4 Commanders heading into make-or-break season in 2022

3. Montez Sweat

The Commanders would never admit it, but unless Chase Young’s ACL injury derails his career, there will be a lucrative contract extension waiting for him the minute he becomes eligible.

Of course, the former No. 2 overall pick will have to improve after a lackluster sophomore season, but assuming that was an outlier and he’s more like the player who took home Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2020, all signs point to him receiving a second contract from the franchise.

That leaves Montez Sweat on the outside looking in.

A former first-round pick in 2019, Sweat just wrapped up his third season with Washington. In a vacuum, he’s been a productive player. In 42 career games, the Mississippi State product’s racked up 23 tackles for loss, 21 sacks, seven forced fumbles, 46 quarterback hits and eight passes defended.

How is a player with those numbers entering a make-or-break year?

Well, the Commanders can’t afford to have three (let alone four) defensive lineman making top-of-the-market money. That’s partly why the urgency to win games has been so pronounced. At some point, the core of Young, Sweat, Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne is going to be broken up.

This conundrum would be (somewhat) solved if Payne, who might not want to be in Washington long-term, gets traded this offseason. However, if the roster enters 2022 with all four first-rounders in tact, the pressure will be on Sweat to prove he deserves an extension with the organization.