Ranking the Commanders’ most disappointing players through Week 10
By Jerry Trotta
At this point in the season, it’s pretty clear who the Washington Commanders’ most consistent performers are. Between Jon Allen, Terry McLaurin, Daron Payne, Kam Curl, Charles Leno, Curtis Samuel and Antonio Gibson, the Commanders have about six or seven players every week who deliver their best on Sundays.
You could even throw Montez Sweat in there even though his sack numbers leave a lot to be desired. Four sacks in 10 games isn’t what you’d expect from a player with Sweat’s skillset, but he’s notched 39 pressures and 16 hits while playing exceptionally against the run (86.2 run defense grade, per PFF).
While those players are putting together solid seasons, a good handful of Commanders have been underwhelming for most of 2022. Now that we’re 10 games in, let’s delve into the team’s most disappointing players up until this point.
3 most disappointing Commanders during the 2022 season
3. Andrew Norwell
There was a time during the offseason when Commanders fans talked themselves into the Norwell signing. Most of the praise stemmed from his cost-effective contract, history with Ron Rivera, and that LG isn’t a premier position. Surely Norwell could replicate Ereck Flowers’ production for half the price, right?
Norwell has gotten back on track (only two pressures allowed the last two weeks), but fans won’t soon forget his dreadful start to the season.
Typically, 31 isn’t considered “old” for an offensive linemen, but Norwell has looked older than his age. The former All-Pro has been outmatched on one too many reps this season — how many times has he been pancaked by opposing pass rushers? — and there’s still seven games to go.
Would it shock anyone if Washington cuts bait with Norwell in the offseason and are back in the LG market? No way. However, releasing him would come with a greater dead cap charge ($2.8 million) than cap savings ($2.32 million).
If the Commanders had better options, Norwell undoubtedly would’ve joined fellow offseason signing Trai Turner on the bench. In 10 games, Norwell owns a 55.6 player grade from PFF. In 2021, Flowers posted a 72.0 player grade.