Washington NFL Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

Obada is now inking his third contract with the organization after signing contracts in each of the past two offseasons. He had 24 tackles and four sacks during his first season in Washington, but he was limited to only five games in 2023 thanks to a knee injury and later a leg fracture.

Born in Nigeria, Obada started his football career by spending time with the British American Football Association National Leagues. He had brief stints with the Cowboys, Chiefs, and Falcons before joining the Panthers via the International Player Pathway Program in 2017.

He ended up spending three seasons in Carolina, including a 2020 campaign where he finished with a career-high 5.5 sacks. He spent the 2021 campaign in Buffalo, adding 3.5 sacks to his resume.

The Commanders have been busy adding DL depth, signing Dorance Armstrong, Clelin Ferrell, and Dante Fowler Jr.. Obada will likely compete for backup reps in 2024.

Cowboys To Re-Sign CB Jourdan Lewis

March 14th, 2024 at 1:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

Now employing two All-Pros at cornerback, the Cowboys will still find room for Jourdan Lewis. The career-long Cowboy will stay with the team once again, per the Dallas Morning News’ Michael Gehlken.

This will be Lewis’ eighth season with the Cowboys. The past three came under Dan Quinn. While the new Commanders HC is believed to have expressed interest in adding Lewis to the Dallas-to-Washington pipeline, via ESPN’s John Keim, Lewis will be set to work with Mike Zimmer next season.

With DaRon Bland posting one of the most productive seasons in cornerback history last year and Trevon Diggs coming back from an ACL tear, the Cowboys may have their top three corners in place. As Stephon Gilmore remains a free agent, Lewis is coming back on a third Cowboys contract. With Bland establishing himself as a boundary corner last season, Lewis working as the team’s nickel again in 2024 appears a likely scenario.

Lewis, 28, made it back from a severe foot injury to play that role in 2023. During the 2022 season, the former third-round pick suffered a Lisfranc injury that was deemed career-threatening. The Cowboys ramped up Lewis’ workload early last season. By the midpoint, he was working as a regular again. After playing out a three-year, $13.5MM deal, the 5-foot-10 cover man is signing up to play a supporting once in the Dallas secondary once again.

The Cowboys gave up on ex-second-rounder Kelvin Joseph after two seasons, but their Joseph-for-Noah Igbinoghene swap did not move the needle. Rolling out a Gilmore-Bland-Lewis trio, the Cowboys ranked fifth in pass defense. Pro Football Focus did not view Lewis’ first season back from injury in a positive light, however, ranking him in the bottom 10 among cornerback regulars. The Michigan alum did force three fumbles and intercept a pass. Lewis ranks behind only DeMarcus Lawrence as the longest-tenured Cowboy defender.

The Commanders have added Dorance Armstrong and Tyler Biadasz from the Cowboys, but they have not made a move at corner yet. Both Washington’s secondary starters who entered free agency among the best options available — Kendall Fuller, Kamren Curl — are unsigned on Day 4 of free agency.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/13/24

March 13th, 2024 at 9:25pm CST by Ben Levine

Here are today’s free agent tender decisions:

RFAs

Tendered:

Giants: CB Nick McCloud
Rams: LB Michael Hoecht
Seahawks: CB Michael Jackson, LB Jon Rhattigan

Non-tendered:

Cardinals: DL Jonathan Ledbetter
Commanders: LB Jabril Cox, RB Derrick Gore, LB De’Jon Harris

ERFAs

Tendered:

Panthers: RB/KR Raheem Blackshear
Titans: LB Jack Gibbens

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/13/24

March 13th, 2024 at 9:18pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Chicago Bears

Signed: LB Amen Ogbongbemiga, OL Matt Pryor

Cleveland Browns

Signed: CB Tony Brown, TE Giovanni Ricci
Re-signed: P Corey Bojorquez

Houston Texans

Signed: OT David Sharpe

Jacksonville Jaguars

Re-signed: LB Caleb Johnson

Miami Dolphins

Re-signed: RB Salvon Ahmed

New Orleans Saints

Re-signed: FB Adam Prentice

San Francisco 49ers

Re-signed: DL Kevin Givens

Seattle Seahawks

Signed: OL Nick Harris
Re-signed: CB Artie Burns

Tennessee Titans

Re-signed: RB Julius Chestnut

Washington Commanders

Re-signed: S Jeremy Reaves

WR Jamison Crowder Re-Signing With Commanders

March 13th, 2024 at 6:29pm CST by Ely Allen

Jamison Crowder‘s second stint in DC is set to continue. According to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports, the veteran wideout is returning to the Commanders on a new one-year deal.

The Commanders’ front office has been busy so far in free agency, bringing in a number of attractive names while also keeping some contributors home. Crowder is the latest to join that group. The 30-year-old will be heading into the second year of his second stint with the team after spending three years with the Jets and a fourth in Buffalo.

Crowder’s best seasons came early in his career, delivering two strong seasons each with both Washington and New York. Injuries derailed his final season in Washington and his last two years with the Jets, and his short stint in Buffalo ended with a season-ending ankle injury in Week 4. He signed with the third New York team last offseason, but the Giants released him just prior to the start of the regular season.

Crowder rebounded by signing to the Commanders’ practice squad a week later, getting promoted to the active roster just five days after that. Crowder’s contribution in 2023 was far from what he provided years ago, but he is a reliable, veteran backup on a team loaded with young talent at receiver. He also served as the team’s primary punt returner, breaking off a season-long 61-yarder in Week 6.

Fellow receivers Curtis Samuel and Byron Pringle are also free agents, so Crowder returns to play alongside Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, and Dyami Brown. The team may still attempt to bring back Samuel or Pringle, or they may try to replace their production through the draft. Regardless, they have Crowder in the fold as a veteran backup and an experienced return man.

Latest On Potential NFL Trade Deadline Change

March 13th, 2024 at 5:49pm CST by Ben Levine

It sounds like some NFL teams have made progress in their quest to push back the trade deadline. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, there were two recent bylaw proposals to move the trade deadline back from its current date of the Tuesday after Week 8.

The Steelers proposed a bylaw that would see the deadline pushed back a week, which would make it the Tuesday after Week 9. The Browns, Lions, Jets, Eagles, and Commanders were looking to push it back even further, proposing the deadline fall on the Tuesday after Week 10.

The NFL moved the deadline to Week 8 back in 2012, but they didn’t make an adjustment when they added a week to their schedule in 2021. That’s led some GMs to propose pushing the deadline back and lining it up with other major sports’ trade deadlines.

While the hypothetical recently gained some traction, there were reportedly some GM and owners who questioned if the change even needed to be made. While Browns GM Andrew Berry previously expressed his belief that pushing the deadline would help improve the “competitive integrity” of the NFL, there was some fear that a deadline move could only incentivize tanking. Berry seemed to disagree with that notion, though, saying last month that a deadline change would only keep teams more competitive.

“We think as a league it makes sense to give teams the most flexibility as long as possible to have the best product down the stretch run of the playoffs,” Berry stated (h/t Spencer German of Browns Digest). “We wanted to make sure we maintained the competitive integrity of the season so you don’t get into player dumping late in the year.”

The next round of league meetings are set for March 24-27.

Commanders To Add LB Bobby Wagner

March 13th, 2024 at 4:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

Dan Quinn has reunited with multiple Cowboys since taking over as Commanders head coach; he will now circle back to one of his former Seahawks charges who remains active.

Bobby Wagner is heading to Washington on a one-year deal worth $6MM guaranteed, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Quinn coached Wagner during his run as Seahawks defensive coordinator, overseeing the former second-round pick’s breakthrough years. Wagner, who will join a third team in three years, can max out at $8.5MM on his latest NFL contract.

Wagner, 33, will head from Los Angeles to Seattle to Washington in a three-season span. But the future Hall of Famer has remained productive into his 30s. Wagner is riding a remarkable streak of 10 straight seasons with a first- or second-team All-Pro honor on his resume. The past two years have brought second-team distinctions, but Wagner will stroll into the Hall of Fame following his career. A Washington chapter may well become part of his Canton montage.

The Seahawks were viewed as unlikely to bring Wagner back, despite the 12-year veteran excelling upon returning to Seattle. Wagner will also reunite with ex-Seahawks DC Ken Norton Jr., whom Washington hired as linebackers coach. This marks the second straight year the Commanders will bring in a Seahawks linebacker; they signed Cody Barton to a one-year deal in 2023. This year, the Commanders are bringing in two of the NFL’s most productive linebackers over the past two years, with Frankie Luvu heading to D.C. as well.

A 2012 second-round draft choice, Wagner played under Quinn for two years. The Seahawks brought him back to replace Gus Bradley as DC in 2013 and ’14. Wagner quickly becoming a star — for back-to-back Seahawks Super Bowl teams — helped Quinn land the Falcons’ HC job. Of the troops on Quinn’s two Seattle defenses, Wagner is the only one left playing.

Pro Football Focus rated Wagner seventh among linebackers; despite his age, the Utah State alum led the NFL with a career-high 183 tackles. That doubled as Wagner’s third tackles title. Over the past two seasons with the Rams and Seahawks, Wagner also took on a bigger role as a blitzer, totaling 9.5 sacks in that span. Over the past two years, Wagner has combined for 21 tackles for loss.

Although teams do not make a habit of handing out notable money to aging linebackers, Wagner and Lavonte David have collected decent guarantees on one-year pacts this week. Wagner will bring six first-team All-Pro honors to Washington, representing a leadership presence as Quinn and football ops boss Adam Peters — an ex-49ers exec who has certainly seen his fair share of the decorated linebacker — attempts to craft a turnaround effort.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/12/24

March 12th, 2024 at 9:31pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Re-signed: WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette

Cleveland Browns

Signed: OT Hakeem Adeniji
Re-signed: OL Michael Dunn

Dallas Cowboys

Re-signed: LS Trent Sieg

Denver Broncos

Re-signed: FB Michael Burton

Detroit Lions

Re-signed: OL Dan Skipper

Green Bay Packers

Re-signed: CB Corey Ballentine, TE Tyler Davis

Houston Texans

Signed: LB Del’Shawn Phillips

Kansas City Chiefs

Re-signed: S Deon Bush

Minnesota Vikings

Waived: LB William Kwenkeu

New England Patriots

Re-signed: LB Christian Elliss, OL Tyrone Wheatley Jr.

Philadelphia Eagles

Re-signed: LS Rick Lovato, P Braden Mann

Pittsburgh Steelers

Signed: P Cameron Johnston

Seattle Seahawks

Signed: TE Pharaoh Brown

Tennessee Titans

Signed: OL Saahdiq Charles

Washington Commanders

Signed: LS Tyler Ott

Commanders To Sign S Jeremy Chinn

March 12th, 2024 at 3:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jeremy Chinn will join Frankie Luvu in making the trek from Charlotte to Washington. The Commanders continue their run on defensive additions with the ex-Panthers safety, Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz tweets.

The four-year Carolina starter will be tied to a one-year deal that can max out at $5.1MM. Considering where Chinn’s value stood going into last year, this is a bit of a disappointment. But the former second-round pick will have a chance to reestablish his value in Washington.

It is certainly interesting the Carolina-to-Washington pipeline will continue without Ron Rivera, though ex-Panthers GM-turned-Commanders exec Marty Hurney was in place when Chinn was drafted in 2020. The former Defensive Rookie of the Year runner-up has seen his stock dip, falling out of favor with the Panthers. But he generated trade interest following Matt Rhule‘s firing. At 27, Chinn should still have some time to prove he can return to his early-career level.

Working in a hybrid role that featured extensive linebacker work, Chinn combined for 224 tackles (eight for loss) and three forced fumbles from 2020-21. An injury slowed Chinn in 2022, and he did not prove a good fit in Ejiro Evero‘s defense. The Panthers reduced Chinn’s workload a month into last season, and even though he made two starts down the stretch, the 2-15 team kept his snaps low. Chinn will be looking to bounce back.

This agreement may soon lead to Kamren Curl departing. The young safety came into the tampering period as one of the top defenders available, but the team still has 2023 second-round pick Quan Martin and Darrick Forrest. With Xavier McKinney signing for $17MM per year, Curl will likely be targeting a deal in that neighborhood. It will be interesting to see if another team will consider that kind of contract for a safety, given the cheaper options available. But Curl is probably the best option left.

Washington Commanders News & Rumors

RFAs

ERFAs