The Washington Commanders are teetering on the brink of implosion just seven games into the season. Injuries have significantly hampered what was considered a campaign full of hope and promise after last year's NFC Championship game appearance.
Star quarterback Jayden Daniels has already been confirmed out for Monday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8, and defensive end Dorance Armstrong Jr. is done for the season. The status of top wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel Sr. is less specific, after both missed last week's contest. The former has been considered week-to-week for a month now.
But the team must execute regardless. Right now, it's hard to have faith in the Commanders to overcome the odds.
Adam Peters' faith in aging veteran signings is backfiring on the Commanders
The issues on this roster run deeper than the injuries. They can be traced back to a risky strategy by Adam Peters that was unsustainable in the long run.
Upon taking over general manager duties last spring, Peters wasted no time bringing in a laundry list of aging free agents. Linebacker Bobby Wagner, tight end Zach Ertz, and running back Austin Ekeler highlighted a group that would have immediately propelled the Commanders into Super Bowl contention if the year were 2018.
They were brought to Washington to help change the culture and to fill holes on the roster left by Ron Rivera's four years of failed development in his draft picks. Everybody was expecting 2024 to be a rebuilding season, with the experienced pros serving as short-term placeholders.
Then, the Commanders won 12 games and made the NFC Championship on the back of Daniels' historic rookie year. Suddenly, those long-term plans changed.
Washington needed to acquire as much experience as possible, with no time to wait for any homegrown projects to develop. So, even more vets were added, such as cornerback Marshon Lattimore, offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, linebacker Von Miller, and Samuel.
That ethos has caught up to the Commanders in 2025. Lattimore is a shell of his former self. Wagner's game has become limited due to his lack of speed. Miller is a rotational utility piece. Ekeler suffered a potentially career-ending torn Achilles tendon in Week 2. Washington, particularly on defense, is old and slow.
Worse yet, there has been minimal growth from those who are supposed to represent the Commanders' future. Washington has seen inexplicable regressions from players such as cornerback Mike Sainristil and safety Quan Martin, who looked to be coming into their own at the end of last year. Then, there are cases such as wide receiver Luke McCaffrey and linebacker Jordan Magee, who aren't being used enough.
Peters put himself in a box by abandoning the Commanders' rebuild to go all-in. It had short-term success, followed by a rude awakening, making Washington's top priority for this offseason crystal clear...
They have to get younger.