Seasons like the one the Washington Commanders experienced in 2025 cause organizations to rethink everything.
From personnel to practice habits, from offseason training to in-season travel, it's all up for discussion. We can be fairly certain that the Commanders’ general manager, Adam Peters, is actively engaged in such discussions right now.
The changes have already begun. Both coordinators are no longer with the club. A 30-year-old with virtually no coaching experience has taken over the offense, and the team is currently considering someone new to lead the defense.
Commanders' long-term future will be decided by Adam Peters' approach this offseason
There will almost certainly be more coaching changes once the new coordinators have time to assess current assistants. David Blough has hired his new quarterbacks coach, D.J. Williams. If the new defensive coordinator comes from outside the organization, he will probably bring in a few new faces as well.
The most visible changes will come on the field. Peters and Dan Quinn will be confronted with decisions that might have seemed unthinkable six months ago.
By my count — and I’m being fairly generous here — there are fewer than 20 players who are absolute locks for the 2026 season. That means more than 30 positions will be up for grabs throughout the summer and into training camp.
The players who could be gone can be broken into a few broad groups. The most obvious one consists of the older players.
They will all be 30 or older on the opening day of 2026. Some were acquired as part of Peters’ 2025 strategy to capitalize on Jayden Dainels’ team-friendly contract and win big immediately. And it’s hard to imagine any of them having a secure spot next year. That includes everyone from Deebo Samuel Sr. to Antonio Hamilton Sr., as well as Andrew Wylie, Nick Allegretti, and Will Harris.
Most are pending free agents. Some, like Allegretti and Harris, are under contract next year and may remain, but expect major changes to this group.
Those are the easy decisions. The harder ones will come with the younger players.
Does Peters attempt to re-sign Chris Paul and Jacob Martin? They entered 2025 as unheralded depth pieces but played as well or better than some of the bigger names on the team. Still, how much can the team spend on limited players?
And what about the players who underperformed in 2025?
Some, like Frankie Luvu and Mike Sainristil, are in no danger of losing roster spots. Their coaches simply need to figure out how to put them in a position to succeed.
But others — Quan Martin, Ben Sinnott, and Johnny Newton — have simply not lived up to expectations. All were second-round draft picks who should be forming the core of the roster. So far, it has not happened.
How long does Washington wait?
It seems unlikely that Peters would make wholesale changes amongst his younger players, but would it really shock anyone if a couple of them were released?
Martin was chosen by Ron Rivera. He played poorly in 2025. Though he is still just 26 and is signed through next year, there is no guarantee he will be on the team in 2026.
Perhaps the most difficult decisions revolve around Washington’s priciest players.
Does Laremy Tunsil get the extension he wants? Is there any way to move on from Javon Kinlaw? Does Peters entertain the notion of trading Daron Payne?
These are difficult questions that he must resolve on his own. We have had only limited time observing him, but one thing we know is that Peters acts decisively once he has made a decision.