Washington roster review after free agency
March 18, 2024
by Steve Thomas
The first year of the Josh Harris / Adam Peters / Dan Quinn era in Washington got off to as positive of a start as I can remember. That’s obviously no accident; it should be no surprise that the team’s situation improved after the old owner was run out of town and the old general manager, Ron Rivera, who was terrible at that portion of his job, was let go. We were told after Quinn was hired that he was respected by players. We’ve all heard that before, so honestly, I didn’t expect much to come from such a proclamation. Well, to my surprise, that seems to have proven true, at least if free agency is any judge, because Washington was able to significantly improve its roster in a very short period of time. What I’d like to do today is go over these changes by position group, evaluate them, and see what’s left.
Quarterback
Traded: Sam Howell
Signed: Marcus Mariota
Remaining on roster from last season: Jake Fromm
Probable starter: Not yet on roster
If Washington wasn’t going to start Sam Howell – which was obvious the day Peters and Quinn walked into the building – then the right thing to do was to trade him. Having the former starter hanging around the building holding a clipboard wasn’t going to be good for team unity, and would have remained controversial for at least some of the fans. Howell certainly has a future in the NFL, but simply didn’t show last year that he has the ability to be a franchise-level starter. Best of luck to him, but, to me at least, he had to go. Marcus Mariota is a classic veteran backup type of player, and Fromm hasn’t shown that he should be more than a third stringer. I wouldn’t necessarily bet the house that Washington doesn’t trade down a few spots, or for that matter, up to first overall, but there’s a 100% chance that the team drafts their quarterback of the future in round 1 next month.
Running back
Departed: Antonio Gibson (Patriots)
Signed: Austin Ekeler
Unsigned from 2023: Alex Armah, Derrick Gore, Jonathan Williams
Remaining on roster from last season: Brian Robinson, Jr., Chris Rodriguez
Probable starter: Ekeler
Austin Ekeler was a pretty big coup for Washington. That having been said, it’s only fair to point out that 2023 was a down year for him, in fact the worst of his NFL career, in that he averaged just 3.5 yards per carry, which was an entire yard below his career average. Granted, he suffered through an ankle injury, but he definitely has something to prove, namely that, after 990 carries over 7 seasons, he’s not washed up. If Ekeler can climb back up to his former glory, he’ll be the best running back Washington has had in a long time. If not, Chris Rodriguez will be there waiting in the wings. Rodriguez didn’t get many carries in his rookie year, but he made the few he got count. Robinson has a good story and seems to be a fan favorite, but he’s achieved results that are inconsistent and mediocre at best. Washington will almost certainly bring in a rookie or two, and possible another veteran, but the presence of Ekeler tells me that they probably won’t spend big money or high draft picks on this position group.
Wide receiver
Unsigned from 2023: Byron Pringle
Re-signed: Jamison Crowder, Kazmeir Allen, Bryce Tremaine, Davion Davis
Remaining on roster from last season: Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, Dyami Brown, Dax Milne, Mitchell Tinsley
Probable starters: McLaurin (X), Dotson (Z), Brown (slot)
With McLaurin having a very large cap hit, and Dotson with a first round pick contract, the top two starting spots are locked in stone, but none of the rest of the receiver depth chart is even close to being set. Washington will bring in three or four more undrafted free agent-type of receivers to fill out the 90-man offseason roster, but given the status of this group behind the two starters, I think it’s possible that they spend a mid-round pick on a receiver.
Tight End
Released: Logan Thomas
Unsigned from 2023: Curtis Hodges, Brandon Dillon
Signed: Zach Ertz
Remaining on roster from last season: John Bates, Armani Rogers, Cole Turner
Probable starter: Ertz
Ertz is clearly the starter here, although, at age 33 and entering his 12th season, Washington won’t be getting him in his prime. None of the other tight ends on the roster have thusfar demonstrated starter-level potential, so the team could use a protégé behind Ertz, who is only on a one year contract. Given the other team needs, though, if Washington drafts a tight end, it’s likely to be a fairly low pick. None of these players are the future, so the team needs to continue to plan for it, but it most likely won’t be this year unless they happen to stumble onto someone.
Tackles
Released: Charles Leno
Signed: None
Re-signed: Mason Brooks
Remaining on roster from last season: Alex Akinbulu, Braeden Daniels, Trenton Scott, Andrew Wylie
Probable starters: Not on roster
Yuck. I refuse to acknowledge Wylie as a starter. I don’t know how he managed to avoid being cut along with Leno. He isn’t starter-worthy and is entirely too expensive to be a poor backup. None of the other players on the roster are even necessarily quality backups. This group of tackles is surely the worst in the NFL. I think that it’s a virtual guarantee that Washington will spend one of its two second round picks on a tackle. These should probably use both second rounders on tackles. I also think it’s not beyond impossible that they use their two second round picks to trade back up into round one if a tackle they like falls to the bottom part of the round. Send help, stat.
Guards and centers
Released: Nick Gates
Departed: Saahdiq Charles (Titans)
Unsigned from 2023: Tyler Larsen
Signed: Nick Allegretti, Tyler Biadasz
Remaining on roster from last season: Samuel Cosmi, Julian Good-Jones, Chris Paul, Ricky Stromberg
Probable starters: Samuel Cosmi, Tyler Biadasz (C), Nick Allegretti (LG)
The starters appear to be set here, if for no other reason than cap spending – Washington spent fairly big money on both Allegretti and Biadasz, so they probably won’t also burn high draft picks on guards or centers this year. Biadasz, in particular, is a well-respected starter who made the Pro Bowl in 2022. Cosmi is at least a league-average guard, at a minimum, although I think he’s a bit overrated by some segments of the fanbase. Washington will bring in multiple undrafted rookies and low-level veterans for training camp, of course, but barring the unexpected, this group appears to be more or less set. . . for better or worse.
Defensive line
Unsigned from 2023: Abdullah Anderson, David Bada, Jaryd Jones-Smith, Casey Toohill, James Smith-Williams
Signed: Dorance Armstrong, Clelin Ferrell, Dante Fowler
Re-signed: Efe Obada
Remaining on roster from last season: Jonathan Allen, Jalen Harris, K.J. Henry, Phidarian Mathis, Daron Payne, Benning Potoa’e, Joshua Pryor, John Ridgeway
Probable starters: Dorance Armstrong (DE), Jonathan Allen (DT), Daron Payne (DT), unknown
The reality is that after the signings of Armstrong, Ferrell, and Fowler, only one starting spot remains open. Washington is paying Armstrong way too much money to let him linger on the second string. The identity of the second starter at defensive end opposite Armstrong seems to be up for grabs, with any number of players realistically in the running. They’ll probably bring in two or three other players to the defensive line group for training camp, probably undrafted free agents, but realistically, this group is what is it for the season. The other starting defensive end job is going to be one of the most interesting battles of the offseason.
Linebackers
Departed: Cody Barton (Broncos)
Unsigned: Jabril Cox, Khaleke Hudson, David Mayo
Signed: Keandre Jones, Frankie Luvu, Anthony Pittman, Bobby Wagner
Remaining on the roster from last season: Brandon Bouyer-Randle, Jamin Davis
Probable starters: Bobby Wagner (MLB), Jamin Davis (OLB), Frankie Luvu (OLB)
This group was a tragedy under the Ron Rivera era. It is simply amazing how much Adam Peters and Dan Quinn did to improve the linebackers in such a short time by signing some legitimate, quality players and letting the folks who never should have been in DC in the first place walk. Granted, Bobby Wagner is past his prime at this point, but he’s the best linebacker to come through Washington since London Fletcher. Davis was a bust at the position for which he was drafted, middle linebacker, but he’s developed into a serviceable outside linebacker. Luvu is mostly likely going to be the other starter by virtue of the size of his contract. Miraculously, it looks like the linebacker group might actually be a defensive strength instead of a giant, gaping weakness. We’ll see, but I’m truly shocked.
Corners
Departed: Kendall Fuller (Dolphins)
Remaining on the roster from last season: Tariq Castro-Fields, Emmanuel Forbes, Christian Holmes, Kyu Blu Kelly, D’Angelo Mandell, Quan Martin (?), Benjamin St-Juste, Nick Whiteside
Probable starters: Emmanuel Forbes, Benjamin St-Juste
This group is probably set for next season, but not for the future, as last year’s first round draft pick, Emmanuel Forbes, didn’t perform well, and Benjamin St-Juste (a) regressed a bit in 2023 and (b) will be a free agent after the 2024 season. The rest of these players outside of Jartavius Martin are backups who will be fighting for a roster spot. Martin was mostly an underperforming bust last season, although he improved a bit towards the end of the season, but his true destiny might be at safety, not corner. As strange as it may sound given the resources the team put into this position group in recent years, Washington needs to draft yet another corner this year, possibly in the top half of the draft.
Safeties
Departed: Kamren Curl
Unsigned: Terrell Burgess
Signed: Jeremy Chinn
Re-signed: Jeremy Reaves
Remaining on the roster from last season: Percy Butler, Darrick Forrest, Quan Martin (?)
Probable starters: Darrick Forrest, unknown
The fact that Peters and/or Quinn essentially traded Kam Curl for Jeremy Chinn was a bit of a surprise, but if all goes well, will essentially be a wash in terms of performance. I can’t confidentially put Chinn in the starter’s role yet, though, as Wahington’s special teams Pro Bowler, Jeremy Reaves, is back and will be given a chance to fill the void, as will Percy Butler. Martin still needs to prove that he belongs and find a specific role to play. Washington will probably bring in an undrafted free agent or two for training camp, but I don’t anticipate them spending draft picks on this group unless someone falls to them in the later rounds.
Specialists
Remains unsigned: Joey Slye
Signed: Brandon McManus, Tyler Ott
Remaining on the roster from last season: Tucker Addington, Tress Way
Probable starters: Brandon McManus (K), Tyler Ott (LS), Tress Way (P)
The only question here is whether Tucker Addington can defy long odds to win the long snapper job over newcomer Tyler Ott, who has a 3 year contract and was given $1.61M in guarantees at signing. Ott’s contract is three year deal, but in reality equates to a one year tryout. From a statistical perspective, Brandon McManus has a slightly lower career field goal percentage than Joey Slye, who himself lower than former Redskin Dustin Hopkins. Tress Way remains one of the NFL’s best punters, so Washington is lucky they have him.