4 Commanders entering 2023 offseason on a short leash
By Dean Jones
Martin Mayhew – Commanders GM
After an underwhelming first offseason as general manager, Martin Mayhew has a stern challenge ahead of him this time around. The Washington Commanders won’t want the front office figure fluffing his lines for a second-straight preparation period, especially with the prospect of new ownership coming into the fold at some stage.
Mayhew has all the experience in the world to make the necessary improvements. Trusting the sound football minds around him will help, but the stakes are high for almost every primary decision-maker with Dan Snyder set to relinquish control to Jeff Bezos or another potential bidder.
The biggest thing that held Mayhew back in 2022 was trading for Carson Wentz. This was a major roll of the dice that blew up in the team’s face, but setting up his contract for such an eventuality was beneficial and will save the Commanders $26.17 million against their cap for good measure.
Not paying enough attention to the offensive line is something else that came back to haunt Mayhem. But looking at Washington’s financial situation and their eight draft picks, there are far worse positions to be in that’s for sure.
If Mayhew cannot lay the right foundations in the coming months and a new owner does take over, his time in Washington might not last much longer. So the urgency to get things right is there for all to see.