4 moves the Commanders must consider after Charles Leno Jr. restructure
By Dean Jones
What moves could the Washington Commanders make after gaining more than $6 million in salary-cap space by restructuring Charles Leno Jr.'s deal?
Things have been tight on the money front for Ron Rivera and the Washington Commanders in recent months. Keeping Daron Payne around took up the majority of spare resources and with the ownership in flux, Dan Snyder was unwilling to commit much of his own cash knowing the end was near.
That's something that can hopefully change now Josh Harris' ownership group is at the helm. The Commanders set about improving their salary-cap predicament on Tuesday by restructuring Charles Leno Jr.'s contract, which frees up more than $6 million and sees Washington's available funds move to $7.31 million.
This could be for insurance purposes in the event injury strikes throughout the campaign. It might also indicate a move or two could be coming heading into the team's Week 2 clash at the Denver Broncos.
With this in mind, here are four moves the Commanders must consider with their newfound wealth.
Commanders could sign Dalton Risner
The Washington Commanders offensive line started Sunday's game extremely well. They couldn't keep this up for the contest's entirety, so it's something worth monitoring over the next couple of weeks before potentially taking any drastic measures.
One of the prominent names remaining on the market is Dalton Risner. The experienced interior presence remains looking for work - which is a surprise when one considers how much he played for the Denver Broncos last season - so this could be a move that benefits the Commanders from a depth standpoint if nothing else.
Ron Rivera's been happy with his current options up to now. But one only has to look at the potential complications that might arise if one of the starting five is forced to miss time.