2025 Free Agency Preview – Cornerbacks and Safeties

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March 1, 2025

By Noonefromtampa

2024 Roster

The secondary had big issues in the 2024 season, especially at cornerback. Three cornerbacks are free agents Michael Davis, Benjamin St-Juste, and Noah Igbinoghene. Jermey Chinn and Darrick Forrest are the free agents at the safety position. Chinn had a good season and played well in the playoffs. The team would like to bring Chinn back but may face competition, which will drive his price up. Forrest will not be retained, and Percy Butler may also be a cap space casualty, further increasing the team’s need in free agency.

Top Tier Free Agents

Cornerbacks Safeties
D.J. Reed, 29 Jevon Holland, 25
Charvarius Ward, 29 Justin Reid, 28
Carlton Davis III, 29 Jeremy Chinn, 27
Rasul Douglas, 31 Camryn Bynum, 27
Byron Murphy, 27 Trevon Moehrig, 26
Asante Samuel Jr., 25

Washington will need another starting corner opposite Marshon Lattimore if they want to move Mike Sainristil back to the slot corner role. They also need proven depth at the cornerback position. I would expect the team to sign at least two players at this position in free agency. The big question is whether they go after another high value player or sign multiple lower tier players. Analysts like to link Ward with the Commanders since he was with the 49ers at the same time as Adam Peters.  Ward will likely get a 3-year deal at $47 million or more. The players in this group will be looking at deals in the $12 million to $24 million per year. The team will need to figure out where to spend the big money between wide receiver, edge rusher, cornerback, safety or tackle.

With Chinn entering free agency, the team needs another starter to pair with Quan Martin. Spotrac estimated that Chinn’s market value deal is 3 years at $18.3 million, or $6.1 million per year. Not many safeties have Chinn’s size and physicality, so the Commanders have a difficult choice here. The good news is that Chinn is probably the most economical choice in this group, with the others looking at deal in the $10 million to $18 million per year range.

Role Player Free Agents

Cornerbacks Safeties
Jonathan Jones, 32 Xavier Woods, 30
Mike Hilton, 31 Julian Blackmon, 27
Stephon Gilmore, 35 Jordan Poyer, 34
Jourdan Lewis, 30 Eric Murray, 31
Donte Jackson, 30 Will Harris, 30
Kristian Fulton, 26 Richie Grant, 27
Justin Simmons, 31

Another player linked to Washington is Lewis, who played for Dan Quinn in Dallas. He could be a viable option as a starter or key backup role for around $2.5 million per year on a short-term deal. There are a lot of serviceable options at cornerback available; it is just a matter of determining how much the team wants to spend and whether they view the player as either a long-term acquisition or a short-term rental.

If the team needs to pursue a safety to replace Chinn, Grant and Simmons are options they may consider, both were with the Falcons last year and are experienced players

Thoughts

I expect Washington to make a serious effort to re-sign Chinn this offseason. He fits the scheme well and doesn’t break the bank cap-wise.

I think Washington needs to sign a couple of cornerbacks to fill out the roster prior to the draft. The key is how the staff views Igbinoghene, who played in the slot with Sainristil on the outside. If the coaches are happy with that player grouping, Igbinoghene may be re-signed. My issue is that he is very penalty prone.  He picked up 7 flags in coverage last season.

Another thing to remember is that no matter who they sign into the secondary, they are only going to be as good as the pass rush the team is able to generate.