Washington Commanders Free Agency Blueprint Part 1

The Washington Commanders will enter the 2022 free agency market with several needs, plenty of cap space, and specific goals for the upcoming season.  Will a franchise quarterback be a part of the free agent frenzy?

Welcome to the first of our three major free agency updates for the 2022 offseason.  The format will be the same as last year and the time frame will be similar as well.  Another update will come approximately one or two weeks after the draft in late April and the final update arrives during the preseason.  There is so much to unpack in this offseason and most of the chatter for the Commanders fully centers on the need for a quarterback.

Will Washington add a quarterback in free agency or the draft?  Or will they add two quarterbacks via the draft and free agency?  Only one signal caller is signed for next year and the Commanders need to make this position the most important priority of the offseason.  Other needs include a middle linebacker, offensive guard, wide receiver, and possibly a kicker.

This free agency blueprint should help with your own tracking and updates during the long offseason.  Feel free to use it as a reference in the coming months.  Let’s jump right in with Part I.

Current Roster

Unrestricted Free Agents

• Troy Apke, Safety/Cornerback/Special Teams
• Jon Bostic, Linebacker
• DeAndre Carter, Wide Receiver/Kick-Punt Returner
• Jamil Douglas, Offensive Guard
• Corn Elder, Cornerback – Re-signed, 1/11/22.
• Ryan Fitzpatrick, Quarterback
• Temarrick Hemingway, Tight End (SFA)
• Adam Humphries, Wide Receiver
• Danny Johnson, Cornerback
• Tyler Larsen, Center
• Cornelius Lucas, Offensive Tackle
• David Mayo, Linebacker – Re-signed, 1/28/22.
• Bobby McCain, Safety
• J.D. McKissic, Running Back
• Torry McTyer, Cornerback
• Jared Norris, Linebacker
• Nate Orchard, Linebacker/Defensive End
• Darryl Roberts, Cornerback
• Brandon Scherff, Offensive Guard
• Ricky Seals-Jones, Tight End
• Tim Settle, Defensive Tackle
• Cam Sims, Wide Receiver
• Wendell Smallwood, Running Back (SFA)
• David Steinmetz, Offensive Guard (SFA)
• Jonathan Williams, Running Back – Re-signed, 1/11/22.
• Gabe Wright, Defensive Tackle (SFA)

Players that should receive the most attention on this list include Troy Apke, DeAndre Carter, Adam Humphries, Danny Johnson, Tyler Larsen, Bobby McCain, J.D. McKissic, Ricky Seals-Jones, and Tim Settle.  Some fans will scoff at Apke, but his impact on special teams makes him a priority.

The biggest name on this list is J.D. McKissic and the Commanders should do everything in their power to bring him back.

Futures Contracts

• Alex Armah, Fullback
• David Bada, Defensive End
• Zack Bailey, Offensive Guard
• Beau Benzschawel, Center/Offensive Guard
• Reggie Bonnafon, Running Back
• Deion “Shaq” Calhoun, Offensive Guard
• Tyler Clark, Defensive Tackle
• Antonio Gandy-Golden, Wide Receiver
• Kelvin Harmon, Wide Receiver
• D.J. Hayden, Cornerback
• Nolan Laufenberg, Offensive Guard
• Marken Michel, Wide Receiver

When the new league year begins on March 16, players that have been signed to futures contracts will be added to the roster.  Fan favorites from this group are Kelvin Harmon, Antonio Gandy-Golden, and David Bada.

Franchise Tag

At this time, it is not known if Washington will use the franchise tag for 2022.  The deadline for designating a franchise or transition player is March 8 at 4pm EST.

Restricted Free Agents

• Kyle Allen, Quarterback
• Garrett Gilbert, Quarterback
• Jordan Kunaszyk, Linebacker – Re-signed, 1/13/22.
• Joey Slye, Kicker

Look for the Commanders to re-sign Joey Slye or tender him very soon.  Garrett Gilbert is unlikely to return and the status of Kyle Allen is unknown.

Exclusive Rights Free Agents

• Dylan Cantrell. Tight End
• Milo Eifle, Linebacker
• Keith Ismael, Center
• Jalen Jelks, Defensive End
• Brian Johnson, Kicker
• Bunmi Rotimi, Defensive End
• Najee Toran, Offensive Tackle
• Jon Toth, Center
• Daniel Wise, Defensive End

The players most likely to be tendered on this list include Keith Ismael, Brian Johnson, Bunmi Rotimi, Jon Toth, and Daniel Wise.

Contract Extensions

• Corn Elder, Cornerback – Re-signed, 1/11/22.  One year, $1.035M.
• Jordan Kunaszyk, Linebacker – Re-signed, 1/13/22.  One year, $825K
• Charles Leno, Offensive Tackle – Re-signed, 1/7/22.  Three years, $37.5M.  $9M signing bonus, $18M guaranteed.
• David Mayo, Linebacker – Re-signed, 1/28/22.  One year, $1.12M.
• Jonathan Williams, Running Back – Re-signed, 1/11/22.  One year, $915K.

Charles Leno was signed before the final game of the 2021 season, but we are including him here.  Leno was signed a few days into the current calendar year.

A busy offseason for the Commanders

Exercised Option

Daron Payne will be playing on a fifth year option in 2022 after receiving the designation last year.  It is unknown if the option will be designated during this offseason.

Injured Reserve

This designation is rarely used as a new NFL season begins, but we’ll continue to monitor any developments.

Trades

In the next blueprint update, this section could be very interesting.

Restructure Contract Candidates

• Landon Collins, Safety
• Ereck Flowers, Offensive Guard (New Contract)
• Kendall Fuller, Cornerback
• William Jackson, Cornerback
• Curtis Samuel, Wide Receiver

Over the years, Washington has been reluctant to restructure contracts and it has yet to happen under the current regime.  If the new franchise quarterback is obtained via free agency/trade, then restructures could happen.  Any contract adjustments would likely come with at least two voidable years and that tactic lowers the cap hit in the early years.  If the restructuring of contracts comes soon, that will be an indication of adding a quarterback sometime in March.

The Washington Commanders are going to be a very busy team from the present to early summer.  There are many players on the current roster and pending free agents that will dominate the upcoming news cycle.  We’ll start to see our questions being answered very soon.