Dyami Brown and 6 Commanders who will (probably) be gone in 2025 at the bye week
By Dean Jones
Darrick Forrest - Commanders S
Darrick Forrest and Kamren Curl looked like one of the league's best young safety tandems heading into the 2023 season. The Washington Commanders had a lot of problems on defense, but this stable presence on the backend was something for previous head coach Ron Rivera to hang his hat on.
It didn't take long for this to unravel. Forrest got injured early in the campaign. Curl's performance levels dipped without his partner alongside him. Something that eventually led to the new regime letting him walk in free agency for the Los Angeles Rams.
Forrest returned to health in time for the offseason activities under Dan Quinn. He did enough to make the roster, but that's about it. The former Cincinnati standout's been an afterthought, logging multiple healthy scratches and accumulating just 11 defensive snaps so far.
This fall from grace is astonishing. Quinn prefers Quan Martin and Jeremy Chinn as the more athletic presences capable of operating effectively within his scheme. But the fact Percy Butler and others are being utilized on the rotation is deeply concerning.
Forrest is probably eager to get a new challenge elsewhere when the time comes. He's got talent, but this is more about scheme fit than anything else.
Clelin Ferrell - Commanders DE
Clelin Ferrell's career can best be described as a rollercoaster. The Las Vegas Raiders overdrafted him at No. 4 overall and he was unable to meet the heightened expectations that came with it. Getting a fresh start with the San Francisco 49ers in 2023 - together with a reduced role - brought much more encouraging signs.
Adam Peters seemed suitably impressed. The general manager brought him to the Commanders on a one-year, prove-it deal. This was a chance to play closer to home and potentially earn himself a long-term commitment along the way.
Ferrell did enough throughout the summer to earn the starting defensive end spot opposite Dorance Armstrong Jr. An injury derailed his progress, but his production hasn't exactly been stellar when in the lineup.
The former Clemson star has just 2.5 sacks from 48 percent of Washington's defensive snaps. Ferrell's pass-rush grade from Pro Football Focus is among the worst among qualifying edge defenders. Couple this with the inconsistencies Armstrong has displayed, it's not hard to see why Peters might ring the changes once again in 2025.
Armstrong will stick around, albeit in a potentially lesser role. Ferrell won't be so lucky.