Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters will enter the 2026 offseason with many decisions to make. And that might be an understatement.
Twenty-three of his players are pending free agents. Specific contract options may make several others free agents as well. All but one will be unrestricted, meaning they can negotiate with any other club, no strings attached.
Running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. will be a restricted free agent, which means Peters can retain him relatively easily. Given his increased usage in recent weeks, that seems likely.
But how many of Washington’s other pending free agents are going to be Commanders in 2026? I’m setting the over/under line at 3.5 out of 22 unrestricted free agents. That’s not an encouraging number.
Commanders are bracing for another offseason rebuild that could define Adam Peters' tenure
Part of the problem goes back to the supernaturally disastrous drafting history of the previous regime. Most of the young veterans who would be finishing their rookie deals and looking for new contracts were jettisoned long ago. Consequently, well over half of the 2026 free agents will be 30 or older next year.
Teams ranked 3-7 tend not to re-sign many 30-year-old players. If they do, you can expect massive turnover in the front office very soon.
Back to those pending free agents for a moment. In addition to Rodriguez, Peters should re-sign interior offensive lineman Chris Paul and defensive end Jacob Martin. Neither are elite players. But in a season that has featured so much injury and underperformance, they have at least been steady.
There is a group of older vets who have performed well but whose age may be a deterrent. Deebo Samuel Sr. and Jeremy McNichols head this list. Both will be 30 next year. Receivers and running backs rarely thrive after that threshold.
Then there are even older players who have actually performed at a reasonable level this year — Zach Ertz, Bobby Wagner, Marcus Mariota, and Eddie Goldman. Peters really does not have many promising younger options on the horizon to take their place. The failure of recent draft picks like Jordan Magee, Ben Sinnott, and Johnny Newton has made this a genuine problem.
Peters may not have better players on hand to replace those veterans, but can he really afford to make the league's oldest roster even older? He will kick the tires on a couple of deals, but none of those veterans are sure to be back.
Let’s look at the roster a different way. Consider the depth chart. Which position groups do you feel confident about?
Maybe the offensive line? We can hope that the right side will be better next season, with Sam Cosmi fully recovered from injury and Josh Conerly Jr. out of his rookie ups and downs. But this offensive line looks to be slightly above average at best.
Running back? Jacory Croskey-Merritt made a big splash early but has cooled off considerably since. Like the offensive line, they look to be fine — nothing more. And those are the positions where Washington is probably strongest.
The receivers and tight ends need serious upgrades, especially given the ages of their best performers. Samuel, Ertz, and Terry McLaurin will all be over 30 next season, and there’s a pretty good chance the first two will not return. Are there any other players on the current roster at those positions who you feel confident about?
If Mariota re-signs, then the quarterback position is set. But even there, Peters needs to identify a younger backup for Jayden Daniels. It’s impossible to know how much longer the Oregon product will remain, and the Commanders have nothing of lasting value behind him.
As for the defense? I don’t have to spell it out.
Is there a single position where Washington does not need an upgrade? Edge rusher is the overwhelming primary need, but Peters needs to identify productive players at all three levels. Almost every player under 30 who was supposed to step into a leadership role this year has underperformed.
The meltdown of Daron Payne and Javon Kinlaw in Washington’s humiliating loss to the Detroit Lions is about as bright a flashing red warning sign as you could find. It is not the same dynamic, but it does echo the eerie Payne-Jonathan Allen fracas late in the 2021 season, which signaled the impending freefall of a seemingly sound defense.
Even the special teams are iffy. Matt Gay is expensive and ineffective, and Tress Way will be 36 next year. Both are pending free agents. I suppose Tyler Ott is solid and reliable.
There you have it. Peters is set at long snapper — something to build on.
Small comfort, I know. But you take what you can get.
Two years into his tenure as Washington's front-office leader, Peters will face plenty of unanticipated rebuilding this offseason. He must deliver.