3 realistic moves Commanders should make next in free agency
By Jerry Trotta
The Washington Commanders haven’t necessarily sent free agency ablaze, but they’ve made some worthwhile moves in the first wave.
Yes, losing Brandon Scherff, Landon Collins, Ereck Flowers, Tim Settle and Matt Ioannidi is a huge knock to the team’s depth, but they now have enough cap space to replace those players and they’ve already managed to retain Bobby McCain, JD McKisisc, Cam Sims and Joey Slye, among others.
The only outside addition has come in the form of Andrew Norwell, a former All-Pro guard under Ron Rivera in Carolina who figures to add both stability and veteran leadership to the left guard position in Flowers’ surprising wake.
It’s unclear what the Commanders’ next steps will be, but we like to think these three moves are in their future plans. Full disclosure, these are realistic moves. The front office has maintained a low profile throughout free agency and these potential moves align with their current conservative approach.
3 realistic moves for Commanders in free agency
3. Sign Star Lotulelei
Anytime a player with previous ties to Ron Rivera hits the open market, you have to assume Washington is interested. With the team suddenly in desperate need of depth on the interior of the defensive line, and the recently-released Star Lotulelei makes a ton of sense as an insurance add for the Commanders.
At 32 years old, Lotulelei would fit in perfectly behind Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne. In three years with Buffalo (he opted out of 2020), the former first-round pick finished with 53 tackles, five sacks, eight tackles for loss and a run stop win rate of 27.2%, which is about league average for the nose tackle position.
Given the physical demands of the position, defensive tackles are heavily rotated in games. Just last season, Allen and Payne played 70 percent and 76 percent of the snaps, respectively, so there’s plenty of snaps to go around.
With Tim Settle (Bills) and Matt Ioannidis (Panthers) no longer in the picture, signing Lotulelei seems written in the stars for Washington. The eight-year pro has five years of experience playing under Rivera and would fill a huge need.
If for some reason Lotulelei isn’t seen as a fit, there’s plenty of veteran defensive tackles still braving free agency. The most intriguing of the bunch include Sheldon Richardson, Linval Joseph, Malik Jackson and Akiem Hicks.