Washington Commanders: 4 easiest roster decisions for the defense

3. Convince Tim Settle to re-sign

Make no bones about it, losing Tim Settle in free agency would be a brutal blow to the Commanders’ defense.

As a four-year backup to start his career, the former fifth-round pick is likely eyeing a move to a team where he can become a starter. As long as Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne are on the roster, that’s not happening for him in Washington.

Let it be known we condemn the idea of trading Payne, who may or may not want out after he removed all traces of Washington from his Instagram account during the season, to make room for Settle.

With that said, if the front office has any doubts about Payne’s future, they better convince Settle to re-sign. His pass-rushing numbers fell off (zero sacks, zero QB hits) after a breakout 2020 that saw him post five sacks and seven QB hits, but that can be attributed to decreased playing time (210 snaps this season compared to 347 in 2020). For what it’s worth, he still managed 10 hurries and pressures apiece and a 72.5 pass rush grade from PFF, so he still made an impact.

As of this writing, the Commanders have just over $30 million in cap space to spend this offseason. If the team is serious about maintaining its depth along the defensive line, a small piece of that should be set aside for Settle.

Should he leave, his presence will be missed. We just hope he hasn’t made his mind up about leaving due to a lack of playing time.