The Washington Commanders have done a good job in recent seasons of locking players up before they can hit free agency. Defensive tackle Jonathan Allen and wide receiver Terry McLaurin are the prime examples.
The Commanders applied the franchise tag on defensive tackle Daron Payne earlier this year and agreed to a four-year extension before free agency began in March.
Buy Commanders TicketsHeading into 2024, the Commanders have an extensive list of free agents. Safety Kamren Curl and defensive ends Montez Sweat and Chase Young are the most prominent. Washington declined Young’s fifth-year option in April, meaning he would join Sweat as an unrestricted free agent next offseason.
In the offseason, head coach Ron Rivera repeatedly said that the Commanders wanted to keep several of their players. However, the team was for sale, and his staff could not work on contract extensions.
Everything changed on July 20 when Josh Harris took over as the franchise’s owner from Daniel Snyder. Harris named his immediate priorities: improving FedEx Field and the fan experience and supporting Rivera and the team for the 2023 NFL season.
A coaching staff shakeup was another area that had to wait until the ownership change. The Commanders shuffled some offensive coaches around earlier this offseason, but the titles could not become official until the team was sold. On Tuesday, those changes became official.
During his meeting with the media on Tuesday, Rivera was asked if those coaching promotions meant any movement on potential contract extensions.
“Well, not necessarily, other than just the fact that we’re continuing to work with them,” Rivera said. “You know, we’re looking at all the different things that are involved in running the organization and the team, and this has only been five weeks. I mean, there’s a lot of things that they wanna do, and they wanna make sure that they’re being done the right way, and so there is a learning curve that goes with all this. There are some things that are a little more urgent than others, but as we start and continue to go forward, these are all things that will continue to work out with them. The new ownership group has been terrific. They really have. We’ve had a lot of conversations, and we continue to have conversations on a lot of those topics.”
One key from this is Rivera did say they were “continuing to work with them.” The Commanders and the agents for some of these key players likely have maintained contact throughout the offseason, preparing for when they could get to work on extensions. So, both sides likely have an expectation of what the other wants in an extension.
Does that mean any are imminent? It’s unlikely, as Harris and his staff may want to see some of the players on the field before committing hefty contract guarantees into future seasons. But, of course, that could change at any moment.
