The 2026 Free Agency Thread

[Kalu44]

I’m sure there will be at least one Vet CB or even a younger surprise cut available after cutdowns that AP can pounce on.

 

[SkinsGuy99]

Hamilton is not exactly an exciting signing. I hope they don't think the defensive backfield is now compete

Hamilton is a great special teams player.

 

[burgold]

Did he? I wonder if I just blanked it out because the second half of the season was such a march to doom.

It felt like it. I remember hearing his name enough that I excitedly went to the board with relief that one of our draft picks were finally showing out and then was politely informed that it was the wrong Hamilton lol. The drafted one having already been cut.

 

[Conn]

 

[skinsinparadise]

Chig? Pass.
Bates? Run.

R. White? Pass.
Croskey-Merritt? Run.
Allen? Run.

I know it's not 100% all the time, etc. But as Jay Gruden among others have said its good to have those multi faceted players especially at TE to give defenses off balance.

 

[method man]

Did he? I wonder if I just blanked it out because the second half of the season was such a march to doom.

Yep. He played well down the stretch for us when he got his chance. He’s old. He is a guy I’d bring to camp to put on the PS and call up when we need him. I do hope we bring in another veteran guy or two

 

[skinsinparadise]

Commanders are gambling too much on their young receivers without more additions​

Aaron Schatz of ESPN thought the wide receiver room was the Commanders' biggest remaining roster hole. And he outlined the questions for those looking to carve out bigger roles for themselves next season.

"There is a collection of players behind Terry McLaurin waiting for someone to break out. Is Treylon Burks ready to be a starter after three seasons of struggling in Tennessee followed by a few notable catches in 2025 for Washington? Can Luke McCaffrey expand past the 11 catches for 203 yards and three touchdowns that he had in his second season? Or is rookie third-rounder Antonio Williams ready for the big time?
"The Commanders also have Jaylin Lane, who had 16 receptions for 225 yards as a rookie last season, and veteran Dyami Brown, who had 227 yards in Jacksonville in 2025."

Even McLaurin has concerns around him. He got hurt a lot last season, and rumors are swirling that this could be his final season with the franchise. That's to be determined, but the need for him to make a successful return to his Pro Bowl-caliber production cannot be overstated.

Aiyuk might join at some stage, but he's missed a ton of football. Diggs is still productive, but he's been known to make things difficult when things aren't going his way. And for a team in desperate need to bounce back, they do not need any distractions.

But desperate times call for desperate measures.

The Commanders need another dependable presence with proven numbers at the highest level. Gambling on the young upstarts to make improvements is just too risky, though that might be the eventual route Washington takes when it's all said and done.

There is enough money available to attract almost anybody. For Peters, it's all about finding the right fit at the right time.

And just because the Commanders haven't confirmed anything yet, that doesn't mean they aren't looking.

 

[Anselmheifer]

Chig? Pass.
Bates? Run.

R. White? Pass.
Croskey-Merritt? Run.
Allen? Run.

I know it's not 100% all the time, etc. But as Jay Gruden among others have said its good to have those multi faceted players especially at TE to give defenses off balance.

I feel like part of this solution is going to be running a lot of 12 personnel. Chig and Bates on the field at the same time.

 

[Riggo44]

So, people really don't understand why we wouldn't be interested in an injury prone, 30-yr old TE, after what we dealt with last year?

 

[Commander Wraith]

Man, I really hope JCM can develop his pass catching, because he could be really dangerous with the ball in space.

 

[Riggo44]

Ben Sinnott passing grade when targeted: 124.4
David Njoku: 99.3

 

[skinsinparadise]

I don't think the point was about this team pursuing Njoku but stacking receiving talent. The Bears and NE for example added pass catching TE #3 in the last draft. Washington doesn't even have pass catching TE #2, let alone 3. Maybe Sinnott emerges this season but I am not banking on it.

Same thought at WR.

It also protects the team as to injuries. You don't fall apart if you lose a guy or too.

But....

 

[Riggo44]

I don't think the point was about this team pursuing Njoku but stacking receiving talent. The Bears and NE for example added pass catching TE #3 in the last draft. Washington doesn't even have pass catching TE #2, let alone 3. Maybe Sinnott emerges this season but I am not banking on it.

Counter-point:
We've drafted a lineman and receiver every year under Peters. That does not include trades.
Both Patriots TEs are over 31. Our TEs will be 26, 28 (and the best goddamned run blocker in the league), and 24.
The Bears 3rd TE was on the field for 25% of the offensive snaps last year. He caught 4 passes. Sinnott surpassed both totals, even before Ertz went down.
Njoku has missed 6 games each of the last two seasons. That does not ensure against injuries, he increases that risk.

 

[skinsinparadise]

Ben Sinnott passing grade when targeted: 124.4
David Njoku: 99.3

I don't care about Njoku.

But the stat about Sinnott doesn't move me. He has a better passing grade when targeted than Terry, too. Doesn't make him of course better.

It's not that I've given up on Sinnott. But if the idea is SB, hopefully this season, you don't want to bank on Sinnott as a big factor considering what he's done so far. He'd be a bonus, and I'd love to see him surprise as a bonus.

The rep that Sinnott has by some around the team is he's not great at running routes and being at the right spot. So it sounds like when he does run a good route and is where he should be he catches the ball. That's good. But hopefully he evolves as a route runner. The college version of him IMO was a catch and run TE, who wasn't the best seperator.

While some other teams have proven #2 pass catching TEs, plenty of teams do not. So if this is the TE room they run with, I am not excited about it albiet Chig was one of my guys that I wanted in FA, but I think its good enough. Nothing below average about the group.

It's WR which to me is a problem but I agree that if Aiyuk comes here and is the 2023 version of him, it will be more than fun, I just don't know.

 

[burgold]

Ben Sinnott passing grade when targeted: 124.4
David Njoku: 99.3

I look at this and probably McCaffrey, too. When the ball has been thrown their way they have produced. Very few drops and a few really good catches. So why were they either not given reps or always so far down in the progression? We may find out if that was a Kingsbury thing or a them thing. I'll assume it's a them thing, but we also kept hearing they were open far more often then they were targeted which means either the QB missed them, they were in the wrong place, or they were the third, fourth option that the QB never got around to.

 

[burgold]

At this point, I'd take a swing at Diggs just to have a bird in the hand. I do feel like the moment we make a signing of anyone at Diggs' level that SF will cut Aiyuk. If that happens, I'd approach him and see if he would take that vet min plus incentives contract with the understanding/handshake agreement that if he does what everyone expects him to do they will treat him right in 2027.

 

[burgold]

The rep that Sinnott has by some around the team is he's not great at running routes and being at the right spot. So it sounds like when he does run a good route and is where he should be he catches the ball. That's good. But hopefully he evolves as a route runner. The college version of him IMO was a catch and run TE, who wasn't the best seperator.

There's a part of me that goes back to Gibbs when I hear this. If Sinnott's problem is that he's not great at running routes find out the routes he is good at running or find out what he is good at running and do that. If he doesn't fit into your square hole than design something that fits a circle peg. After all, Sinnott can't be completely lost as a route runner or he wouldn't have looked good in college. There has to be stuff he knows how to do well.

 

[skinsinparadise]

Counter-point:
We've drafted a lineman and receiver every year under Peters. That does not include trades.
Both Patriots TEs are over 31. Our TEs will be 26, 28 (and the best goddamned run blocker in the league), and 24.
The Bears 3rd TE was on the field for 25% of the offensive snaps last year. He caught 4 passes. Sinnott surpassed both totals, even before Ertz went down.
Njoku has missed 6 games each of the last two seasons. That does not ensure against injuries, he increases that risk.

OK, we’ve been kind of circling this for months now 😄

At the core of these debates — whether we say it directly or not — it really comes back to Adam Peters and how we view his roster building.

You’re fair in that you’ll give some ground to counterarguments, but as the discussions go on (with me and others), it can ultimately get edgy. So instead of going in circles, I think it helps to just simplify it:

1. Peters’ performance over his first three years overall:
A. Outstanding
B. Great
C. Good
D. Fair
E. Poor

2. Peters’ performance specifically in giving Jayden weapons:
A. Outstanding
B. Great
C. Good
D. Fair
E. Poor

For me:

• #1: C — Good
• #2: E — Poor

And I don’t think that’s being unfair to Peters. I’ve defended him plenty — on free agency, on patience, on giving the process time. I’ve probably been one of the louder voices saying let it play out, he’s a good guy, he works hard, and there’s a foundation here.

But it feels like where we differ is that you’re more willing to give a full-throated endorsement of the roster as constructed — kind of a “trust the vision across the board” approach. And that’s fine. I just don’t see it that way.

I think this team will be good. I don’t think Peters is doing a bad job. But I also don’t think he’s crushing it. To me, it’s been more good than great — and he hasn’t yet earned that automatic benefit of the doubt where I’m comfortable with every major decision.

Where I think he’s come up short — and it’s not just me, you hear it locally and nationally too — is in making it as easy as possible for Jayden to succeed. You only get so many years on a rookie QB window, and the goal should be to eliminate as much risk as you can.

Could everything break right? Sure. I can spin that case — I used to do it all the time. But over the years I’ve learned that building a plan around everything going right is usually where teams get burned.

That said, for fun, I’ll lay out the optimistic version next — the “everything clicks and Peters looks like a genius” scenario.

 

[RedWolf]

I'm not big on Njoku, my son said he was an arrogant prick and he was the head equipment manager for the U

 

[skinsinparadise]

There's a part of me that goes back to Gibbs when I hear this. If Sinnott's problem is that he's not great at running routes find out the routes he is good at running or find out what he is good at running and do that. If he doesn't fit into your square hole than design something that fits a circle peg. After all, Sinnott can't be completely lost as a route runner or he wouldn't have looked good in college. There has to be stuff he knows how to do well.

For Sinnott. Some are saying this offense could work better for him where he's more of a fullback. And I agree with your overall point which is do with him what he does best and for me based on what I recall in college and what I've seen in Washington -- shallow crossers-YAC. He IMO is a good YAC player.

I hated one of his interviews where he explained he's not going to be an Ertz route runner type of player -- and implied he's better at other things. I mentioned it at the time of the interview. I applaud the honesty but lol I want the player to see himself as someone who can evolve to be a precise route runner like Ertz.

Logan in Sinnott's year 1 said from what he can tell he wasn't running precise routes, and wasn't in the right spots and noticed the team trusted him less as the season went on. I don't recall much positive or negative from Logan as to last season but he definitely has some hope-optimism that Sinnott evolves.

I do, too. It's not that i am out on Sinnott, McCaffrey, and Lane. It's that we have 2 more years on Jayden's rookie contract. They were one game from the SB in 2024. I don't want to rely on fliers for Jayden. The fliers should be bonuses. If any of these players have big camps, and from what I recall Sinnott and McCaffrey both haven't had good camps yet, then heck they will get the opportunities they deserve.

If we were in this long old school Redskin mediocre to bad team era rebuild days -- then fine. But I think or lol maybe hope that this can be a SB contender?