3 Commanders starters from 2021 who are still free agents
By Jerry Trotta
Under Ron Rivera, the Washington Commanders have emphasized roster continuity and retaining their own free agents. Just this offseason, the team has re-signed JD McKissic, Cornelius Lucas, Bobby McCain, Joey Slye, Cam Sims, Danny Johnson, Daniel Wise, Tyler Larsen, Troy Apke. That’s a whopping nine players.
The common denominator of those players? Their relatively cheap price tags. Of those players, McCain has the highest cap hit at $2.78 million.
While these players were lucky enough to re-up their contracts with Washington, other free agents weren’t so lucky. Brandon Scherff became the NFL’s highest-paid guard in Jacksonville, Tim Settle left for more playing time in Buffalo, Ricky Seals-Jones stayed in the NFC East with the Giants and DeAndre Carter took his kick- and punt-returning prowess to the west coast with the recharged Chargers.
If you can believe it, some Commanders free agents are still looking for a team with training camp getting started in just over a week. A trio of those players actually started for the club last season. Any guesses as to whom they might be?
These Commanders starters from 2021 are still free agents
3. Jon Bostic
It’s no secret Bostic struggled before he suffered a season-ending pectoral injury against the Falcons in Week 4, but the sheer vitriol he received from the fan base on social media — when the entire defense was out of sync — was troubling.
In many ways, the veteran linebacker was made to be the scapegoat for the unit’s struggles when only a select few players were performing up to snuff.
At the end of the day, Bostic was named a team captain alongside Terry McLaurin, Jonathan Allen, Logan Thomas, Brandon Scherff, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Chase Young and Deshazor Everett, and it’s important to remember he was playing out of position on the weakside after playing on the inside for most of his career.
Bostic looked overwhelmed in the unfamiliar role and his lowly 30.2 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus is a reflection of that. He didn’t play enough snaps to qualify, but that grade would’ve ranked 87th out of 88 linebackers.
The Commanders are supposedly still browsing the market for a veteran linebacker, but Bostic likely isn’t on their radar. Still just 31 years old, the nine-year pro will catch on with some team before, after or during training camp.