Already retaining two auxiliary wide receivers today (Noah Brown, K.J. Osborn) and cornerback Noah Igbinoghene, the Commanders are adding several other 2024 holdovers to their immense Thursday re-signing ledger.
The 2024 NFC runner-up reached agreements to retain offensive linemen Michael Deiter and Trent Scott, along with veteran linebacker/special-teamer Nick Bellore and D-line cog Sheldon Day, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo, the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala and ESPN.com’s John Keim.
Deiter, Day and Scott are coming back on one-year deals, while Jhabvala notes Bellore is staying on a two-year pact. If this was not enough of a roster-ballooning effort today, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport adds the Commanders are signing edge rusher Jacob Martin to a one-year deal worth up to $3MM. Unlike the above quartet, Martin was not a Commander in 2024. He will come over from the Bears.
Deiter and Scott worked as utility pieces on Washington’s O-line, combining to start three regular-season games. Scott, however, drew a right guard start after Sam Cosmi went down during the team’s divisional-round loss.
Deiter, 28, is a five-year veteran who previously played for the Dolphins and Texans. Miami used Deiter as a 23-game starter, while he lined up as a 10-game starter — mostly at center — in 2023. Scott, 30, has ventured from the Chargers to the Panthers to the Steelers to the Commanders. In addition to his NFC championship game start, he caught a touchdown pass in his Washington debut season.
Day has connections to GM Adam Peters from San Francisco. Having just four regular-season starts in nine seasons, Day logged three playoff starts for the Super Bowl LIV-bound 49ers. The veteran defensive tackle logged a 35% snap rate for the Commanders last season, notching two tackles for loss and a pass deflection. Day, 30, and Javon Kinlaw were not 49ers teammates, with the former going on a four-team odyssey by the time Kinlaw arrived (2020) in San Francisco, but Peters was in San Francisco during each DT’s tenure.
The Commanders still value Bellore ahead of an age-36 season. He came over after four Seattle seasons (two special-teamer Pro Bowl nods) and logged a 76% snap rate on ST snaps. Bellore, who dabbled at fullback previously, saw one defensive snap last season.
Martin, 29, comes over after a host of rotational pass-rushing roles. Involved in the Seahawks-Texans Jadeveon Clowney trade in 2019, Martin is now on team No. 7. Also traded to the Broncos at the 2022 deadline, Martin moved to the Colts in 2022 and Bears in ’23. He has combined for five sacks over the past two seasons, registering 21 during a six-year career. He joins a Commanders team that returns Dan Quinn pickup Dorance Armstrong but not yet Dante Fowler, the team’s 2024 sack leader. Given the reunion spree, it would surprise if the Commanders were not considering re-signing Fowler as well.
Fowler is all about the sack and bad at run defense