The Washington Commanders enter the season with nowhere to go but up. After finishing 4-13 in 2023, the team will begin this year with new faces from the executive suite down to the practice squad. The upcoming campaign offers a chance to everyone associated with the franchise.
Several of the players could turn a successful 2024 campaign into a huge payday next offseason. Some of the team’s highest-profile players may not have major financial incentives in the coming season. Some, like veteran stars Terry McLaurin, Jonathan Allen, and Daron Payne are locked in for the next several years.
The highest-ceiling free agents signed this offseason - Dorance Armstrong, Tyler Biadasz, and Frankie Luvu - are also signed for the next three years. When he signs, prized rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels will be inked to a four-year deal with the Commanders holding the option on a fifth season.
Washington expects great things from all of those players, but their current financial situation will not be affected by their play in 2024. However, there are a lot of players who are on one-year deals. Some others would have a lot of bargaining leverage with a stellar year.
Here are seven such Commanders players who could seriously cash in if they perform well when competitive games begin.
Jamin Davis - Commanders LB
Jamin Davis will count $3.89 million against the salary cap in the final year of his rookie deal. The Washington Commanders chose not to pick up his fifth-year option, which will make him a free agent at the end of the upcoming season. Given his mundane performance during his first four campaigns, it was the right decision.
However, Davis remains a physically gifted player who has grown into a steadier presence over time. Given the abysmal track record of the previous coaching staff in developing young players, a new defensive scheme could unlock the former first-round pick.
If he can put up somewhat better numbers in 2024 - perhaps going over 100 tackles and reaching five sacks - Davis could see a big payoff next summer.
Josey Jewell signed a three-year deal for $18 million this past season. Davis is younger and has a higher ceiling. If he merely signed for what the veteran got from the Carolina Panthers, that would more than double his current salary.
With a very good season, he could go a lot higher.
Sam Cosmi - Commanders OL
Sam Cosmi and Jamin Davis were drafted in the same class. Their contracts are up at the same time. However, the former second-round pick is one of the best young guards in the league.
He and Andrew Wylie are the only returning starters on the offensive line. Unless he suffers a major injury in 2024, Cosmi is going to get a major boost in salary next spring. The only questions are how big the boost is and who will be paying it.
With a standout season, Cosmi could be looking at one of the richest contracts ever offered to an NFL offensive guard. That would require an All-Pro caliber season - something the 25-year-old is fully capable of achieving.
Even if he falls a bit short of that and merely duplicates his excellent 2023 season, Cosmi is looking at a multi-year deal with a yearly average of over $15 million. That's still a bumper deal for the Texas product.
General manager Adam Peters signed a couple of young veteran linemen to mid-level deals this off-season and has not yet invested in a high-priced left tackle. Therefore, he will have the flexibility to offer Cosmi a major deal if he wishes.
Jahan Dotson - Commanders WR
The Washington Commanders do not have to make any move with Jahan Dotson next spring. If he has a breakout year, as many were expecting in 2023, the team can pick up the fifth year of his rookie deal and keep him through the 2026 season.
However, just because they don’t have to act, it doesn’t mean they won’t.
Wide receiver contracts in the NFL have exploded over the past several seasons. The recent spate of extensions given to top pass catchers suggests that this trend is not slowing down. It is also becoming increasingly costly to import a star wideout through free agency.
Peters could decide it is a better move to extend Dotson early. If the market continues to soar, an early extension will amount to significant savings.
This only makes sense if the Commanders see truly exceptional growth from the young pass-catcher this season. He was mediocre in 2023. Another season like that leaves him in the same position as Jamin Davis, with the club probably declining his fifth year.
A somewhat better year might result in that fifth option being exercised. A truly exceptional season might result in negotiations for a long-term extension.
Jeremy Chinn - Commanders S
Jeremy Chinn signed a one-year deal with the Washington Commanders to effectively replace the departed Kamren Curl at strong safety. The deal is counting $3.95 million against the salary cap.
The Commanders accumulated several promising young players at safety in addition to Chinn. Darrick Forrest returns from injury. Percy Butler gained some experience filling in last season. Washington is high on fifth-round draft pick Dominique Hampton. Versatile defensive back Quan Martin could see time on the backend, where he starred in college at Illinois.
However, all are very young. None have produced at the level Chinn did during his first two seasons with the Carolina Panthers when he recorded 223 tackles and caused five turnovers.
Chinn’s play fell off significantly over the last two years, during which he totaled just 100 tackles and failed to cause a single takeaway. If Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr. can get the former second-round pick back to his old form, it could have major financial implications for the player.
Ten safeties, including Curl, inked bigger deals than Chinn in 2024. At the very least, a good campaign should earn him a multi-year deal at $1-2 million more than he is making this year.
Michael Deiter - Commanders OL
The assumption is that Sam Cosmi and Nick Allegretti will be the Commanders starting guard tandem in 2024. If one of them should go down for any length of time, it is unclear at this point who'll be next up.
Young veterans Chris Paul and Ricky Stromberg are in the mix. But neither was brought to town by the current regime.
Free agent Michael Deiter was.
The journeyman signed a one-year deal for $1.8 million this spring. The Commanders have not had all three interior linemen play more than 60 percent of the offensive snaps together since 2020. Since Deiter will also compete with Stromberg to be the team’s backup center, there is a very good shot he could get extended playing time if and when the injuries begin to occur.
Deiter is still only 27 years old and could be in line for several extra million dollars on a 2-3-year deal if he shines in a replacement role for the Commanders this year. That would be similar to the pattern Wes Schweitzer followed under similar circumstances for Washington back in 2020.
Dante Fowler Jr, Clelin Ferrell - Commanders DEs
The Washington Commanders need more from their edge defenders. Especially after Montez Sweat and Chase Young were traded before the 2023 deadline.
They invested $33 million in free agent Dorance Armstrong this offseason. He figures to be a mainstay on one side of the defensive line. The other side remains very much up in the air.
The team has several young, unproven players. The Commanders also have two veterans who both signed one-year deals in the $3-4 million dollar range.
Both Dante Fowler Jr. and Clelin Ferrell were extremely high draft picks - No. 3 and No. 4 overall. Both have had somewhat disappointing careers to the point.
Washington may platoon them, with Ferrell playing on early downs, and Fowler coming in as a pass rusher. But if one of them can step up, he could see a big reward next offseason.
Fowler will be 30 years old next season, which will hurt his prospects. But a double-digit sack season - something he has not managed since 2019 - could change perceptions about how much he might have left in the tank.
Ferrell is still theoretically in his prime, but he has never been able to perform at a consistent level. He would need to prove he has matured as a player to the point that he could be a reliable starting-caliber edge defender.
It may not be likely that either player has a good enough season to cash in, but paired wagers always increase the odds. So it could happen to one of them.
The bad news in these scenarios is that should any of these players have an excellent season - except Cosmi and Dotson - general manager Adam Peters could decide the Commanders cannot afford to keep them.
The good news, of course, is that only comes after they have had a standout season in Washington. After so much misery in recent years, no fan will be complaining about that.