The 2026 Free Agency Thread

[Bulldog]

Who was on Tunsils level out there for cash only?

No one. Tunsil to me was fine.

But we could have waited until the offseason and signed a corner in free agency instead of trading for Lattimore, who was hurt at the time, and that was acknowledged by Washington at the time of the deal. So, if we were looking for immediate help I don't see how a guy that was inactive for several weeks in NO with a pulled hamstring was going to make the difference for us in 2024, and indeed he didn't.

I also wouldn't have given up a draft pick for Deebo when wide receivers each year in free agency are as plentiful as runners and linebackers.

The fact we didn't use free agency to acquire a true wide receiver with down the field skills really hurt the team when Terry held out and then was injured to start the season.

Deebo has a role but you don't win when your #1 is out and your ostensible #2 receiver has a 9-10 yard per catch average.

 

[Conn]

He should have fired his DC after 2024.

Yep. Macdonald was able to see that his handpicked OC was a poor choice after a single season.

 

[Conn]

This furor over the Allegretti deal is ridiculous. At this point, we don't know what the terms of the this new contract are. If they are going to pay him like a starting center, then yes, it is ridiculous.

His remaining 1 year made it untenable to keep him on it. He is very clearly a guy they like in at least a backup swing interior OL capacity who has shown he can be a spot starter at three positions if needed. Last year, Wylie took a paycut to stay here. I bet that is what Allegretti is doing here. His contract is likely swing interior OL backup with some accelerators if he ends up starting

I’m sure Allegretti’s contract extension is commensurate with a backup swing interior OL. I’m also sure that there is still a non-zero chance that their plans fall short and they do go into the season with him as the starting Center. There was no need for that to be the case. But now it’s a possibility

 

[SkinsFTW]

Everyone has a finite amount they can spend in free agency.

The team didn't want to spend the cash on Biadasz this year, I suppose.

Apparently, fans on message boards thought more of his play than the front office and the coaches did.

Do you have any idea about our current cap situation? We have almost 100M without restructuring anybody like Dallas has to do to make room after they were 50+M under.

Are we going to sign enough to make Biadasz a problem? I doubt it.

 

[Conn]

They put up this article on Commanders Wire about what's behind Biadasz being let go:

Commanders did not release Tyler Biadasz because of salary cap

More insight as to why the Commanders moved on from center Tyler Biadasz.

commanderswire.usatoday.com

Seems it was more of a cash move than a salary cap move.

Cash for free agency.

You realize that’s worse, right? This regime has not even come close to spending up to the cap in their first two years. If they “need” Biadasz’ cash to pay someone else then we are indeed operating as broke bitches. Good luck beating the teams who have no problem converting salary to cash bonuses to manipulate the cap, in that case. You aren’t pulling out all the stops to be the best if that’s that case, while teams like the Rams are.

Again, I do not want them to be reckless or foolish with the cap. I just don’t want them to be cheap bastards. And I haven’t seen them do that and Peters has spoken about the limits of a “cash cap”.

We’ll see if they’re capable of adjusting and changing in a week or so. It’s not encouraging if they needed $8M from Biadasz to spend elsewhere purely as a money move. That’s a scary idea.

 

[DWinzit]

Last years lackluster FA signings combined with a crappy injury riddled 2025 season and lots of cap space has this fan base and this thread hopping!

My anticipation is sky high and still need to wait a week.

 

[SkinsFTW]

You realize that’s worse, right? This regime has not even come close to spending up to the cap in their first two years. If they “need” Biadasz’ cash to pay someone else then we are indeed operating as broke bitches. Good luck beating the teams who have no problem converting salary to cash bonuses to manipulate the cap, in that case. You aren’t pulling out all the stops to be the best if that’s that case, while teams like the Rams are.

Again, I do not want them to be reckless or foolish with the cap. I just don’t want them to be cheap bastards. And I haven’t seen them do that and Peters has spoken about the limits of a “cash cap”.

We’ll see if they’re capable of adjusting and changing in a week or so. It’s not encouraging if they needed $8M from Biadasz to spend elsewhere purely as a money move. That’s a scary idea.

Like I said, where is the Commanders Go Fund Me account at?

 

[SkinsGuy99]

Do you have any idea about our current cap situation? We have almost 100M without restructuring anybody like Dallas has to do to make room after they were 50+M under.

Are we going to sign enough to make Biadasz a problem? I doubt it.

As the article said, it wasn't just cash.

Apparently they didn't think he was worth the money he was going to make.

As I said, fans on message apparently think more of him than Washington did.

 

[Boone]

Fans on message boards also thought the Lattimore trade was a big mistake.

Just sayin'...

 

[Boone]

As the article said, it wasn't just cash.

Apparently they didn't think he was worth the money he was going to make.

As I said, fans on message apparently think more of him than Washington did.

 

[SkinsGuy99]

You realize that’s worse, right? This regime has not even come close to spending up to the cap in their first two years. If they “need” Biadasz’ cash to pay someone else then we are indeed operating as broke bitches. Good luck beating the teams who have no problem converting salary to cash bonuses to manipulate the cap, in that case. You aren’t pulling out all the stops to be the best if that’s that case, while teams like the Rams are.

Again, I do not want them to be reckless or foolish with the cap. I just don’t want them to be cheap bastards. And I haven’t seen them do that and Peters has spoken about the limits of a “cash cap”.

We’ll see if they’re capable of adjusting and changing in a week or so. It’s not encouraging if they needed $8M from Biadasz to spend elsewhere purely as a money move. That’s a scary idea.

It wasn't just cash for free agency. It was because they didn't feel he was worth the $8.3 million he was going to get.

Some fans think he was. They apparently didn't.

I'll trust them over random fans.

 

[SkinsGuy99]

Fans on message boards also thought the Lattimore trade was a big mistake.

Just sayin'...

And some fans didn't want us to take Jayden Daniels.

Just sayin'.

 

[Boone]

You're not wrong, lol...

 

[Conn]

It wasn't just cash for free agency. It was because they didn't feel he was worth the $8.3 million he was going to get.

Some fans think he was. They apparently didn't.

I'll trust them over random fans.

Sorry but that’s not what you said in the post I responded to. You said “seems it was more of a cash move than a cap move. Cash for Free Agency”

That certainly implies they need the money freed up in order to spend it. Not sure why you’re pivoting

 

[SkinsGuy99]

Sorry but that’s not what you said in the post I responded to. You said “seems it was more of a cash move than a cap move. Cash for Free Agency”

That certainly implies they need the money freed up in order to spend it. Not sure why you’re pivoting

No one is pivoting. I'm just relating what the article said.

It's not an either/or thing. It's both things. They freed up the cash for free agency. Also they didn't want to pay him that cash because they didn't think he was worth it.

It's not that hard.

 

[SkinsFTW]

No one is pivoting. I'm just relating what the article said.

It's not an either/or thing. It's both things. They freed up the cash for free agency. Also they didn't want to pay him that cash because they didn't think he was worth it.

It's not that hard.

"The big factor with Biadasz? He was due $8.3M in cash. They can now allocate that money elsewhere in free agency, adding to their desire to be aggressive. Of course, some of that money will go to Biadasz's replacement. But keep this in mind, if Biadasz had been playing at a higher level, they wouldn't have made this move."

They have a problem paying Biadasz 8M but no quibbles with paying Payne almost 30M for what?

 

[Boone]

Unless they truly are going with Allegretti, the money argument makes zero sense - because you are not going to find an upgrade at center for less money.

 

[SkinsGuy99]

They have a problem paying Biadasz 8M but no quibbles with paying Payne almost 30M for what?

I guess so.

Apparently the team thinks more of Payne and are willing to pay him.

At least that is what they are saying in early March...But they weren't willing to pay Biadasz because they think he wasn't worth it.

I'll be watching and waiting to see them execute their plans at OL because, unlike some here, I'm sure they have one.

This wasn't some rash, irrational move.

 

[SkinsGuy99]

Unless they truly are going with Allegretti, the money argument makes zero sense - because you are not going to find an upgrade at center for less money.

The money argument doesn't make sense if you equate whoever they replace Biadasz with to Biadasz's play.

If Washington gets what they believe is an upgrade at center, they'll be will to give that upgrade $8.3 million.

Maybe even more.

They just didn't want to give to Biadasz because they didn't think he was worth the price.

An upgrade would be.

 

[SkinsFTW]

They seem to be bigger on OL then on DL so yeah, let's see!