Insider floats 4 ‘splash’ free agents for Commanders if star QB isn’t available

If we’ve taken anything from Ron Rivera’s comments and the consensus reporting surrounding the Washington Commanders, it’s that the front office, if presented with the opportunity, will look to add a superstar quarterback.

That, of course, is the two-ton elephant in the room.

It’s easy to say you want to make a big splash on a quarterback. If one doesn’t become available, though, the Commanders will be forced to settle for a contingency plan and allocate their spendings in free agency.

It might behoove Washington’s QB-hungry fan base to prepare for this reality. After all, expecting the franchise to trade for one of Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson or Deshaun Watson is setting an impossibly high standard.

In terms of Rodgers and Wilson, there’s no evidence to suggest one of them will demand a trade. All we have to go off of is Wilson wanting to “explore” his options and Rodgers crashing out of the playoffs in the Divisional Round, which, if we’re being honest, was a lot of his own doing.

As for Watson, there’s really no sense in trading for him with his 22 active civil lawsuits still unresolved. If he’s found innocent, by all means make the Texans a godfather offer. If he’s found guilty, well, you can fill in the blanks.

In his latest article for The Athletic, insider Ben Standig laid out four potential “splash” signings for Washington if trading for a star QB goes awry. These are pretty recognizable names, so let’s break them done one by one.

Insider Ben Standig thinks the Commanders should chase these free agents if they can’t trade for a star QB.

1. Davante Adams

"“Pairing Adams with (Terry) McLaurin would arguably rank Washington’s duo first among outside receivers, and (Curtis) Samuel could still find plenty of touches from the slot. That’s significant firepower — and perhaps too much of an investment if the offense doesn’t have a passer capable of maxing out those talents. An Adams-McLaurin duo would also generate enthusiasm.”"

Yup, we’re just as shocked as you, though we’re not sure there’s a fan out there who would sneer at the idea of signing Adams, who’s arguably been the best wide receiver in the NFL for the last four seasons.

During that stretch, the Packers superstar has the most receiving yards (5,310), receptions (432) and touchdowns (47). Fans have been calling for Washington to pair McLaurin with a proper running mate for three years running and Adams, a pending free agent, would be just that and a whole lot more.

The only caveat, of course, is Adams’ contract demands. His body of work deserves to be rewarded with a deal that resets the market at his position. PFF expects him to sign for $23.25 million annually over four years, while Spotrac projects him to sign a five-year, $129.3 million deal ($25.86 million AAV).

That’s a lot of money, but Ron Rivera showed with his offer to Amari Cooper that was worth a little more than the five-year, $100 million deal he signed with Dallas two years ago that he’s willing to pay a premium for a receiver.

Standig also notes that Rivera and Adams share the same agent, so it seemingly wouldn’t be difficult to communicate with the perennial Pro Bowler.

We can dream, right?