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Washington Commanders News & Rumors

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/3/22

December 3rd, 2022 at 7:49pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the league’s minor transactions leading into the Sunday-slate of Week 13 games:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Commanders Aiming To Keep Daron Payne?

December 2nd, 2022 at 10:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

Not much developed between the Commanders and Daron Payne this offseason. Ron Rivera indicated interest in keeping the former first-round pick long term at the Combine, but Washington ended up taking Phidarian Mathis in Round 2. Mathis is now out for the season, and Payne is steamrolling through a productive contract year.

The prospect of Payne staying in Washington beyond 2022 is not a dead issue just yet. The Commanders are “hopeful” they can keep Payne, a team official informed The Athletic’s Ben Standig (subscription required). Payne, 25, is playing out his fifth-year option season and is on track for free agency in March.

The Commanders’ refusal to part with Payne in a summer trade or a deadline deal helped them make a midseason turnaround; they are now pushing for another playoff berth during a season in which they opened 1-4. Payne played a major part of Washington’s similar path reaching the playoffs in 2020, and the Alabama product is having his most productive season at the ideal time. Payne already has totaled a career-high 6.5 sacks — a number that includes a safety — and his 13 tackles for loss are nearly double his previous best. With 14 quarterback hits, Payne is already just one shy of his career-best mark there. He is positioning himself to become one of 2023’s top free agents.

Complicating matters for the Commanders’ aim to retain Payne: their defensive line contract situation and a D-tackle market potentially set to spike. Of Washington’s four first-round D-linemen, only longtime Payne teammate Jonathan Allen is signed to a veteran contract. In addition to the prospect of Chase Young and Montez Sweat paydays, the Commanders keeping Payne would force them to allocate NFL-high money to their D-tackle spot.

Only three teams (the Eagles, Colts and Bengals) have even two D-tackles tied to $10MM-plus average salaries. Should Payne stick the landing to his contract year, he can reasonably shoot for a deal north of Allen’s $18MM-AAV extension. Allen is already the league’s fifth-highest-paid interior D-lineman, though that will almost certainly change soon. Jeffery Simmons and Quinnen Williams will undoubtedly push to bridge the gap between Aaron Donald ($31.7MM per year) and the field; Leonard Williams and DeForest Buckner are tied to the second-highest AAVs at this position — down at $21MM per annum. One agent informed Standig the expectation is the D-tackle market will balloon well past that $21MM-per-year place soon.

The Giants face a similar issue with their interior defenders. Pro Football Focus’ No. 2 overall D-tackle, Dexter Lawrence is headed toward his option year in 2023. Williams’ deal only runs through next season, however, giving Big Blue an interesting decision. The Commanders will soon face a choice of paying Allen and Payne upper-echelon money or letting the latter walk and saving up for Sweat and/or Young re-ups.

Washington would be able to create a chunk of cap space by moving Carson Wentz‘s contract off the books; the team would save $26.2MM with a release next year. Before any Wentz accounting, the Commanders are projected to possess just south of $20MM in cap space next year. A Payne franchise tag would eat into the team’s free agency cash, but this year’s Terry McLaurin extension did free up a 2023 tag. The D-tackle franchise tag came in at $17.4MM this year; OverTheCap projects 2023’s number at $18.1MM.

It will be interesting to see how the Commanders navigate their Payne situation ahead of the March tag deadline. D-tackle-needy teams will surely be monitoring that decision.

RB Notes: Jacobs, Patriots, Steelers, Hill

November 30th, 2022 at 11:34am CST by Sam Robinson

Coming off just the NFL’s 11th performance with 300 yards from scrimmage, Josh Jacobs is not expected to practice much this week. The Raiders running back suffered a calf strain during his monster outing against the Seahawks, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Planning to go through “around the clock” treatment, Jacobs said (via The Athletic’s Tashan Reed, on Twitter) he is not planning to miss any time.

Of course, that expectation will be tested. Calf strains can sideline players for multiple weeks. Jacobs handled a career-high 39 touches in Las Vegas’ overtime win in Seattle, finishing with 303 scrimmage yards. He now leads the league in rushing (1,159 yards) and is making a strong case for a second Raiders contract, despite the team having passed on his fifth-year option. The Alabama alum has stayed relatively healthy during his career, having never missed more than three games in a season. But missing time due to this calf ailment would give Jacobs at least one absence in each of his four seasons.

Here is the latest from the running back scene:

  • The Patriots are not expected to have Damien Harris available against the Bills on Thursday. Harris left the Pats’ Thanksgiving Day game with a thigh injury, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes (via Twitter) that issue will keep him out in Week 13 and potentially for more games. One of several starter-caliber backs set to hit free agency in March, Harris has battled multiple injuries this season and seen Rhamondre Stevenson emerge as New England’s primary back. This certainly points to the former third-round pick needing to find another team to dole out his second contract.
  • Najee Harris also left his team’s most recent game due to injury, seeing an abdominal issue force him to leave the Steelers‘ Monday-night win over the Colts. Harris avoided a major injury, however, according to Rapoport (on Twitter). It is not certain the second-year back plays Sunday, but after he battled a Lisfranc issue this offseason, dodging another notable injury represents a nice break. The Steelers were without rookie backup Jaylen Warren in Indianapolis due to a hamstring injury and used veteran Benny Snell as their top ball-carrier.
  • The Commanders worked out a familiar NFC East back this week, bringing in Jordan Howard. The well-traveled back stopped through Washington for a Tuesday workout, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 tweets. Former Panthers backup Reggie Bonnafon also took part in this audition. Howard spent time with the Saints this season, playing in two games, but New Orleans released the ex-Chicago and Philadelphia starter from its practice squad earlier this month.
  • Despite using one of their injury activations on Kylin Hill this year, the Packers cut bait recently. Matt LaFleur said conduct contributed to the transaction. “There are standards and expectations that are placed on every member of this team that we expect guys to live up to,” LaFleur said, via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “He’s a guy we had high expectations for, and [I] realize he’s in a loaded room, but regardless of your role big or small, we expect guys to come to work and be supportive and own that role to the best of your ability. If you don’t do that, that’s what happened.” This certainly points to the second-year back voicing dissatisfaction with being behind Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon on Green Bay’s depth chart. No team claimed Hill, who is now a free agent.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/26/22

November 26th, 2022 at 4:49pm CST by Ely Allen

The league’s minor moves and standard gameday elevations for Week 12:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Commanders Designate QB Carson Wentz For Return

November 23rd, 2022 at 12:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Commanders have their highest-paid quarterback back at practice Wednesday. They designated Carson Wentz to return from IR, giving the veteran passer three weeks to be activated.

Wentz suffered a fractured finger during Washington’s Week 6 win in Chicago and underwent surgery. He has missed five games — one more than the minimum for 2022 IR stays — and seen the team change its quarterback plan during that absence. Taylor Heinicke has since regained his spot as the team’s starting quarterback.

Ron Rivera (via Commanders.com’s Zach Selby) has since confirmed Sunday reports that indicated Heinicke would keep his job even when Wentz returns. While Heinicke’s grip on the gig is still somewhat tenuous, the team’s primary 2021 starter retaking the reins doubles as Wentz’s second benching in three seasons. Wentz is unlikely to return this week, per Rivera, who said rookie Sam Howell will remain Heinicke’s backup, Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post tweets.

After inquiring on just about every potentially available quarterback this offseason — one that included a three-first-rounder offer to the Seahawks for Russell Wilson — the Commanders sent the Colts a 2022 third-round pick and a conditional 2023 choice for Wentz. That pick will looks set to become a third-rounder instead of a second, with Wentz unlikely to hit the 70% snap benchmark necessary for the pick to land in Round 2. This comes after Wentz met the participation-based conditions for the Eagles to nab a first-rounder this year. The Commanders and Colts also swapped 2022 second-round picks in this year’s Wentz trade, giving the Colts the No. 42 overall choice and the Commanders the 47th pick.

Wentz, 29, has been unable to re-establish himself as a solid starter in Washington. The team went 2-4 in Wentz’s starts. While wins and losses are obviously far from the best measure for quarterback success, the Commanders’ surge under Heinicke essentially left Rivera with little choice to stay the course. The team is now 6-5 and gunning for a wild-card spot. Wentz has, however, doubled Heinicke in touchdown passes (1o to five). The two are also separated by just 0.4 points in quarterback rating, keeping the door open for Wentz to re-emerge at some point later this season.

The trade prices notwithstanding, the 2020s have represented a steep fall from grace for Wentz. After seeing an ACL tear almost certainly deny him an MVP honor in 2017, Wentz never regained that form. He has shown flashes — helping a receiver-depleted 2019 Eagles team to the playoffs, a 27-7 TD-INT ratio during a polarizing Colts stay that ended quite poorly — but is moving toward failure in his latest bounce-back opportunity. The former No. 2 overall pick is on the Commanders’ books (via the Eagles extension he inked back in 2019) through 2024 but can be jettisoned free of charge next year.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/22/22

November 22nd, 2022 at 6:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

New York Giants

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

The Bengals both designated Prince for return from IR and activated him Monday. This marks the second time this year the defending AFC champions have used one of their injury activations on a player only to waive him a day later. This first happened with Kareem, who then moved to the Bengals’ practice squad ahead of this Colts poaching. A former Dolphins sixth-rounder, Prince played in 15 Bengals games last season and started four. He has not played this year. It will be somewhat interesting if the Bengals keep Prince via a P-squad agreement, provided no waiver claims emerge.

Eifler, Rhattigan and Shudak have three weeks from Tuesday to be activated. The Seahawks, Titans and Commanders had seen their number of activation-eligible players pile up in recent weeks. Each of these teams have five injury activations remaining.

The Titans waived Week 11 kicker fill-in Josh Lambo on Monday. Primary Tennessee kicker Randy Bullock missed the game but is not on IR. Bullock suffered a calf injury during pregame warmups in Week 10. Shudak, a rookie UDFA out of Iowa who has spent the season on the Titans’ reserve/PUP list, would stand to represent insurance this week.

Commanders Activate DE Chase Young From PUP List

November 21st, 2022 at 4:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Stashed on the PUP list throughout the season, Chase Young is back on the Commanders’ 53-man roster. The team used the third of its eight allotted injury activations on Young, whose activation window was set to close Wednesday.

The third-year defensive end is not a lock to play against the Falcons in Week 12, however. Ron Rivera stopped short of indicating Young would suit up when first eligible. Dr. James Andrews has cleared Young medically, Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post tweets, but the Commanders will now determine if the former Defensive Rookie of the Year is in sufficient football shape to make a long-awaited return.

Practicing for the past two weeks and change, Young has been out of game action since going down with an ACL tear Nov. 14, 2021. The Commanders have slow-played the standout pass rusher’s return, and they have turned their season around in recent weeks. Young coming back could provide another boost for a team attempting to go from 1-4 to the postseason.

While Young has been eligible to come off Washington’s PUP list since Week 5, the former Heisman Trophy finalist underwent reconstructive surgery that required a graft from his left patellar tendon. That contributed to this extended timeline. This is on the long end for ACL recoveries, but given Young’s long-term importance, Washington did not try to rush him back. Buffalo has taken this approach with Tre’Davious White, who suffered a torn ACL on Thanksgiving 2021. Despite landing on the Bills’ active roster weeks ago, White has not yet made his debut. It does not sound like the Commanders plan to wait too much longer here, however.

“We will work him with the intent if he’s ready to play he’ll play,” Rivera said, via ESPN.com’s John Keim. “If not, we’ll wait another week.”

It will be interesting to see how Washington deploys Young when he does return to action. The Ohio State product was a full-time player during his first and second seasons, logging 78% and 80% defensive snap rates when available those campaigns. Young, 23, may not hit those thresholds this year but could obviously help the team even if used in a part-time capacity. Young will have plenty to prove upon return. He took a step back last season, registering just 1.5 sacks and four quarterback hits in nine games. In 15 games as a rookie, Young posted 7.5 sacks, 14 QB hits, four forced fumbles and return touchdown.

The Commanders padded their sack totals in Week 11 against the Texans. Montez Sweat and Jonathan Allen recorded two sacks apiece in Houston; each has 6.5. Daron Payne has six. None of the trio has missed a game this season, helping Washington emerge as a wild-card contender despite a poor start. Young’s replacement, James Smith-Williams, has two sacks but has contributed 12 QB hits.

Taylor Heinicke To Remain Commanders’ Starting QB

November 20th, 2022 at 10:08am CST by Ben Levine

NOVEMBER 20: Heinicke will remain the Commanders’ starting quarterback unless he starts to struggle and Washington’s offense begins to regress, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. John Keim of ESPN.com subsequently confirmed the report, and while Wentz is likely to be activated off of IR soon, he will return to the roster as a backup. Wentz has been informed of the decision, per Keim.

This decision stands to impact the compensation that the Colts will receive for the trade that sent Wentz from Indianapolis to the Commanders this offseason. If Wentz does not play at least 70% of the Commanders’ offensive snaps in 2022 — a scenario that is looking increasingly likely — the Colts will receive a 2023 third-round choice from Washington instead of a second-rounder.

NOVEMBER 16: Carson Wentz is just about ready to return to practice, but for the time being, the Commanders will be rolling with Taylor Heinicke at quarterback. Head coach Ron Rivera told reporters that Heinicke will start this Sunday against the Texans, per Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post (on Twitter).

Rivera doesn’t seem to be committing to Heinicke as his starting quarterback for the remainder of the season. While Wentz has been cleared to throw, he’s yet to be designated to return to practice. If the Commanders sincerely wanted Wentz under center going forward, they’d surely give him a full week of practice before tossing him back into the fire.

While the Commanders don’t have to make a decision about their QB1 with Wentz technically still on the shelf, some around the NFL believe Washington is preparing to give Heinicke the reigns for the rest of the 2022 season. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler writes that “many around the league” expect the team to stick with Heinicke as their starting QB, “at least for the short term.” One source told Fowler that the young players on the Commanders “gravitate” towards Heinicke because of his “fiery personality and his no-fear attitude,” and Rivera is cognizant of the locker room support that the quarterback possesses. On the flip side, the organization also values Wentz’s “skill and toughness,” and it doesn’t sound like there would be any mutiny if the staff decides to roll with the veteran.

Heinicke has certainly impressed under center. In his four starts, he’s guided the Commanders to a 3-1 record, including a victory over the previously undefeated Eagles. He’s completed 62 percent of his pass attempts for 840 yards, five touchdowns, and four interceptions, and he’s added another 60 yards and a score on the ground. This performance comes on the heels of a 2021 campaign that saw him go 7-8 as a starter while tossing 20 touchdowns vs. 15 interceptions.

Wentz was acquired by Washington this past offseason and started each of the first six games before suffering a hand injury that landed him on IR. Washington was 2-4 in Wentz’s six appearances, with the 29-year-old completing 62.1 percent of his passes for 1,489 yards, 10 touchdowns, and six interceptions.

Latest On Commanders DE Chase Young

November 19th, 2022 at 10:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

This week brought the one-year anniversary of Chase Young‘s ACL tear. The Commanders have yet to move the former Defensive Rookie of the Year back onto their active roster, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that move will not transpire Saturday.

Young is not yet ready to return, and NFL.com’s James Palmer notes Commanders brass — upon seeing Young’s Monday-night warmup — could not say with certainty when the talented pass rusher would be ready to return (Twitter link). Ron Rivera said this week Young would be a game-time decision — if the Commanders had chosen to activate him by today’s deadline. With the team set to keep him off the roster for another week, that decision has been made.

The Commanders have until Wednesday to move Young from its reserve/PUP list to its 53-man roster. It is a near-lock that shift will take place, with the alternative being Young misses the entire season. The Bills have proceeded this way with Tre’Davious White, who has been on their active roster for multiple weeks despite not having played since his ACL tear. White suffered his knee injury not long after Young, who went down Nov. 14, 2021.

A report just before the season indicated moved Young’s recovery timetable to the midseason point. While Young has been eligible to come off Washington’s PUP list since Week 5, the former Heisman Trophy finalist underwent reconstructive surgery that required a graft from his left patellar tendon. That contributed to this extended timeline. It is unsurprising the team is being cautious with perhaps its highest-ceiling player, who is in his age-23 season. But this process dragging past the one-year mark is certainly notable. Considering this delay, Young may not be ready to be a full-time performer again until the 2023 season.

It is still close to a slam-dunk call the Commanders pick up Young’s fifth-year option in May, but this injury has prevented the team from benefitting from much of the Ohio State alum’s rookie contract. A Young extension being tabled until the 2024 offseason may have always been the plan, with organizations — excluding quarterbacks and select others — usually preferring to not extend first-rounders before their option years. But this injury stands to put some pressure on Young to prove himself again post-surgery.

Washington is now 5-5 but remains fourth in the NFC East, sitting behind the Eagles (8-1), Giants (7-2) and Cowboys (6-3). No division has produced four playoff teams since 1998, when the AFC East accomplished this. Granted, this was impossible from 2002-20. Young’s return would provide a boost to a Commanders team that has returned to contention, following a brief window — after a 1-4 start — in which seller’s trades were being considered. The team will continue to use Montez Sweat (four sacks) and James Smith-Williams (two) as its primary edge defenders.

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