No NFL team was busier than the Washington Commanders this offseason. Heck, Washington is still busy as general manager Adam Peters continues to reshape the front office in his image.
Beginning early in January, owner Josh Harris fired former head coach Ron Rivera and quickly hired Peters as GM. They went to work on a lengthy coaching search before choosing Dan Quinn. Quinn then built a deep and experienced coaching staff.
From there, the Commanders signed over 20 outside free agents in free agency, selected nine players in the 2024 NFL draft and added 11 more undrafted free agents.
Every team in the NFC East had an interesting offseason. The Cowboys did nothing in free agency, while the Eagles remained aggressive. The Giants made the division’s biggest trade, landing edge rusher Brian Burns from the Panthers.
So, what did we learn from this offseason?
Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports answered that question for all 32 teams. Here’s what Benjamin learned about Washington:
Dan Quinn wants to win sooner rather than later. Yes, they have a rookie at quarterback in No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels, but they were incredibly busy in free agency, pouring all kinds of resources into aging play-makers like Austin Ekeler, Zach Ertz and Bobby Wagner.
Benjamin is correct. Quinn took his second and likely last head coaching opportunity with the understanding that he needed to win. Quinn knows there are no five-year rebuilding jobs. The good news is that Peters approached this offseason with the long-term view in mind, giving the Commanders a chance to surprise some people in 2024. Washington wisely managed that balance over the past few months.
And if rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels is as advertised, the Commanders could be much better quicker than people realize.
