18 players who are locks for the Commanders 2024 roster

Commanders DL (4)

• Daron Payne, K.J. Henry, Andre Jones Jr., John Ridgeway

What a difference a year makes.

Last year, we were wondering if the Washington Commanders could figure out some way to keep the highly-touted defensive line intact. Now it has been blown up.

We may still be in the middle of that, depending on the Jonathan Allen situation. The veteran defensive tackle has made no secret of his thoughts regarding a potential move away, which stems from not winning for any consistent period since he joined the franchise as a first-round pick in 2017.

Daron Payne got his lucrative extension to prevent him from leaving last offseason, so he's a lock. K.J. Henry and Andre Jones Jr. are the future. John Ridgeway is the cheapest player on the team who plays a lot.

Casey Toohill, James Smith Williams, and Efe Obada will be free agents. I suspect the Commanders will talk to some or all of them about returning, but no one is a lock.

Sadly, neither is Phidarian Mathis, last year’s second-round draft pick. He simply has not been able to stay healthy and has not been productive on the rare occasions he has played. Considering there are no significant salary-cap ramifications attached to his early release, it cannot be dismissed.