The 2026 Free Agency Thread

[Bulldog]

With all this WR talk, we still need a C and LB. Lots of work left to do.

I hate to say it but unless the prospect is a legit elite one teams usually find centers in Round 4 or 5 of the draft.

 

[Bulldog]

need picks

Agreed. But who is trading them?

 

[Dlts20]

And Aiyuk has ties to Jayden as well.

Jayden wanted Kliff and they let him go. Jayden got tight with Likely and we didn't sign him

 

[heisenberg]

It’s pretty common in the NFL. Just this year you see daboll getting Robinson, harbaugh bringing in some of his people from the ravens.

As kdawg said its completely natural.

If you were a widget maker and some company across town hired you to be their new president of business operations, what's the first thing you're going to do?

Most likely you're going to try to get guys you trust who make excellent widgets to come over with you to get that company on the right track.

The nfl is no different.

 

[clskinsfan]

Yeah its too bad we're just not a great destination like the jets.

You kid. But NY is probably a more desirable location to DC for young men. Just saying.

 

[Bulldog]

Jayden wanted Kliff and they let him go. Jayden got tight with Likely and we didn't sign him

True, but Aiyuk probably WILL come on a cheaper contract and THAT is everything to this front office evidently.

 

[Conn]

Joe Gibbs never really did that. He imported one or two guys from SD that first year as complementary players but Washington never focused on bringing in players from a particular program over time under JG and Beathard.

There as no real Free Agency in the OG Gibbs days. It was way less of an option

 

[heisenberg]

You kid. But NY is probably a more desirable location to DC for young men. Just saying.

Im not local to the dmv and I know it has a few crime areas but I thought it was a pretty desirable place to live, no?

 

[Bulldog]

There as no real Free Agency in the OG Gibbs days. It was way less of an option

Agree to a point. But I remember when I was a kid George Allen signing every ex-Ram he could get his hands on

 

[MartinC]

Joe Gibbs never really did that. He imported one or two guys from SD that first year as complementary players but Washington never focused on bringing in players from a particular program over time under JG and Beathard.

Back then free agency was very very different. Hard to compare how teams where built in the 80’s with today’s NFL.

 

[heisenberg]

With all this WR talk, we still need a C and LB. Lots of work left to do.

And a left guard and a tight end and a couple safeties and another edge a couple running backs, But hey other than that and the wide recievers a center and two linebackers you mentioned were pretty set

 

[Canuck]

Agreed. But who is trading them?

What I should have said is we need to keep our picks.

 

[Conn]

Idk man. He has said he likes guys they know, players they are comfortable with. Maybe they don’t get Jennings but pretty sure they will Aiyuk. Maybe both. Seems like a security blanket to him.

Personnel guys going after players they already like is normal across the league. It’s a problem when it’s bad players getting preference over better players. What’s being implied is that worse players are getting preferential treatment due to the 49er connection. I’m not saying it never happens, but the fact that they swing bigger and missed on other options first (Pierce + Doubs) shows that it’s not about comfort with Jennings due to the 49er connection. Obviously

In fact we’re such a loser destination that can’t attract anyone, apparently, that people should be begging for SF and DET and DAL connections to come into play as fondness towards our staff may be the only way we can draw any other talent to come here. People without personal connections seem to want nothing to do with coming here, other than the enormous bag we dropped on Oweh.

 

[Bulldog]

Back then free agency was very very different. Hard to compare how teams where built in the 80’s with today’s NFL.

True. Some coaches did reach out over waivers or go after vets in their 30's like George Allen.

Actually, my thoughts went as much to the college program issues folks addressed earlier in regards to favoring Alabama players or Notre Dame players with some coaches.

 

[DogofWar1]

The "guys you know" pipeline is "fine" early on. But we're now in year 3. They guys you know are 3 years older than when you knew them in a sport where decline starts around 30.

Jennings being 28 is not ideal. The wall at age 30 claims a LOT of wrs. Some manage to get past it, some decline but are still decent, and some just smack it and that's all she wrote.

If we assume Terry (31) is done after this year, Jennings will be 29 and only gives us one more year of sub-30 play. The hope is he can remain productive until at least 31 so we get 3 years out of him, but we need still need a new WR for next year and probably another shortly thereafter once Jennings ages out.

But for 2026 and 2027, Jennings would be a huge get. Absolutely needed to give us any real chance at having sufficient weapons for Jayden at this point.

 

[BayouBrave86]

Im not local to the dmv and I know it has a few crime areas but I thought it was a pretty desirable place to live, no?

Yes and no. Traffic, housing costs, being asked what you do for a living within minutes of meeting someone new..all can make DC pretty miserable at times 😂

Arlington is super nice, DC’s crime is down big time this year..a lot of great neighborhoods. But again, just so expensive and full of corporate/political soul-less transplants.

Much like New Orleans, DC is a GREAT place to visit, but not to live. If you can get some remote flexibility and afford/raise your family out in Ashburn/Leesburg and the Aldie area, life can be pretty good. I left in 2020 and personally wouldn’t move back but have a lot of friends and family still there.

 

[Bulldog]

I hope Peters has a deal ready for Jennings that he just can't refuse (channel Michael Corleone here).

 

[Bulldog]

The "guys you know" pipeline is "fine" early on. But we're now in year 3. They guys you know are 3 years older than when you knew them in a sport where decline starts around 30.

Jennings being 28 is not ideal. The wall at age 30 claims a LOT of wrs. Some manage to get past it, some decline but are still decent, and some just smack it and that's all she wrote.

If we assume Terry (31) is done after this year, Jennings will be 29 and only gives us one more year of sub-30 play. The hope is he can remain productive until at least 31 so we get 3 years out of him, but we need still need a new WR for next year and probably another shortly thereafter once Jennings ages out.

But for 2026 and 2027, Jennings would be a huge get. Absolutely needed to give us any real chance at having sufficient weapons for Jayden at this point.

Well, hopefully we don't get Jennings asking for $34M a year like McLaurin's ridiculous agent.

Jennings can sign a deal where most of the guaranteed money is paid out before he is McLaurin's age.

Besides, with McLaurin we were negotiating against ourselves, he was under contract for 2025.

 

[MartinC]

True. Some coaches did reach out over waivers or go after vets in their 30's like George Allen.

Actually, my thoughts went as much to the college program issues folks addressed earlier in regards to favoring Alabama players or Notre Dame players with some coaches.

That Joe Gibbs era was built around a great 1981 draft. We also signed Joe Jacoby as an UDFA in 1981.

Key 1981 Washington Selections:

• Round 1 (20): Mark May (T, Pittsburgh)
• Round 3 (69): Russ Grimm (C/G, Pittsburgh)
• Round 5 (119): Dexter Manley (DE, Oklahoma State)
• Round 5 (132): Gary Sayre (G, Cameron)
• Round 6 (148): Larry Kubin (LB, Penn State)
• Round 8 (201): Charlie Brown (WR, S.C. State)
• Round 9 (231): Darryl Grant (DT, UTEP)
• Round 12 (314): Clint Didier (TE, Portland State)
  
  
  Washington Commanders +2

 

[Conn]

Yea but I'm pretty sure that we will make a strong play for Ayuik also. It's not a coincidence

It doesn’t need to be a coincidence, connections are not always a bad thing. They’re a bad thing when they’re prioritized over better options. We’re getting rejected all over the place by the better options (who we also prefer to the former 49ers, you might notice—as we’re trying to sign them first and losing out). So we shouldn’t pursue the 49ers worthy of pursuing because people can’t help but think of Rivera and Bruce Allen? How weak is that?

Aiyuk is much more about the Jayden connection than the AP connection anyways. Would be cool if our franchise QB wanted to re-sign here because we supply him some weapons to utilize on the field, but that apparently isn’t in the cards for the second year in a row. Better not sign any guys he likes either because it might trigger some peoples’ scary memories of the past

Nobody wants to come here. It’s funny to imagine turning away the few who do because they actually know and like the staff most here didn’t want to fire.