Which young offensive tackles with uncertain futures could the Washington Commanders sign to boost their options in 2023?
The Washington Commanders have begun to dip their toe into the XFL/USFL waters this off-season. The recent signing of mammoth tackle Jaryd Jones-Smith, late of the St. Louis Battlehawks, may only be one of several small moves the team makes.
I shouldn’t say “small". Jones-Smith will contend with Cornelius Lucas for taking up the most space on the team bus. Perhaps in a perfect world, the younger option, who has experience at both tackle spots, could take over as the Commanders' backup swing presence. But that’s looking pretty far ahead.
To date, Jones-Smith has had virtually no NFL experience. He did, however, put in a season with the Commanders – the San Antonio Commanders of the deceased Alliance of American Football.
Though Jones-Smith’s signing did end the brief roller-coaster career of Drew Himmelman with the Commanders, I am eager to see what the new man can do. In the NFL, you always need developmental tackles. In Washington's case, they desperately need to actually develop one. They have a very poor track record in that regard.
Perhaps Jones-Smith will be the answer. But I think they should probably keep looking until they know for sure. So, as a public service, I’m here to namedrop several other younger tackles who are currently on NFL rosters – but who may not be at various cut stages this offseason.
These are all intriguing prospects who are caught up in a numbers game with their current teams. Any one of them could turn out to be a quality pro.