The Front Office: Adam Peters and Roster Construction

[KDawg]

Caveats are generally utilized as a means to protect personal positions in the event that results are different from what one expects. 😉

Quinn wasn’t my top choice by a long shot…I wanted MacDonald or Vrabel (both defensive guys). So I am far from a Quinn acolyte.

As far as my comment referencing recency bias…I don’t remember much or any of the over-the-top criticism prominent now toward Quinn at the end of the 2024 season. But, as always, YMMV.

Quinn didn’t fire both coordinators after 2024, either. And they didn’t make the series of blunders they made in 2025 yet.

But ‘24 is why most were okay with Quinn getting another shot in ‘26.

 

[Conn]

Caveats are generally utilized as a means to protect personal positions in the event that results are different from what one expects. 😉

Feels like projecting, to me. Boards like this are one of the few mediums left to communicate through with any sort of nuance. Writing that nuance off as simple ass-covering is a little uncharitable lol

Quinn wasn’t my top choice by a long shot…I wanted MacDonald or Vrabel (both defensive guys). So I am far from a Quinn acolyte.

Fair.

As far as my comment referencing recency bias…I don’t remember much or any of the over-the-top criticism prominent now toward Quinn at the end of the 2024 season. But, as always, YMMV.

The people concerned with the hiring process that led to Quinn never went away. The people concerned with the OC turnover that would be inherent in hiring Quinn never went away. There was plenty of specific pointed criticism of the Whitt hire after 2024 and how it would sink us. There was even a good amount of Kliff skepticism, despite the offensive success. I would say people were pleasantly surprised with his 4th down aggression and clock management in 2024, but a lot of the skepticisms and criticisms that followed the hire remained despite the NFCCG appearance. What qualifies as “over the top” I guess varies from person to person.

But the major stuff I was worried about (CEO defensive HC who doesn’t run the D having to nail coordinator and assistant hires consistently—and personally not liking the initial hires, although I erroneously trusted Quinn on Whitt) has never stopped being a problem, in my eyes. Through the 2024 team success and the 2025 team failure.

 

[Discobob]

My biggest knock on AP is why he would hire a defensivly minded HC when drafting JD. It's almost like his left hand didn't know what his right hand was going to do.

It's a fair critique, I think the biggest extenuating factor was that there just weren't many offensive HC candidates that were also willing to come here. We were arguably a mid-to-low tier destination, so there is a point where the offensive HC options just aren't worth considering.

 

[Primus Porcus]

It's a fair critique, I think the biggest extenuating factor was that there just weren't many offensive HC candidates that were also willing to come here. We were arguably a mid-to-low tier destination, so there is a point where the offensive HC options just aren't worth considering.

A valid factor in every move made previously, as well as now. Just because we choose a guy, doesn't mean they choose us.

I was, and still am, largely in the camp of having an Offensive HC (especially with a young QB) because of the simple fact that it means you install an offensive philosophy, and it doesn't change if your coordinator is good and gets hired away. It also means your entire coaching staff is already in that same system, so the hiring pipeline is much easier to establish.

That all said, I was fine with Quinn, and for now I'm still good with him going forward, because I don't want to hire an inferior offensive coach, simply because he got his chops on that side of the ball. Give me the best chance to win, and we've seen that it IS possible.

 

[Boone]

I think one thing we can all acknowledge... we all overreacted to the success of the 2024 season, and we are all overreacting to an extent to the debacle of a 2025 season. It is just human nature and certainly 'recency bias' is a real thing.

Somewhere in the middle is reality.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Listened to the Keim podcast and he clarified what he thinks "leave the door open for" Ertz means:
- They're going to try and get a guy in FA to upgrade the room. But they're not going to "overspend." (I'm not sure what that means.
- If they don't get a guy in FA who is a clear replacement/upgrade, they might draft a guy in the middle rounds who they would expect to contribute. (VOR comment: they tried that with Sinnott, and he's entering year 3, and it hasn't happened yet, so I wouldn't bet on this plan.)
- If they strike out in FA and the draft, they'll look internally to see if the guys they have can replace the production.
- If that doesn't work, in August, if Ertz is progressing well and ready to get back on the field in some capacity, then they would consider re-signing him.

I think you'd have to REALLY stretch what Peters said out loud to get to all of that, but it does make some degree of sense.

So, now we wait a few weeks to see how FA is going to play out.

 

[Conn]

Listened to the Keim podcast and he clarified what he thinks "leave the door open for" Ertz means:
- They're going to try and get a guy in FA to upgrade the room. But they're not going to "overspend." (I'm not sure what that means.
- If they don't get a guy in FA who is a clear replacement/upgrade, they might draft a guy in the middle rounds who they would expect to contribute. (VOR comment: they tried that with Sinnott, and he's entering year 3, and it hasn't happened yet, so I wouldn't bet on this plan.)
- If they strike out in FA and the draft, they'll look internally to see if the guys they have can replace the production.
- If that doesn't work, in August, if Ertz is progressing well and ready to get back on the field in some capacity, then they would consider re-signing him.

I think you'd have to REALLY stretch what Peters said out loud to get to all of that, but it does make some degree of sense.

So, now we wait a few weeks to see how FA is going to play out.

I’d wager it’s less that he’s extrapolating all of that on his own from Peter’s original sentence, and more that he’s been fed a little more context since then so he’s clarifying.

I also am baffled as to why Peters seems to think it’s realistic to chase the top couple TE FA’s but NOT “overpay”. Sometimes you just have to when you have a hole, that’s the market. Going in with good intentions and coming out with affordable C-tier players again at various positions is going to get him fired.

Very interesting offseason ahead

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I think one thing we can all acknowledge... we all overreacted to the success of the 2024 season, and we are all overreacting to an extent to the debacle of a 2025 season. It is just human nature and certainly 'recency bias' is a real thing.

Somewhere in the middle is reality.

I think THEY are overreacting to 2025 a little bit. They needed to react. I think they might have over-corrected. We'll see.

I might be one of the more patient posters, and one that gives the most rope to just about everybody, players, coaches, FOs. It took me longer than most to declare EB a complete failure as OC, I stuck with Scott Turner longer than most because he was saddled (partly of his own doing) with Taylor Heinicke, who was so physically limited he couldn't run an NFL offense. I've stuck with draft picks longer to say they need 2-3 years to really develop, etc.

I would not have fired Kliff, and I would not have changed up the entire offensive philosophy based on 2025 going into year 3 of a regime. I thought that was an overaction. I would have cleared out the defensive staff, I think that would have been an appropriate reaction.

I still think there is some hope for players from the 2024 draft class, and I don't think a debacle of a season makes Daniels less good right now. Again, I have more patience to watch draft picks develop than some. Maybe that's because for years I was responsible for hiring and mentoring kids right out of college. They know nothing. They don't even know the difference between a mortgage and a lease. And it takes time for 23 year olds to figure out how to live life.

I do think the reason the reason they are in the position they are in is the 2024 draft class, absent Daniels, hasn't delivered.

They did a really good job in 2024 of signing vets and drafting a guy behind them, of having vets there already, so the draft picks were positioned to replace the vets:

Daniels => Mariota (This is not a "replace" situation, but it was a good vet signing to back up/mentor a rookie)
Newton => Jonathan Allen
Sainristil => (Nobody, the cupboard was completely bare and they didn't sign a guy in FA which was a mistake.)
Sinnott => Ertz
Coleman => Cornelius Lucas (was re-signed)
McCaffrey => OZ/DBrown + they had McLaurin
Magee => Wagner
Hampton => Again, they had nobody at CB
Javontae Jean-Baptist => Armstrong/Fowler

The plan is the guys they drafted would replace the 1 year vet guys.

The problem is that didn't happen. It partially happened with Coleman, then they flipped position and that didn't work. Jean-Baptiste was a good find and a backup DE, then got hurt.

That's why they are back in the position of having to spend more on FA.

The 2024 plan was really good.

In 2025, I think Peters expected more from this group, and got nothing, and that really doomed the team from a roster perspective. And I think that's a reason why they didn't sign a bunch of guys to longer term deals, they thought they had at least 4 or 5 guys from the 2024 draft class who would step up. It's been said that the biggest jump for players is between year 1 and year 2. They were definitely counting on that, and it didn't happen.

That's probably a failure of personnel, but also of player development.

Now, in the 2026 off-season, they have a challenge: do they "give up" on these guys and go out and spend more money at these positions, or do they see growth and can they trust them to take the next step?

But I think this lack of development spooked Peters and Quinn. And they threw the entire thing into the tumble dryer. I might have been more judicious.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I’d wager it’s less that he’s extrapolating all of that on his own from Peter’s original sentence, and more that he’s been fed a little more context since then so he’s clarifying.

I also am baffled as to why Peters seems to think it’s realistic to chase the top couple TE FA’s but NOT “overpay”. Sometimes you just have to when you have a hole, that’s the market. Going in with good intentions and coming out with affordable C-tier players again at various positions is going to get him fired.

Very interesting offseason ahead

Maybe. I am actually not sure what he hears. Some stuff. He was completely caught off guard (as was everybody) with the Biadacz stuff, but I'm planning on making that controversial post in the "covering the Commanders" thread.

Keim didn't report "they won't overspend," I don't think he was told that. I think he's speculating. And that speculation might be because that's the way they've operated in the past. It also could be Peters is feeding him false information.

I actually think they are going to get a TE in FA, an one of the top 2-3 guys. Maybe that's because I just believe they are all too smart to bet that position on Sinnott's development and maybe getting a guy in the draft. They know what they are losing because Ertz is not here and recovering from an ACL, and I think they know they can't just trust development to replace it right now.

I could be wrong. We'll see.

 

[Bulldog]

Beyond the Biadasz move which again to me seems capricious considering all the holes we have to fill, it annoys me to no end that we keep reading about the team not giving up on Zack Ertz and hoping he progresses faster than anticipated to make it back for 2026.

I get the Washington Capitals attachment to 40 year old Alex Ovechkin given his stature in the sport and history in DC, but I don't get the Commanders fascination with Ertz.

He's 36 years old and can't run any longer. I am figuring after the serious knee injury he suffered that he is not going to come back to the NFL faster in 2026.

So, I really don't get how the Commanders are so in love with a guy that catches a 9 yard pass and then falls down.

Let's bring in some younger players, one in free agency as a starter, and then go after a UDFA or free agent in the second wave after the draft and put together a legitimate TE room with guys likely to make it through 17 NFL games.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Beyond the Biadasz move which again to me seems capricious considering all the holes we have to fill, it annoys me to no end that we keep reading about the team not giving up on Zack Ertz and hoping he progresses faster than anticipated to make it back for 2026.

I haven’t read that anywhere.

The only thing on the record is they are leaving the door open.

However I think they pretty clearly know he’s most likely not going to be ready by the start of the season and they need to find another player somewhere.

I outlined what Keilm said, and apart from the part where I’m willing to bet nobody from inside the housing has confirmed to him the will go after TE’s, it’s a really good bet and there has been a lot of reporting the commanders will be interested and in on a number of different TE’s.

I think you might be reading more into why has been said than is there

Or you’re listening to crappy radio dumbasses who don’t know anything and just say stuff to stir the pot.

Don’t believe morons.

 

[method man]

Beyond the Biadasz move which again to me seems capricious considering all the holes we have to fill, it annoys me to no end that we keep reading about the team not giving up on Zack Ertz and hoping he progresses faster than anticipated to make it back for 2026.

I get the Washington Capitals attachment to 40 year old Alex Ovechkin given his stature in the sport and history in DC, but I don't get the Commanders fascination with Ertz.

He's 36 years old and can't run any longer. I am figuring after the serious knee injury he suffered that he is not going to come back to the NFL faster in 2026.

So, I really don't get how the Commanders are so in love with a guy that catches a 9 yard pass and then falls down.

Let's bring in some younger players, one in free agency as a starter, and then go after a UDFA or free agent in the second wave after the draft and put together a legitimate TE room with guys likely to make it through 17 NFL games.

On Ertz, he ultimately put up 500 receiving yards in 13 games. They like him because he is one of the best technicians in the league at the position and he knows how to get open. He has also been their second best option in the red zone after Terry.

I am hoping we sign a true starter like Goedert, Njoku, Likely or Okonkwo AND draft a guy Day 3 (it would be a shame not to in a TE draft this deep).

However, if we are ravaged by injuries during camp at TE, it’s nice having someone like Ertz available to step in and be effective

 

[KDawg]

I don’t know. I don’t have an issue with Ertz being on the roster given two caveats:

1) he’s completely healthy. This is the biggest one for me.

2) he’s not our top tight end.

At that point have him, Bates, Sinnott, Yankey battle for two roster spots.

If he wins one he wins one. If he doesn’t… thanks for your time and energy.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

On Ertz, he ultimately put up 500 receiving yards in 13 games. They like him because he is one of the best technicians in the league at the position and he knows how to get open. He has also been their second best option in the red zone after Terry.

I am hoping we sign a true starter like Goedert, Njoku, Likely or Okonkwo AND draft a guy Day 3 (it would be a shame not to in a TE draft this deep).

However, if we are ravaged by injuries during camp at TE, it’s nice having someone like Ertz available to step in and be effective

I agree, I wouldn't mind if they re-signed him AFTER upgrading the position. He's not going to be able to carry a full workload anyway.

If they have him come in as a red zone specialist in the fall, I'm fine with that.

But they need to find a starter first, then they can "leave the door open." They could even run 2 WR sets in the red zone with (for example) Njoku and Ertz, Terry + WR2, RB. That would be hard to game plan for because they have 2 TEs who could block and catch, (theoretically) 2 good WRs, plus ability to run the ball. If you were to drop Love or a one of the top RBs in FA into that group, it gets REALLY hard to defend in tight spaces.

What you don't want is Ertz taking 60% of the offensive snaps. 20% in special situations, sure, I'm down with that assuming he has recovered and still can run routes and get open.

 

[skinsinparadise]

I’d wager it’s less that he’s extrapolating all of that on his own from Peter’s original sentence, and more that he’s been fed a little more context since then so he’s clarifying.

I also am baffled as to why Peters seems to think it’s realistic to chase the top couple TE FA’s but NOT “overpay”. Sometimes you just have to when you have a hole, that’s the market. Going in with good intentions and coming out with affordable C-tier players again at various positions is going to get him fired.

Very interesting offseason ahead

Agree. I recall some thinking the Patriots "overpaid" for Milton Williams among other players.

I like to play with the stock market here and there and a friend of mine went to me the other day why buy more of a specific stock when my record of buying it early shows that i nailed it, buying more now at a higher price can only dliute its success. And my response is I can care less. I just want to get ahead with the stock, i don't care how I look doing it.

I have the same thought about building a roster. It's about how it all works in symphony. Individual victories mean nothing if it doesn't all add up the right way. With Peters it feels like he's a more competent Bruce Allen and plays the game of how he can win the deal. And to Peters' credit he's actually really good at it. Bruce would look for the bargain and fail again and again. Peters actually succeeds. But the problem IMO isn't about winning deals. He can win the deal, I'll give him that. You need to swing bigger and risk losing some deals or where you get a good player in an overpay otherwise the team isn't moving forward enough.

Peters seems to be really good at knowing what hand to play in FA and wins the hands he plays for the most part but isn't playing at the high stakes poker table and you wonder how good he would be if he risked it more.

While he's borderline killed it in FA, he's been mediocre in the draft. And if you are going to be so so as a drafter, you have to be IMO aggressive in FA.

The one thing about TE, I get the impression from Keim's podcasts, they'd rather swing bigger at WR than TE. But do want to swing at both. Maybe for example they feel like paying 15 million for a TE precludes them paying 20 million for a WR? Whatever it is, i want to see it play out. Should be interesting.

 

[SkinsFTW]

IMO AP definitely shops regularly at Dollar Tree.

 

[DWinzit]

I don’t know. I don’t have an issue with Ertz being on the roster given two caveats:

1) he’s completely healthy. This is the biggest one for me.

2) he’s not our top tight end.

At that point have him, Bates, Sinnott, Yankey battle for two roster spots.

If he wins one he wins one. If he doesn’t… thanks for your time and energy.

The last I can recall reading about his status is they hoped he would be ready for season week 1. How much participation will be involved in through the preseason? If he can't preform in the preseason it's not even worth it in my eyes.

I might be totally off but I'd be happier with the other 3 battling it out for two slots with the added FA we bring in. If that FA isn't a big blocker then Yankoff is probably out

 

[Conn]

The one thing about TE, I get the impression from Keim's podcasts, they'd rather swing bigger at WR than TE. But do want to swing at both. Maybe for example they feel like paying 15 million for a TE precludes them paying 20 million for a WR? Whatever it is, i want to see it play out. Should be interesting.

This may end up being annoying, because unless Pittman comes free there’s likely no “swing bigger” guy at WR but there’s potentially multiple at TE. Maybe Doubs, as the top of a bad market where lots of teams need WR and have money to spend. Juaun Jennings I would be a fan of but don’t consider a “big swing” that should prevent an equivalent (if not bigger) swing on a TE.

So we could miss out on all of them and then end up trying to convince ourselves that it’s actually okay that the best we could do was Bourne and Adam Trautman or something.

(I mean, I won’t be convincing myself that it’s okay, but I can see people doing it to themselves because they aren’t ready to give up on AP being the savior yet, which as I’ve talked about many times isn’t necessary anymore)

 

[Boone]

Pierce. Wandale Robinson. There are definitely 'big swings' out there. Now - some of the top guys may get tagged. But if they don't, it's more a matter of whether AP is willing to go big in free agency at WR (or for that matter, at ANY position) than it is about there not being big moves available.

 

[Conn]

Pierce. Wandale Robinson. There are definitely 'big swings' out there. Now - some of the top guys may get tagged. But if they don't, it's more a matter of whether AP is willing to go big in free agency at WR (or for that matter, at ANY position) than it is about there not being big moves available.

Yeah I’ve been operating on the assumption that the reports on Pierce being retained are true. Otherwise he’s the true big swing guy.