Another one of the major pass rush dominoes around the NFL has fallen. Odafe Oweh will neither return to the Ravens nor remain in place with the Chargers.
Instead, he will head to the nation’s capital. A four-year deal has been agreed to with the Commanders, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. This will be a $100MM pact including $68MM guaranteed, Schefter adds.
This represents a big-ticket payday for another of this market’s edge rushers. Jaelan Phillips secured a four-year, $120MM Panthers deal earlier today, and Oweh will do very well for another team in need of pass-rushing support. The Commanders largely ignored their EDGE need in 2025, settling for an aging Von Miller just before training camp. While Miller was productive (team-high nine sacks), the team set out to do better this offseason. Oweh checks a key box.
Recording 17.5 sacks over the past two seasons, Oweh joined Phillips and Trey Hendrickson as this market’s top edge rushers. The four-year commitment will help inflate Oweh’s guarantee, and $68MM tops where the Chiefs went for George Karlaftis on his 2025 extension. The cap climbing past $301MM this offseason is benefiting players today. Oweh, 27, is the NFL’s 13th-highest-paid edge rusher as a result of this agreement. That checks in just south of the Broncos’ Nik Bonitto pact.
Oweh joined Phillips and Kwity Paye as edge rushers to play out their fifth-year option seasons. Like Phillips, Oweh was traded during his. The five-year veteran’s Chargers stay helped ignite his free agent market. After a sackless five games in Baltimore, Oweh recorded 7.5 QB drops during his Chargers run. That turned out to be a rental period.
Although the Chargers expressed interest in re-signing Oweh, they agreed to terms with Khalil Mack and have a Tuli Tuipulotu extension to negotiate this offseason. Oweh almost definitely, based on where the Tuipulotu payday will land, priced himself out of L.A.’s comfort zone.
No Oweh six-sack seasons transpired from 2021-23, but the Ravens still picked up his fifth-year option. Baltimore saw Oweh register 10 sacks in 2024, and he closed out his rookie contract by combining for 41 QB hits from 2024-25. The Commanders still have Dorance Armstrong tied to his three-year, $30MM contract, but after regarding him as a de facto A-side rusher, Washington looks set to have Oweh in that role moving forward.
Adam La Rose contributed to this post.
Oh my
They will draft Sonny Styles or Caleb Downs at 1.07
Crazy investment for a 27 year old with only 30.5 sacks to date.
Immediate buyers remorse for the Commanders on this deal IMO. He was ok in Baltimore, he shined under Minter. I doubt he replicates that in Washington. We’ll see. Good on dude getting his money.
@giantsfan775. It was the ravens d coordinator, he did good for Macdonald and minter they run the same scheme. I think Quinn could figure how to make it work. He was one of best ends with pressures when he got traded.
Commanders are too low on picks to not aggressively address some holes in free agency. It’s a little much, but not bad in my opinion.