5 Washington Commanders players looking for redemption in 2024

Jeremy Chinn - Carolina Panthers LB/S

Jeremy Chinn will essentially be stepping into Kamren Curl’s spot at strong safety in 2024. This came after general manager Adam Peters opted not to offer the former seventh-round pick a new deal. He signed for the Los Angeles Rams soon after.

The fifth-year player has seen a significant drop-off in productivity from his first two years with the Carolina Panthers. Chinn was on the field for more than 90 percent of their defensive snaps during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. That fell off to under 60% in 2022 and then plummeted to just 27% last year.

Chinn was an afterthought within Ejiro Evero's 3-4 base scheme. He essentially became a special teams player who got in on occasional third-down packages. Quite the fall from grace.

During his rookie season, Chinn played a hybrid linebacker/safety position that allowed him to line up closer to the ball. As he transitioned to a true safety role, he dropped deeper and struggled in coverage. This year with the Washington Commanders, several factors may play to his advantage.

He will be playing under Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt, Jr. who have always had success developing defensive backs. There were a lot of safeties on the market this offseason, including Washington’s own Curl, but the coaching duo felt they could revive Chinn’s career by bringing him to the Commanders.

The personnel they now have on defense suggests the coaches may use Chinn in a role more like what he played over his rookie season in Carolina. Draftee Dominique Hampton can fill in at a traditional strong safety position, as can veteran Percy Butler. Quan Martin offers a lot of flexibility to the back end of the coverage unit. It's a decent group, especially with Darrick Forrest making a return from injury.

With linebacker Jamin Davis taking some snaps as an edge rusher, there may be room for Chinn to move up to that hybrid role where he excelled in 2021.