Fresh Kamren Curl revelations highlight Commanders' business-first shift

Fresh revelations surrounding Kamren Curl's departure highlight the Washington Commanders' new business-first model under general manager Adam Peters.

Kamren Curl deserves credit for emerging from proverbial obscurity to become a prominent NFL starter. Not many around the league believed he was capable of reaching such feats. Ron Rivera took a chance on the safety as a seventh-round selection in 2020, which was one of his few draft success stories throughout an indifferent four-year head coaching reign.

This wasn't enough for Curl to get a new deal. The new Washington Commanders regime had a different plan in mind, leaving the Arkansas star free to speak with other teams and eventually sign for the Los Angeles Rams on a two-year deal.

While Curl is getting a huge pay increase, it's probably less than he was expecting. The safety position has been devalued to a certain extent this offseason. This was the worst time for him to hit the market, but he landed with a quality head coach and a good scheme fit nonetheless.

Commanders never offered Kamren Curl an extension

Some fresh revelations provided some insight as to why Curl's been sending out some bitter posts on social media in recent days. Sam Fortier from the Washington Post stated that the Commanders didn't even bother offering him a modest extension for an extended stay. Those in power felt they had a better option for cheaper based on comments via USA Today Sports.

"Washington didn’t offer a deal to [Kamren] Curl because it believed veteran Jeremy Chinn would be a “better fit” at box safety for its new defensive scheme. (Chinn, 26, signed a one-year deal worth a base value of $4.1 million.) The official declined to elaborate on the specifics of the new scheme or why Chinn was a better fit."

- Sam Fortier via USA Today Sports

The Carolina Panthers didn't utilize Jeremy Chinn correctly in recent years. That said, he has the sort of athletic profile head coach Dan Quinn loves as part of his creative defensive scheme. Giving the former second-round pick a one-year deal that could be worth $5.1 million adds an extra sense of urgency to potentially gain a longer-term commitment in 2025.

Curl might feel a little aggrieved - especially considering how cheaply the Commanders got him - to not get offered a new deal for his efforts. But general manager Adam Peters is doing things differently. More importantly, there will be no sentiment attached to any decisions regarding established stars. If he feels like there's a better option or a potentially more productive fit, the front office leader will act with supreme conviction.

That's the only way Peters is going to get the Commanders off the canvas and back into contention. Rivera was too loyal more often than not. In some cases, it was justified. In most cases, not so much.

There's no doubt Curl is a solid professional who could achieve great things in the California sunshine. Being rejected stings in any form of life - but when one door closes, another opens. He'll be keen to maximize the latest opportunity and prove the Commanders wrong, even if a parting of the ways always seemed possible looking at how Peters has gone about his business since taking charge.

Harboring resentment won't do the player any favors. After all, the NFL is a business above all else.

It's high time the Commanders started treating it as such.