
In 2023, the Washington Commanders had higher expectations for both their defensive line and their potential to make the playoffs.
The Commanders took a dramatic turn at the trade deadline on Tuesday, selling defensive ends Montez Sweat and Chase Young. The team had a losing record (3-5) and a front that had fallen short of expectations.
The Commanders had considered constructing a line around Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, two other first-round picks, at tackle. However, following poor performance and with other voids in the squad elsewhere, they decided to take a different approach, adding future assets and maintaining the belief that they will contend this season, according to team sources.
Sweat, the 26th overall pick in 2019, was selected by the Chicago Bears with a high second-round pick, while Young, the second overall pick in 2020, was selected by the San Francisco 49ers with a third-round pick.
The deals signify what follows.
What implications does this have for the franchise’s future?
It has future assets as a result. With three draft picks in the top 50 and five in the top 100 for 2024, Washington is well-positioned. The Commanders could use assistance in a number of defensive places, including their back seven. They also have obvious needs along the defensive line. They also have salary cap space of almost $90 million. They can go after the draft and free agency.
Despite the potential consequences of moving Chase and Sweat, Washington is committed to winning this season. Because they intend to compete in 2023, the Commanders did not want to offload all of their prospective free agents. They did not trade backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett, according to a team source, in part because they wanted to be prepared in the event that starting quarterback Sam Howell suffered an injury. Ron Rivera, the coach of Washington, has expressed his admiration for Brissett.
They can acquire more youthful players with the additional draft cash, or they can be more aggressive in their trade-up efforts. Josh Harris, the Philadelphia 76ers’ owner, has observed the Philadelphia Eagles functioning in this way.
Why did Commanders exchange their defensive ends for one another?
The team decided not to place as much emphasis on one position group going forward because both would be free agents this offseason as a result of these actions. According to one insider, the Commanders can now use their draft picks and money to assemble a more evenly-matched lineup. Along the front, Washington had already paid for Payne and Allen, two other first-round selections. The team was meant to provide the groundwork for effective defense. When asked if they had performed to the caliber he had expected this season, Rivera, however, was candid.
“Not often enough,” he remarked. “You see it, yet you’ve got to see it all the time, & that’s really the mark of when something really comes together when it’s consistent.”
Team insiders stated that they intended to extend Sweat during the off-season. They could always apply Young’s franchise tag and keep both players if he delivered. They had a young quarterback on a rookie contract, after all, if Howell performed well. Washington also owns all that cap space through 2024. All of that meant that, should the Commanders so choose, they could retain both.
However, the squad had dropped its last six games despite the fact that Sweat and Young had combined for 11.5 sacks this season. According to several sources, it was realized internally that the Commanders needed more support elsewhere and that it would be challenging to retain Sweat or Young. One source stated that although Sweat would have been the better option in the long run, trading him was the smartest course of action due to the probable cost of his deal (Spattrac placed his market value at about $25 million annually) and the Bears’ offer. According to a source, the organization probably wouldn’t have dealt Sweat if it had simply been a third-round pick.
According to some sources, Young’s long-term durability was also questioned following his right knee rupture of the patellar tendon in 2021, in addition to his damaged ACL. In fact, some teams that had shown interest were unable to submit an offer due to health issues, according to insiders.
A further consideration was possible compensating selections. Washington can be active in free agency since it has a lot of cap room. The Commanders would not have received a compensatory choice if they had signed an expensive player, negating any potential losses in Sweat or Young.
According to several reports, there were also worries about the starting defensive line’s lack of on-field cohesion. Sources claim that when Rivera stated three weeks prior that the motto “Do Your Job” applied to the defensive line as much as any other group, Young was specifically singled out for that message; one source even claims that the team saw dealing Young as “addition by subtraction.” According to a source, poor gap discipline hurt the defense against the run as well as the pass rush.
The coaching staff was also aware that two years prior, after playing six games without Sweat and/or Young, Washington went 4-2 and made improvements in all significant statistical categories, including allowing 400 yards per game compared to 29.9 points per game. However, compared to 2021, Sweat and Young are also having more fruitful seasons.
Finally, the back seven will need to contribute significantly more if Washington is to make progress this year. Because that group has so many weaknesses, the Commanders are ranked 29th in yards and 31st in points. They lead the NFL in pass plays allowed of 25 yards or more, so if they don’t stop giving up huge plays, their season won’t improve.
For Ron Rivera and his employees, what does this mean?
As one coach recently stated, the staff was already under the idea it had to deliver this season to be around because it’s Rivera’s fourth season and they have a new owner in Harris. They are 3-5 and have yet to have a winning season.
But they might also benefit from this. After making decisions that the owner approved of and showing that they could still win, Rivera & Co. will have a stronger argument to be retained if Washington can turn around its season. Additionally, they would have left the franchise well-positioned for the future. According to Rivera, this season is also about determining whether Howell can be the team’s long-term quarterback.
Rivera told ESPN prior to the season that he was not concerned about his future.
“If we go 8-8-1 this year and the coach fires me and the following year they win the division as well as 40 of the 53 players we drafted alongside it’s the same quarterback, I’m vindicated,” Rivera stated. “Send my ring from the Super Bowl. That’s my perspective on it. I want us to be correct and for there to be that same excitement in this community.”
How much of a say did Josh Harris, the new owner, have in the choice?
Naturally, Harris participated in the process, just like any other owner would. However, other reports stated that his approach also signifies a shift for Washington, which was accustomed to a quicker decision-making process under former owner Daniel Snyder.
In this instance, Harris assigned the front office the responsibility of gathering data in the form of offers. After requesting bids on several players, general manager Martin Mayhew and Assistant General Manager Marty Hurney involved Rivera. Harris questioned the group about the possible transactions when they presented him with those offers. He wanted to know how it worked, why they might want to hold onto a certain player, or why, for example, Young was a solid value pick in the third round. After that, they would decide as a group. Occasionally, insiders claim, they turned down a deal, such as a sixth-round offer for quarterback Jacoby Brissett from a team.
He has done the same thing with the New Jersey Devils and the 76ers, two other professional sports clubs he owns.
How are the Commanders going to cover the gaps on defense?
When Sweat and Young became injured two years ago, Casey Toohill and James Smith-Williams filled in. This season, it will once more be the case. Following the season, Smith-Williams and Toohill will be unrestricted free agents.
Toohill has played 102 snaps, and Smith-Williams has played 183. Toohill has four sacks, which is a career-high; Smith-Williams, who is more of a run-stopper, has one. In addition, they have two rookie ends: fifth-round pick KJ Henry and seventh-round pick Andre Jones Jr., who showed promise in the preseason. Veteran Efe Obada is also on the team.
However, Payne and Allen, Washington’s tackles, will still be the defense’s main conduits. With reserves John Ridgeway (who the Commanders grabbed off waivers after the Dallas Cowboys cut him last season) and Phidarian Mathis (a second-round pick in 2022), they strengthened their interior line.