the next executive director sooner rather than later regarding the possibility of working out a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the basic reality, which the league will likely explain to the next executive director (and it could indeed be White) in no uncertain terms. The NFL will get another game, if it wants it.<\/p>\n Come 2031, the owners will do what they did in 2011. They\u2019ll lock the players out until the players accept the NFL\u2019s non-negotiable terms.<\/p>\n Eighteen regular-season games per year. Sixteen international games per season. And, possibly, a reconstruction of the salary cap formula that gives the players fixed cap figures each and every year in lieu of a roughly 50-50 revenue split.<\/p>\n Whoever gets the job will be in the same position that DeMaurice Smith was, both in 2011 and 2020. If the players aren\u2019t prepared to miss regular-season games, the players eventually will accept whatever they have to accept to return to work.<\/p>\n The best evidence of a plan to move quickly comes from the fact that Super Bowl LXII still doesn\u2019t have a date. Until it does, the NFL will be keeping the door open for a new CBA that expands the regular season to 18 games in 2027.<\/p>\n Ranking deepest, thinnest positions in NFL free agency, draft<\/a><\/p>\n Good year to need … any sort of edge rusher at all If your favorite team\u2019s general manager can\u2019t find a good fit at edge rusher this offseason, tell him to take a hike. Putting aside the Crosby trade rumors<\/a> for now, here\u2019s a list of expected free agent edge rushers: Trey Hendrickson (Bengals), Odafe Oweh (Chargers), Jaelan Phillips (Eagles), Khalil Mack (Chargers), K\u2019Lavon Chaisson (Patriots), Boye Mafe (Seahawks), Joey Bosa (Bills) and Jadeveon Clowney (Cowboys).<\/p>\n The main thing that impresses me is the variety.<\/p>\n In the draft, I think it\u2019s fair to have eight-plus-sack projections in mind for David Bailey (Texas Tech) and Rueben Bain Jr. (Miami). Bain is a tricky one. Apparently some teams view him as an undersized 3-tech instead of a big base end, but I\u2019ve watched him win too many outside rushes too quickly to knock him inside just yet. The real wild card is Ohio State\u2019s Arvell Reese, an on-ball\/off-ball linebacker hybrid whom the league reportedly prefers as an edge rusher. He has a chance to be a high-value player as a movement piece, but those guys don\u2019t tend to hit in Year 1.<\/p>\n Good year to need … a slot corner Great players don\u2019t really hit free agency at cornerback, as the position has been in desperate need of the market-setting contracts it finally got when Pat Surtain II, Derek Stingley Jr., Jaycee Horn and Sauce Gardner all signed their extensions. Last year\u2019s group was actually a fairly competitive bunch: Byron Murphy Jr. didn\u2019t get out of Minnesota, but Charvarius Ward, Carlton Davis III, Paulson Adebo and D.J. Reed all signed deals with new teams.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s group isn\u2019t as good. The outside-only guys are Riq Woolen (Seahawks), Jaylen Watson (Chiefs) and Jamel Dean (Buccaneers). Alontae Taylor (Saints) has inside-outside versatility, but he has always played his best ball from the slot. Similarly, Greg Newsome II played outside for the Jaguars but could return to some slot play with a new squad. (He was always more productive there.) One of the wild cards of this group is ex-Steeler Asante Samuel Jr., now more than a season removed from his spinal surgery<\/a>. He is another inside-outside guy with a history of solid play.<\/p>\n
Bad year to need … a truly elite dude (unless you\u2019d like to send two first-rounders for Maxx Crosby)<\/p>\n
Bad year to need … an outside corner with size<\/p>\n