Commanders showed interest in Giants latest defensive signing

Washington Commanders fans were furious with how the front office handled the linebacker and cornerback positions this offseason.

Instead of signing depth pieces with ample experience on their resumes, the Commanders opted to run it back with David Mayo and Jon Bostic at linebacker and bring in Rachad Wildgoose and Tariq Castro-Fields, who had one start between them before 2022, after cutdown day to plug some holes at corner.

While the offense’s ineptitude has taken most of the spotlight in recent weeks, and understandably so, the defense is still giving up explosive plays and the linebacker and corner positions are playing a huge role in that.

The scheme isn’t helping matters, but it’d be interesting to see what the defense would look like if it boasted more quality at these positions.

At this point, it’d be foolish to expect the Commanders to bring in reinforcements unless they get absolutely decimated by injury. Other teams, like the Giants, though, are working around the clock searching for defensive upgrades.

On Monday, the G-Men signed free agent linebacker AJ Klein. According to The Athletic’s Ben Standig, the Commanders actually expressed interest in Klein over the summer, but ultimately opted to bring back Bostic.

The Commanders inquired about latest Giants signing AJ Klein.

The Giants and Commanders have yet to lock horns this season, but they’ve been intertwined on the transaction front in recent days. Before New York signed Klein, they hosted free agent defender Landon Collins, whom Washington released during the legal tampering period to save roughly $6 million against the cap.

The Commanders and Collins tried to negotiate a restructured contract, but Collins was ultimately reluctant to take a substantial paycut. Tough to blame him for that. After all, he merely signed the bloated contract Washington offered him.

Klein, meanwhile, adds to what is currently an overachieving Giants linebacker room. Pretty impressive given they made Blake Martinez a cap casualty before the season. Right now, Tae Crowder is performing out of his skin and former Cowboy first-rounder Jaylon Smith finished second on New York with seven tackles in Sunday’s win over the Bears.

Smith was promoted from the practice squad for Week 4, so there’s definitely a path for Klein to make the active roster on game days.

The reason Washington “checked in” on Klein this summer? He’s a former fifth-round selection of Ron Rivera’s Panthers in 2013. If there’s one thing more consistent than Washington letting fans down on Sunday’s, it’s Rivera looking to take advantage of the Panthers pipeline.

Klein played the previous two seasons with Buffalo, making 15 starts and 31 appearances. He compiled 110 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hits, five sacks nine passes defended and two forced fumbles.

Klein isn’t a world-beater by any stretch, but the Giants adding him to the practice squad (with a favorable chance to make his way to the 53-man roster) is another example of non-Commanders teams always looking for ways to improve.