Who is the most overpaid player on the Washington Commanders in 2023?

Who was recently named as the most overpaid Washington Commanders player heading into an important 2023 campaign?

There are a lot of unknowns for the Washington Commanders heading into the 2023 season. While the landscape is going to shift once the ownership group led by Josh Harris' $6.05 billion purchase gets the green light on July 20, head coach Ron Rivera's primary focus will be fine-tuning things on the playing side before what could potentially be a franchise-altering campaign.

Money has been especially tight this spring. Dan Snyder's reluctance to put up his own cash before riding off into the sunset played a part, with the bumper extension allocated to defensive tackle Daron Payne something else that took up a huge chunk of change.

The financial shackles should be freed to a certain extent once Harris and his team of wealthy investors take over. Among the likely priorities is releasing Andrew Norwell once he gets medically cleared, extending Kamren Curl and maybe even Montez Sweat depending on their demands, with restructuring Jonathan Allen's deal coming with some notable savings in the short-term.

Logan Thomas named Commanders most overpaid player in 2023

Another contract that might come under scrutiny surrounds Logan Thomas. The tight end is set to count $8.67 million against Washington's salary cap next season according to Over the Cap, which is not in keeping with the veteran's production over the last two seasons.

Injuries have played their part, obviously. But the Commanders remain confident in the former quarterback given that they didn't strengthen their options within the position group whatsoever this offseason.

Thomas has looked the part throughout early workouts within Eric Bieniemy's scheme that is much more tight-end friendly. Whether it's enough for a return to his 2020 form remains to be seen, but it didn't take much reasoning for Bruce Ewing from Yardbarker to name the Virginia Tech product as the Commanders' most overpaid player in 2023.

"[Logan] Thomas broke out with 670 yards receiving and six touchdown catches for Washington in 2020. He missed 11 games the following season, but that didn’t stop the Commanders from giving him a three-year, $24 million contract extension. In 14 games last season, Thomas had just 323 yards receiving and one TD catch. With a $6 million cap hit for 2023, Thomas is Washington’s eighth-highest paid player and the NFL’s 11th-highest paid tight end."

- Bruce Ewing, Yardbarker

The concerns about Thomas' production and durability are glaring. Washington also has young upstarts such as Curtis Hodges, John Bates, and especially Cole Turner breathing down his neck in pursuit of playing time.

If this - coupled with having such a creative play-caller in Bieniemy leading the charge - doesn't inspire Thomas to do bigger and better things, nothing will. If this outcome comes to fruition, the Commanders will likely cut him loose in 2024 with a cap saving of $6.56 million.

Things are hanging precariously for Thomas, there's no getting away from that. However, with an injury-free season and an offensive coordinator that knows exactly how to put players in the best possible positions to thrive, enjoying a genuine bounce-back campaign cannot be dismissed, either.

It's a fine line, that's for sure. Only time will tell as to how things turn out for Thomas and the Commanders next season.