3 dark horses to make the Commanders’ 53-man roster

Landon Collins, LB/S

Remember way back in June when there was plenty of speculation that Collins might return on a more team-friendly deal? He didn’t want to, because he didn’t like being moved to that buffalo nickel position that is a hybrid of a safety and a linebacker (even though he actually seemed ideally suited for that role.)

Well, the season is rapidly approaching and Collins remains a free agent. Collins is already costing the team a dead cap hit approaching $10 million this year, and I have no idea what kind of relationship exists between the team and player right now. But if he wants to play, this would not be such a bad place for him.

Washington has some younger guys who are auditioning for this new in-the-box safety. Kam Curl will be up there a lot, but he will also play more of a classic strong safety role, while Bobby McCain plays deep. Darrick Forrest, Percy Butler and Jeremy Reaves have all shown some ability to play this kind of role, but each is smaller than Collins, and I’m not sure you want Darrick Forrest throwing himself into the middle of the line too often, when he is looking like a very promising deep safety once McCain moves on.

Actually, the player who I think profiles the best in this role – and who is actually on the roster – is Steven Parker, who Jerry had as one of his potential roster surprises. At this point, I give Parker a 50/50 chance of being on the final roster. I think it’s either him or Reaves for the final spot in the secondary, and right now, I’d lean toward Parker.

That’s of course, if Landon Collins doesn’t make a triumphant return. Because as much as fans frowned at some of Collins’ out of control, or half-step late play over the last two years – as much as the grass is always greener with a new, unknown guy – Landon Collins could still be a major contributor to this defense in 2022.

If he’s one of the drak horses to make the team.