3 biggest Commanders whiffs of free agency thus far

The Washington Commanders‘ acquisition of Carson Wentz made it nearly impossible for the front office to spend big in free agency. It might be fair to call that the biggest downside of trading for the 29-year-old quarterback.

Since the trade was made just days before the start of the legal tampering period and new league year, Ron Rivera and Co. had to adapt on the fly. While some cuts (Landon Collins) were always a possibility, the likes of Ereck Flowers and Matt Ioannidis getting released were likely products of the trade.

In terms of spending, the Commanders spent the first wave re-signing their own players, including Bobby McCain, JD McKissic and Cam Sims. As of this writing, guard Andrew Norwell stands alone as the only external addition.

While all good moves in their own right, it feels like Washington has missed out on some prime opportunities to sign outside free agents. Yes, hindsight is 20/20, but something tells us the front office wants these whiffs back.

3 biggest Commanders whiffs of free agency so far

3. OJ Howard

It might be unfair to call not signing OJ Howard a whiff given his injury history and shocking lack of production since he entered the NFL as a first-round pick back in 2017, but Washington needs a backup behind Logan Thomas, who played just six games last season due to hamstring and ACL injuries.

Entering his age-31 season and coming off major knee surgery, the Commanders can’t depend on Thomas being out there every game. Luckily, they had Ricky Seals-Jones to fill the void and the veteran responded by catching 30 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns while playing just 60 percent of the snaps.

However, Seals-Jones signed with the Giants in free agency. While John Bates showed incredible promise as a rookie, he’s more of an intermediate receiver and doesn’t pose much of a threat beyond the numbers.

OJ Howard could’ve filled that role for the Commanders. Yes, there were better tight ends available (CJ Uzomah, Tyler Conklin, Even Engram) but signed for an average of $8 million per year, which is out of Washington’s price range.

Howard, on the other hand, signed with Buffalo on a one-year, $3.5 million deal. The move got lost in the shuffle after the Bills won the Von Miller sweepstakes, but it has the chance to pay huge dividends as a depth signing for Josh Allen.

Still just 27 years old, Howard has plenty of gas left in the tank and he’s likely out to prove something to the Buccaneers after they gave Rob Gronkowski and Cameron Brate more opportunities with Tom Brady under center.

There’s still time for Washington to add a tight end, but the market has progressively gotten thinner with each passing day.