Random Commanders Thoughts

[Voice_of_Reason]

Isn’t BD’s post about Pickens? Am I missing something?

Yeah I totally misread the post. Just ignore me.

 

[NoCalSkins]

Lattimore is an interesting case because I don't think he at any point on this roster performed up to his reputation and in some cases was head-scratchingly....mediocre? There might be a valid question of his health and if he was trying to rush his return but going into this season there really isn't an excuse for him to not be out there at his best, whatever his current best can be.

That said, I never envisioned the trade for him to be indicating he was in the team's long or even in mid-length plans. I looked at that trade as Adam Peters & the coaches realizing they had a legitimate chance to do some noise last season, already, and wanted to try and add a player at a position that was severely lacking considering the WRs they'd be dealing with in the post-season.

 

[Bulldog]

Peters indicated at time the team understood Lattimore had the injury so there may have been hope he could participate in the playoffs but one would think for the picks given up that the plan was to have him here for 2025 at least.

 

[burgold]

I wonder if they thought he was one of those disgruntled players who was milking their injury and closed it down because his team was going nowhere.

Part of me hoped that would be the case. I was really surprised to see us trade for a player in the midst of a hot playoff run who wound up unavailable for several games immediately after the trade. The philosophy of a midseason trade is usually to get help now.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

I wonder if they thought he was one of those disgruntled players who was milking their injury and closed it down because his team was going nowhere.

Part of me hoped that would be the case. I was really surprised to see us trade for a player in the midst of a hot playoff run who wound up unavailable for several games immediately after the trade. The philosophy of a midseason trade is usually to get help now.

Yes, but the philosophy of a GM with a hot team (in any sport) is to look at holes that may be crippling, and try to address them if at all possible in the best way available. So, they made an evaluation on a scale of - "does this move help us? is the risk worth it?" and determined that the Math worked out for them. They also looked at *what was available at the time.* I don't think there was someone who was better who was also available at that time (the "now" of that time).

You can debate the results, but to me, that is what happened - and I personally understand the reasoning. In years past and regimes past... I cannot say the same. Or, in some cases, I feel I understand what they thought and considered it often to be mind-numbingly stupid (often overpaying for very old players or one-year wonders or obviously horrible fits). This... was not that. At least not to me.

I will say I don't think he was a great culture fit though. It just wasn't the same lack of fit as Josh Norman or others who came, because in many of those cases there was a variety of factors that pointed to it being a head-scratcher for me at least. I tend not to like blowhards much.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

This was not a player on the final year of his contract like Deebo. They made this trade for the rest of 2024, 2025 and very likely beyond. If he can become the player he was in NO again, and there was little reason to doubt that at the time of the trade, the corners have gone from bad to damned good assuming Amos is as advertised. But if he played and was hurt as he was last year, well this would be a very disappointing return on draft capitol and would really cause issues this upcoming season.

 

[burgold]

I think that's an interesting issue, SkinsNumberOne. Both Lattimore and Tunsil are talents and when healthy rare talents, but from the outside neither seem to be culture fits. Neither seem to be about the brotherhood. They'd rather go off and do their own thing. It bothered me when Portis and Moss did the same thing. It still bothers me today.

 

[burgold]

The click baiters are trying to argue that the Commanders are trying to trade McLaurin to the Steelers. I'll believe it when I see it.

Did not click their links.

 

[Bulldog]

All of the wild trade ideas are coming up now.

Breece Hall for McLaurin - Jets hope to unload a running back they don't want to give a top 5 contract to.

Austin Hooper for McLaurin - Patriots want to get rid of 30 plus year old tight end who has slowed down and is overpriced.

The only trade that had any embers of sending quality for potential quality was the rumor of McLaurin to Miami for Jalen Ramsey and even that's a deal I wouldn't do

 

[Bulldog]

I think that's an interesting issue, SkinsNumberOne. Both Lattimore and Tunsil are talents and when healthy rare talents, but from the outside neither seem to be culture fits. Neither seem to be about the brotherhood. They'd rather go off and do their own thing. It bothered me when Portis and Moss did the same thing. It still bothers me today.

Generally I agree, but in Tunsil's case the LT position is so hard to find a premium player and his play on the field has been very consistent for a number of years. And he is healthy, he's not rehabbing like Lattimore has been.

So, in these cases I would give Tunsil more distance in terms of worrying about how he fits in but LESS distance for Lattimore as he is still a question mark in terms of what we are going to get ON the field and who has had some injury plagued seasons in the 2020's.

Quiet guys that do their own thing but show up for Sunday I can put up with as a GM if that player is a key performer and there are others who can be the emotional leaders.

 

[burgold]

I hear ya, but I always thought good o line play was less individual and more about the line working as a unit. Tunsil has never worked with any of these players. He has no feel for them and they have no feel for him so getting the coordination and communication down is pretty important.

 

[NoCalSkins]

Is there anyone of the opinion that the front office is actually looking into moving McLaurin rather than extend/offer a new contract? I don't mean in the context of willing to pick up the phone to listen to offers, but actually being on the side of looking to trade as a first option? I personally, don't, but I am just curious what others think. Some of these rumors & commentary will continue to creep up the longer it takes for a resolution to happen, but I think this also has to do with a fanbase that is relatively new to this situation where you have a team with high expectations coming into the season and a pivotal piece of the roster in question due to the business end. If this was five seasons ago, this would probably barely be news because what would it have even really meant to lose a player on those rosters....6 wins instead of 7? McLaurin's contract stand still is really the first of it's kind since the big turn around happened where as a lot of the franchises in the NFL with sustained winning go through this same experience nearly every single offseason.

 

[Simeon]

Is there anyone of the opinion that the front office is actually looking into moving McLaurin rather than extend/offer a new contract? I don't mean in the context of willing to pick up the phone to listen to offers, but actually being on the side of looking to trade as a first option? I personally, don't, but I am just curious what others think. Some of these rumors & commentary will continue to creep up the longer it takes for a resolution to happen, but I think this also has to do with a fanbase that is relatively new to this situation where you have a team with high expectations coming into the season and a pivotal piece of the roster in question due to the business end. If this was five seasons ago, this would probably barely be news because what would it have even really meant to lose a player on those rosters....6 wins instead of 7? McLaurin's contract stand still is really the first of it's kind since the big turn around happened where as a lot of the franchises in the NFL with sustained winning go through this same experience nearly every single offseason.

I guess anything is possible but it looks more likely to me it’s just the no news time of the NFL year and these guys are desperate for anything to write about. I mean, there are no real consequences for posting straight-from-neatherland BS and as long as they get read then that’s $ in their account. That’s why the ones who take time to get actual info are so rare and so valuable. Tell me when Keith, Finley etc. say it’s real.

 

[burgold]

To a degree, I’m guessing a good front office is like the Defense Department, they make plans for every contingency. Now, nobody expects to ever use that 600-page battle plan against Luxembourg, but they have to update it every year anyway. Likewise, I bet there’s no desire to trade Terry, but I suspect there’s been a hypothetical or two tossed around.

 

[Boone]

I'm not saying it will happen, but I've alluded to it - if the front office can't get what they feel is a deal that makes sense for the organization with McLaurin, don't be shocked if it doesn't happen.

This front office doesn't make decisions based on emotion or out of gratitude.

 

[Old school]

Random question (has probably been answered at some point) - why don't we have a gold jersey that we play in?

 

[burgold]

I'm not saying it will happen, but I've alluded to it - if the front office can't get what they feel is a deal that makes sense for the organization with McLaurin, don't be shocked if it doesn't happen.

This front office doesn't make decisions based on emotion or out of gratitude.

In the glory years, Gibbs famously kept players for a year or two too long. Does anyone think Donnie Warren couldn't be beaten out after his twelfth year? Gibbs loved his core and he fought like hell for and with them. Now, the glory year phenomenon still happens. The Caps kept Oshie a year too long because like with Gibbs he earned that extra victory lap despite his declining skills.

However, 2025 is different for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, neither Peters nor Quinn have enough shared history with any Commanders player. They haven't been here long enough to develop that level of attachment or gratitude with any of our players. And quite frankly, there haven't been any glory years here in quite some time. Finally, the obvious, Gibbs didn't need to contend with the cap which made it easier to keep a guy a little longer or reward them a bit better than their talents warrant.

My take on Terry is he does deserve a little bit extra for "pain and suffering," but that he may not get that because of the above. I do think he'll be offered and get a pretty monstrous contract because he is the heart of the team, he is a leader, he is a Pro Bowler who is still excellent, and he is the epitome of the culture guy you need to reward. That said, while it will be a monstrous contract I don't think it will set records or break the bank.

Hopefully, it gets resolved quickly.

 

[Bigwig]

I'm not saying it will happen, but I've alluded to it - if the front office can't get what they feel is a deal that makes sense for the organization with McLaurin, don't be shocked if it doesn't happen.

This front office doesn't make decisions based on emotion or out of gratitude.

And what makes sense for the organization might be to rely on their elite qb to make do with less expensive receivers in general, or at least not expensive 30-somethings. The two Browns illustrated the point this offseason already—Noah taking a modest deal, and Dyami cashing in elsewhere.

In particular, I don’t expect the team to pay a premium for the intangibles—Zaccheaus was a DQ kind of player too, although obviously not nearly as effective/important as McLaurin, nor as deeply connected with the fans.

 

[bifflog]

Random question (has probably been answered at some point) - why don't we have a gold jersey that we play in?

I think Bruce Allen snuffed out the only one that was ever proposed (he might have not been in the wrong on this one):

Redskins unveil Color Rush uniform for 2016

The Redskins unveiled their 2016 Color Rush uniform on Tuesday, which the team will not wear this season.

www.espn.com

 

[prodigy]

And what makes sense for the organization might be to rely on their elite qb to make do with less expensive receivers in general, or at least not expensive 30-somethings. The two Browns illustrated the point this offseason already—Noah taking a modest deal, and Dyami cashing in elsewhere.

In particular, I don’t expect the team to pay a premium for the intangibles—Zaccheaus was a DQ kind of player too, although obviously not nearly as effective/important as McLaurin, nor as deeply connected with the fans.

don't get too comfortable with the idea of "rely on the elite QB and get away with cheaper/lesser WRs". there have been plenty of instances where this hasn't worked out for other teams. Tom Brady and the Patriots are an anomaly from sheer consistency. I don't want to switch to a cycle of "man...we need some weapons" every year. if the front office ultimately deems Terry to not be worth it, though i'll be unhappy and vehemently disagree, they'll do what they need to do. I don't see the point in our own fanbase speculating on whether or not we can get away with lesser talent, aka w/o Terry, before it happens. don't let fraudulent rumor mills get your imagination running wild.