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Commanders Agree To Sign DE Deatrich Wise

March 12th, 2025 at 11:26pm CST by Ely Allen

The Commanders continue to rebuild their defensive line for the 2025 NFL season. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the team will add defensive end Deatrich Wise on a one-year, $5MM contract.

After watching Jonathan Allen depart for Minnesota in free agency and seeing the contracts of Clelin Ferrell and Dante Fowler expire, Washington was going to need to address a defensive line that, despite the return of Daron Payne, Dorance Armstrong, and Jer’Zhan Newton, lacked depth and experience. The team started with the huge, impact addition of defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw and followed that up today with another defensive tackle in Eddie Goldman and Wise.

Wise has resided in New England ever since the Patriots drafted him in the fourth round in 2017. Over an eight-year career in New England, Wise appeared in 126 of a possible 131 games and made 61 starts. He’s pretty consistently averaged just over 4.5 sacks per season while totaling 34 tackles for loss and 90 quarterback hits. Early in his career, as a rotational rusher, Wise consistently got after the quarterback, with 9.5 sacks and 35 quarterback hits in his first two seasons. It took him another three years to pass three sacks in a season after that.

Over his eight years in the NFL with the Patriots, Wise only spent two years (2022 & 2023) as a full-time starter. He took advantage of that first season, seeing career highs in sacks (7.5), total tackles (59), and tackles for loss (7) while adding 11 quarterback hits. In 2023, though, his time as a full-time starter was less effective, only resulting in 4.5 sacks, three tackles for loss, and six quarterback hits. He had a resurgent 2024 campaign, despite missing two games, totaling five sacks, five tackles for loss, and eight quarterback hits.

Due to a lack of depth and options, Wise projects to be a starter across from Armstrong at the moment in Washington. Additional free agent or draft additions could certainly change that outlook, though, and put Wise back into position as a rotational rusher.

In New England, the Patriots aren’t losing too much along the defensive line besides Wise, and they’ve added a significant piece in former Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams and a depth piece in former Cardinals defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga. It’s not apples and apples, but the presence of those two along the defensive front should give New England plenty of alignment options with the staff they now have.

Commanders To Sign DT Eddie Goldman

March 12th, 2025 at 11:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

Eddie Goldman has unretired twice, having sat out the 2022 and ’23 seasons. The former Bears mainstay, however, made a return stick last season and did enough to secure a signing early in free agency.

The Commanders are bringing in the veteran nose tackle, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. Once the recipient of a big-ticket Chicago extension, Goldman managed to earn an extended chance from Atlanta despite entering the 2024 season having missed three of the previous four years. That certainly makes this Washington agreement noteworthy.

Despite entering the league in 2015, Goldman is still just 31. That undoubtedly helped keep teams interested, but Goldman is coming off a 10-start season. The Falcons had signed him in 2022, only to see him retire. They allowed Goldman to come off the reserve/retired list in 2023; he re-retired. Last year, though, Goldman played in all 17 Falcons games and stuck around even as a new coaching staff arrived.

Although a new coaching staff came in, the GM that had both drafted and extended Goldman in Chicago (Ryan Pace) remained in Terry Fontenot‘s front office. Goldman and Pace will separate now, with the split coming after the resurgent D-tackle played 331 snaps. That nearly matched his total from his final Bears season. The Bears cut Goldman early in Ryan Poles‘ GM tenure, but after Pace helped bring him to Atlanta, he will move on and join a Commanders team that has seen changes at this position.

Washington released Jonathan Allen after eight seasons; that move came months after the team cut Phidarian Mathis. A door seemingly swung open for Johnny Newton, but the Commanders gave ex-49ers first-rounder Javon Kinlaw a three-year, $45MM deal. Newton may join Goldman as a second-stringer next season, should Goldman make the Commanders’ 53-man roster. An 83-game starter, the former second-round pick will attempt to play an eighth NFL season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/12/25

March 12th, 2025 at 10:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the minor moves from the first day of the 2025 league year:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Yes, a few of these players have graduated from our minor-moves sector, but today’s signing blitz being what it was, they land here. Ford highlights the batch contractually, agreeing (per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter) to a two-year, $4MM deal. Ford played on more than 70% of Cleveland’s special teams snaps over the past two seasons.

Trask will reprise his role as Baker Mayfield‘s backup, with NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport indicating the former second-round pick is staying on a one-year, $2.79MM contract. Trask and Mayfield competed for the job in 2023, but as was the case with the Drew Lock–Geno Smith battle a year prior, the winner never looked back. Trask will be in place for a fifth Bucs season, having moved from third-stringer during the Tom Brady era to QB2 in the Mayfield years.

Hawkins will stay with the Patriots on a two-year deal worth up to $2.2MM, according to the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed. A 2022 full-time Falcons starter, Hawkins saw Jessie Bates replace him in 2023. The Falcons later waived Hawkins, who ended up on the Chargers in 2023. The Pats used him as a seven-game starter in 2024, when he made 48 tackles (three for loss).

Commanders To Sign CB Jonathan Jones

March 12th, 2025 at 4:37pm CST by Adam La Rose

Jonathan Jones will be on the move for the first time in his career this offseason. The longtime Patriots corner has a one-year deal in place with the Commanders, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports.

This leaves David Andrews as the last player left from the Patriots’ Super Bowl years, as Jones had become a quick fixture on the Pats’ most recent three such seasons. As Mike Vrabel aggressively turns over the roster, Jones is moving on. This deal has a maximum value of $6.5MM, per Fowler.

Operating in the slot and on the outside for the Pats, Jones had been a staple for the team under Bill Belichick and then Jerod Mayo. Jones has made an atypical late-career transition, sliding from perennial slot stopper to a boundary corner. After playing almost all of his 2022 snaps outside, Jones earned a two-year, $19MM deal to stay in what turned out to be Belichick’s finale. The Pats paid up for Carlton Davis, however, and the pricey free agency addition will complement Christian Gonzalez in 2025.

Jones, 31, continued on the outside over the past two years but will probably be better remembered for his slot defense, seeing as those years overlapped with the close of a dynasty. The Patriots added Jones as a 2016 UDFA and immediately put him to work. Jones predated Stephon Gilmore in Foxborough, complementing Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan in 2016. Belichick led Butler, Ryan, Gilmore and J.C. Jackson leave but prioritized Jones, giving him two veteran contracts to stay.

Jones played 132 regular-season games with the Pats and was on the field for eight more playoff contests. Jones joined Butler in not playing in Super Bowl LII, though the former’s absence was not controversial as it came due to injury. While Butler’s absence will be talked about for a while, Jones’ goes overlooked during Nick Foles‘ masterpiece. Jones was open to staying in New England, but MassLive.com’s Karen Guregian had reported he would hit the market.

“I would love to (stay),” Jones said. “It’s rare for a guy to be in one place his entire career. Especially after being undrafted, being here my entire career, I feel indebted to be here.”

Jones will join a Commanders team that let Benjamin St-Juste leave for a Chargers deal. Washington has Mike Sainristil as a potential long-term slot option, and Marshon Lattimore‘s recently acquired contract runs through 2026. With Michael Davis and Noah Igbinoghene unsigned, Jones will have a clear route to a starting role. Considering Lattimore’s run of recent injury trouble, Jones figures to be an important addition.

Commanders To Re-Sign QB Marcus Mariota

March 12th, 2025 at 1:03pm CST by Adam La Rose

Marcus Mariota will remain in Washington for the 2025 campaign. The journeyman quarterback has a new Commanders agreement in place, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

This will be a one-year pact worth $8MM, Pelissero adds. That marks a slight raise compared to Mariota’s first Commanders contract. After a successful year backing up Jayden Daniels, he will do so again next season.

Pelissero notes Mariota drew interest from outside teams, but he turned that down to remain in the nation’s capital. The former No. 2 pick bounced around the league following his five-year run with the Titans, spending time with the Raiders, Falcons and Eagles before signing with the Commanders last offseason. Mariota made just three appearances in 2024, but he gave the team a veteran mentor for Daniels as he put together an exceptional rookie campaign.

Daniels’ strong play ensured Mariota would have needed to head elsewhere if he intended to compete for a starting gig. The 31-year-old’s last stint atop a depth chart came with the Falcons in 2022, when his passer rating (88.2) fell short of his career average. Failing to secure a long-term opportunity as a starter in Atlanta set Mariota up for a one-year spell as the Eagles’ backup prior to his intra-divisional move to the Commanders last spring.

That signing was seen as an indication the Commanders’ preference was to select Daniels with the No. 2 pick in the draft given Mariota’s mobility. Washington did indeed go in that direction, and the team’s success on offense led to renewed head coaching interest for OC Kliff Kingsbury. The former Cardinals coach ultimately withdrew from the 2025 hiring cycle, citing his satisfaction of working with Daniels. After winning Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2024, Daniels will have both his offensive coordinator and QB2 back with him next season.

As expected, the first two days of the negotiating window brought about considerable movement at the quarterback position. That has continued into Wednesday, with the official start of free agency looming this afternoon. Mariota’s decision to remain in place has taken one more veteran passer off the market.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/11/25

March 11th, 2025 at 10:23pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are today’s minor moves from around the NFL:

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Anger is a 13-year veteran who has spent the last four years in Dallas, which included Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors in 2021 and 2023. He will stay with the Cowboys on a two-year deal, per ESPN’s Todd Archer.

Tonyan had a few strong seasons in Green Bay earlier in his career, but he has struggled to produce over the last two years. He spent 2024 in Minnesota, but only played 15 snaps on offense with zero targets. He will add tight end depth in Kansas City.

Stoops received a two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s Performance-Enhancing Substances Policy, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. He will be eligible to participate in training camp and preseason games, but will be sidelined for the first two games of the regular season.

McNichols is staying in Washington on a one-year deal, according to Pelissero. The seven-year veteran appeared in 17 games for the Commanders in 2024 and rushed for 261 yards and four touchdowns on 55 attempts. McNichols will likely continue as Washington’s RB3 behind Brian Robinson and Austin Ekeler.

Commanders, S Will Harris Agree To Deal

March 11th, 2025 at 11:54am CST by Adam La Rose

The Commanders saw Jeremy Chinn agree to a Raiders deal yesterday, but they have quickly worked out a safety addition. Will Harris has a Washington contract in place, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.

This will be a two-year pact, Garafolo adds. Harris will collect a base value of $8MM with the potential for $10MM. A veteran of 53 starts, he will aim to provide a first-team presence to his newest team.

Although Harris spent the 2024 season in New Orleans, he spent five years with the Lions during current Commanders assistant GM Lance Newmark’s lengthy Detroit tenure. Harris has played both safety and cornerback as a pro, having signed one-year deals with the Lions and the Saints. This will be Harris’ first multiyear agreement since his Lions rookie contract.

Detroit moved Harris to corner before the 2022 season and kept him there upon re-signing him in 2023. Starting 27 games for the Lions from 2021-22, Harris took a backseat in 2023, as the Lions had added some DB talent. The team reloaded once again in 2024 and let Harris walk. With the Saints, the former third-round pick started 13 games, primarily lining up as a safety for a struggling New Orleans squad.

The Saints gave Harris plenty of roles in 2024, using him near the line of scrimmage, at free safety and in the slot on at least 100 snaps apiece. Despite Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo being out of the picture for much of the season, Harris did not factor into the Saints’ boundary CB mix. The Commanders have lost Chinn and Kamren Curl in consecutive offseasons; fellow safety Darrick Forrest is a free agent. Quan Martin remains on his rookie deal for the resurgent team, however. Harris figures to have a shot at the other starting job in 2025.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post.

Texans To Trade LT Laremy Tunsil To Commanders

March 10th, 2025 at 11:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jayden Daniels is about to have a new blindside protector. After six seasons with the Texans, Laremy Tunsil is on the move. The Commanders are acquiring the Pro Bowl left tackle, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

Washington will send second-, third- and fourth-round picks to Houston in the swap, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. Courtesy of The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, here are the full trade terms:

Commanders receive:

  • Tunsil
  • 2025 fourth-round pick

Texans receive:

  • 2025 third-round pick
  • 2025 seventh-rounder
  • 2026 second
  • 2026 fourth

Tunsil, 30, has seen five Pro Bowl invites come his way. Never an All-Pro, Tunsil is certainly paid like one. The former Dolphins first-round pick secured two top-market contracts from the Texans, the current deal checking in at three years, $75MM. Two seasons remain on Tunsil’s contract.

Monday’s agreement marks Tunsil’s second time being traded. The Dolphins, as they gutted their roster during a then-controversial 2019 rebuild effort, obtained two first-round picks for sending Tunsil to Houston. The Texans had Tunsil in place protecting Deshaun Watson‘s blindside for two years, but the Pro Bowl quarterback’s off-field trouble (and a trade request) ended that partnership early. Tunsil, however, has served as a key part of C.J. Stroud‘s development.

The Texans did draft Blake Fisher in the 2024 second round, and the team has Tytus Howard — who has shuffled between tackle and guard during his career — as a right tackle option. A tackle duo including Howard and Fisher would make sense for the Texans, but they suddenly would have multiple guard needs if they went in that direction. Houston released Shaq Mason this weekend.

In Tunsil, the Commanders are acquiring a high-end LT who has started 125 career games. The shrewd negotiator has also stayed healthier in recent seasons. After missing 12 games in 2021, Tunsil has combined to miss only three since. He started 17 games last season, helping a Texans line that again dealt with injury trouble elsewhere. Pro Football Focus ranked Tunsil as a top-20 tackle in each of the past three seasons. Tunsil ranked 10th in pass rush win rate last season.

The Commanders used both Cornelius Lucas and third-round rookie Brandon Coleman at left tackle last season. PFF rated the more experienced blocker as a much better option (28th) than Coleman (63rd). Washington used one of its many Day 2 picks on Coleman last year, but he may not be in line for a starting role next season. The Commanders still have Andrew Wylie rostered at right tackle.

Adam Peters indicated defensive additions would be a priority, and the team has brought in Javon Kinlaw. But the second-year GM has made Daniels protection a priority in this Tunsil swap. It will be interesting to see if Tunsil maneuvers into another lucrative extension, as no guaranteed money remains on his current deal. Tunsil used the Miami-to-Houston relocation as a springboard to future contract leverage. With Daniels on his rookie deal, Tunsil could strike again soon.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/10/25

March 10th, 2025 at 10:41pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor NFL moves that may have been missed during an otherwise extremely busy first day of the tampering period:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Commanders To Sign DT Javon Kinlaw

March 10th, 2025 at 11:38am CST by Adam La Rose

The Commanders have quickly found a new starter along the defensive line. Javon Kinlaw is headed to the nation’s capital.

Kinlaw has a three-year, $45MM deal in place with the Commanders, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The pact includes $30MM in guarantees, a major raise compared to his one-year Jets tenure. This agreement will allow for Kinlaw to reunite with general manager Adam Peters, who was in the 49ers front office which drafted him.

Washington already had an expensive DT tandem in the form of Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen, but after granting the latter permission to seek a trade, the team released him. That move seemed to open up a starting spot for 2024 second-rounder Johnny Newton, but Peters has instead made another lucrative investment at the position.

Kinlaw faced high expectations as the 14th overall pick in 2020, but his San Francisco tenure did not go according to plan. Injuries were a problem in his second and third seasons, a span in which he played only 10 total games. The South Carolina product logged a full campaign during his walk year, but even that only landed him a one-year Jets deal.

The Jets represented a quick stopover for Kinlaw, who used a “prove it” deal to his advantage despite Gang Green finishing 5-12 and regressing on defense. The former first-rounder’s knee trouble did not limit him, as the five-year vet started all 17 Jets games and tallied a career-high 4.5 sacks and five tackles for loss. Going from a one-year, $7.25MM contract to $30MM guaranteed represents one of the 2024 seasons bigger wins, even though it largely came off the radar.

Payne’s new sidekick will be expected to build on this, and while his injury past provides some concerns, Peters is plenty familiar with the risks Kinlaw once brought. Ahead of an age-28 season, Kinlaw will be taking over for Allen on a deal not too far south of where the Pro Bowler stood.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post.

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