What are some immediate issues facing Josh Harris when the Washington Commanders officially fall under his ownership on July 20?
Josh Harris et. al. will have some crucial items at the top of their list as soon as the NFL approves their ownership. At the very top are a pair of public relations challenges.
They must repair the tattered love affair that once existed between the Washington Commanders and their passionate fans. That one shouldn’t be too hard because like all disappointed lovers, fans are willing to forgive a great deal for the promise of a fresh start.
The second PR task will prove more challenging. Harris must mend the toxic relationship that Dan Snyder created between the franchise and the local political establishment – especially with Washington, DC. That in turn will put the new owners in a position to address the single biggest hurdle they will face – getting a new stadium deal.
Harris and the Commanders will also have a variety of other important tasks to accomplish.
Will the Ron Rivera relationship continue, and if not, how will it end? You can sub in Jason Wright and Martin Mayhew and pose the same questions. These actions and decisions will have a major long-term impact on how the once-proud franchise rebuilds itself, and I suspect we will all be writing about them quite a bit in the months and years to come.
Today, let’s focus on three more immediate problems that Harris and his co-owners will need to solve. These issues could also have an impact on the team in years to come, but their consequences will be felt as soon as the 2023 season begins.
The Commanders must…
Commanders must sign Emmanuel Forbes and Quan Martin
Like most teams, the Washington Commanders locked a lot of their draft picks into standard-issue contracts within weeks of their selection. But they have still not signed their first two picks, Emmanuel Forbes and Quan Martin.
This is not a big issue in the first half of July. As of this writing, there are 25 rookies who remain unsigned across the league. Forbes is one of eight first-rounders still negotiating and Martin is one of 13 unsigned second-rounders.
Six other teams, like the Commanders, are still working out deals with their first and second-round picks.
Martin skipped rookie camp with an excused absence, but both players have been active participants in the team’s OTAs, so their unsigned statuses have not interfered with their development to this point. It will not matter, provided they ink their deals before the start of training camp at the end of July.
When the NFL and NFLPA reached a deal on rookie contracts about 10 years ago, it made negotiations far simpler because it largely proscribed salaries based on draft position. These days, hold-ups typically involve how much of the contract will be guaranteed and whether there will be offset language designed to protect the team if the player is released before the contract runs its course. That is almost certainly what is holding up the Forbes and Martin deals.
The only worrisome part of this is the truism that says “until they are signed, they are unsigned". We’d all like to kick this pebble out of our shoes and move on to more important things.
We don’t know, for instance, if Josh Harris is preternaturally insistent on offsets, and Forbes is equally opposed to them. That probably isn’t true, and there’s a 99 percent chance that both are signed and sealed by the start of training camp.
But it hasn’t happened yet.
Commanders must name a new OL coach
The Washington Commanders have not had an offensive line coach since John Matsko was fired on March 14. That has to change soon.
It is hard to understand why Travelle Wharton, who has been the recently removed coach's assistant for the past four seasons and appears to be well-regarded within the franchise, has not been formally promoted. He has been functioning as a de facto head coach for the protection this offseason.
This is a vital job. Apart from quarterback, no position group is undergoing as much transition this year as the offensive line.
Veteran Charles Leno Jr. is the only certainty along the line. Holdovers like Andrew Norwell, Tyler Larsen, and Cornelius Lucas could figure into the mix, but most will be comprised of newcomers or very young players.
There are two rookie draft picks and two veteran free agents new to the team. And there are three young vets all under 25 years old who are hoping to show they can become reliable starters.
Matsko worked wonders with a group of rag tags in 2020, but he was never able to develop young linemen during his years in Washington. That will be Job No. 1 for whoever succeeds him.
It has been reported that Wharton’s official ascendency to the top spot was simply waiting on the ownership issue to be resolved. That is certainly possible. But it also begs several questions.
The Commanders hired Eric Bienemy and brought in new quarterback coach Tavita Pritchard with ownership in flux. They certainly could pull the trigger on the Wharton promotion if they wanted to.
When Bienemy arrived, a lot of us wondered which assistants he might want to bring into the fold. Corey Matthaei, the Kansas City Chiefs assistant line coach under Andy Heck and Bienemy during the entire Patrick Mahomes era, was a very popular name. As of now, he's yet to move.
As with the unsigned defense backs, this will probably work out as expected and Wharton will be formally promoted once Josh Harris assumes ownership. But until that happens, we can keep speculating.
Is there another coach out there – whether it is Matthaei or someone else – who Bienemy wants for the job? Would the necessary offer be significant enough to require the okay of the new ownership group before a deal can be made?
Commanders must decide what to do with Chase Young and Montez Sweat
When was the last time a defensive end for the team now called the Washington Commanders had a double-digit sack season? I’ll give you a hint: the guy who did it is no longer on the roster, though he is employed by the franchise.
That tells you right off the bat that neither Montez Sweat nor Chase Young has ever had 10 sacks or more in a season. This is not how it was supposed to go.
The two first-rounders – playing alongside two first-round defensive tackles – were supposed to wreak havoc in opponents’ backfields. They were supposed to be competing against each other to see which one could get to 20 sacks in a season.
Injuries have derailed Young. Sweat has been very good, but last year, defensive tackle Daron Payne had more sacks.
So the Commanders have some big decisions ahead. It was always apparent that they would not be able to retain all four first-round defensive linemen beyond their rookie deals. They have now extended the two tackles, and would clearly like to extend one of the ends.
In the early Dan Snyder years, it would have been obvious. Young was the higher pick. He had cooler hair. He would have been extended even though Sweat has been more productive and has stayed healthier.
When the Commanders declined the fifth-year option on Young’s rookie deal, it put both pass-rushers on the same timeline and fueled speculation that one of them – most likely the No. 2 pick – could be on the trading block.
No fan wants to acknowledge this, but there is a chance that neither player is on the Commanders in 2024. Fortunately, besides Kamren Curl and possibly Antonio Gibson, Washington is not faced with any other major contract renewals in the upcoming season.
If Curtis Samuel has a big year, that could complicate matters. But I don’t really see him staying after 2023 unless it is at a team-friendly price.
The Commanders do have to start making decisions about the 2021 NFL Draft class in the upcoming year. Unless they have breakout seasons in 2023, players like Jamin Davis, Sam Cosmi, Benjamin St-Juste, John Bates, and Darrick Forrest should not be in line for major deals. But this is the young core of the roster and you don’t want to see them leave en masse.
Figuring out how to handle the two prize defensive linemen is the first step. And as much as anything else on the Josh Harris group's list, this will require major input from the owner.
BTW – the last defensive end with double-digit sacks was current coach Ryan Kerrigan, back in 2018, before anyone had ever heard of a Washington Commander.