5 huge disappointments from the Commanders beatdown at Cowboys in Week 12

Commanders veteran acquisitions

More specifically, we are going to focus on the four highest-paid veteran acquisitions - via free agency or trade - brought into the Washington Commanders during each of Ron Rivera’s four years as head coach. It's not pretty.

Six of them are no longer with the team. None of those six has played a snap in 2023. Of the remaining 10, veteran cornerback Kendall Fuller is the only one who I would judge as having a decent year.

Charles Leno Jr. and Logan Thomas still start, but both are on the downside of their careers, as is Cornelius Lucas. That is the problem with relying on veteran free agents to fill your roster. They will not last very long.

Amongst the others, dynamic wide receiver Curtis Samuel clearly has talent but is hindered by an offensive line that neither pass protects nor blocks effectively on running downs. That failure trickles into all aspects of the offense.

What’s especially disappointing about this group is that the classes have gotten significantly worse year by year. Jacoby Brissett is a backup, which is fine. Nick Gates has been benched. Cody Barton probably should be benched, but they have no one better to step in.

Andrew Wylie, a mediocre-at-best right tackle, has been the class of the lot. That’s not a recipe for success.