Will Commanders reunite Ron Rivera with former OL after Ereck Flowers release?

Up until Wednesday, the Washington Commanders‘ free agency approach wasn’t surprising. Some might even say it was expected.

While letting JD McKissic sign with Buffalo came as a minor shock, the versatile running back was said to have a robust market after his productive two-year run in Ashburn. Everything else (letting Brandon Scherff walk, re-signing Bobby McCain, Tim Settle leaving for a bigger role) has been par for the course.

On Wednesday, though, things ratcheted up several notches.

It started with the release of Matt Ioannidis, who, while long viewed as a cut candidate given his cap hit and potential savings, was seen as someone the defensive line couldn’t afford to lose after Settle signed with the Bills.

The real shocker, though, came in the form of Ereck Flowers’ release, which saves Washington $10 million against the cap.

The follow-up reports indicate the Commanders have a “plan,” as JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington put it, after releasing Flowers and Ron Rivera’s history of signing former Panthers makes Andrew Norwell a potential target.

Will the Commanders sign Andrew Norwell after they released Ereck Flowers?

At face value, releasing Flowers came as a shock. During a year where the Commanders’ offensive line was ravaged by injuries, Flowers started 16 games and played 100 percent of the snaps while holding down the fort at let guard.

According to Pro Football Focus, the seven-year vet allowed three sacks, six quarterback hits and 26 pressures across 1061 snaps. He also committed just two penalties and finished the season with a sublime 78.2 pass-blocking grade.

With that said, guards are pretty interchangeable and the Commanders clearly feel they can find similar production for less money. Of course, they could’ve just extended Flowers to lower his 2022 cap hit, but his release suggests the front office has a contingency plan in the works, which brings us to Norwell.

Entering the offseason, PFF predicted Norwell’s value at $7.25 million annually. In comparison, Flowers’ yearly salary equated to $10 million. If Norwell can be had for less than $8 million annually, that’s a win for Washington.

After all, Norwell has averaged just under 15 starts per year since his sophomore campaign in 2015. The former All-Pro played under Rivera in Carolina for four seasons (2014 to 2017) and he likely has great respect for Washington’s head coach given he went undrafted and Rivera signed him as a UDFA in 2014.

Though Norwell doesn’t have the highest of ceiling, he’s been a model of consistency throughout his career. He’s logged eight straight seasons with a PFF player grade north of 65.0 and a pass-blocking grade above 70.0.

Over the last four seasons, Norwell’s really hit his stride in pass-protection, as his 79.8 pass-blocking grade since 2017 ranks eighth among left guards, per PFF. That’ll fit in just fine in Washington after the offensive line finished ninth in the NFL with a 63% pass-block win rate a season ago.