One thing seems certain for the Washington Commanders in the 2025 offseason. They need to land a receiver to complement Terry McLaurin. Perhaps it could be Deebo Samuel? Or maybe Garrett Wilson? The Commanders have other needs, too. And here are two NFL free agents who are sneaky good options to sign.
Washington finished with a record of 12-5 last season, and made it to the NFC Championship game. But they did it with a poor overall roster, which got exposed to a near-maximum level by the Eagles.
Head coach Dan Quinn did a masterful job, and should have been given more consideration for coach of the year honors. But he will need better players in 2025 to hold up against a tougher schedule.
Cowboys CB Jourdan Lewis could help
The Commanders have been bad in the secondary for many years. They just haven’t found many standouts on the back end. They’ve drafted poorly, and need to shake things up.
It started with a trade for Marshon Lattimore. They hope he will be healthy in 2025 and perform better than the 2024 version, who looked overmatched against top-level receivers.
Lewis could be the right player to sign because of his price tag. He could get a one-year deal for $2.8 million. That’s not a bad price for a guy who started 13 games and posted an overall grade of 71.7 last season. That ranked No. 36 among cornerbacks, putting him just outside of the range of a No. 1 starter. And his coverage grade, something the Commanders desperately need, came in as elite at 79.0. That ranked a few spots outside the top 10 in the NFL at No. 14.
Also, Lewis is the physical type of football player Quinn wants in his defensive scheme. Lewis also brings a no-excuse attitude. His response to the way the Detroit Lions poured it on the Cowboys last season shows this, according to espn.com. The Lions used a tackle eligible play nine times and attempted a hook-and-ladder to tackle Penei Sewell while leading by four touchdowns.
“They were trying to be sarcastic with it,” Lewis said after the game. “They were trying to embarrass us, but I mean at the end of the day, they can do whatever they want to do. It's our job to stop it.”
Of course, the Cowboys might not let Lewis go, according to dallascowboys.com.
“Jourdan's just an uber competitor,” said executive vice president and director of player personnel Stephen Jones. “He's a guy who's out of contract, and obviously a guy that we want to have back on this football team.”
Plus, Lewis said he wants to stay in Dallas.
“Always,” he said. “Dallas is my home. My kids were born here. We'd love to have another season here, or a few seasons here. My wife loves it. But I know it's a business, and we don't know what the front office needs.”
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Lions CB Carlton Davis III should be a target
The Commanders love competitors and should be excited about what Davis brought to the Lions last season.
He brought a big change to the defense, according to Pro Football Focus.
“(Davis) provided immediate stability to a young Detroit secondary that badly needed it after the defense endured an unfathomable number of injuries in 2024,” PFF wrote.
Davis even succumbed to the injury bug himself, suffering a season-ending injury in Week 15. When he played, he showed what he could do, according to prideofdetroit.com.
“Despite the Bucs running a lot of Cover 3 under Todd Bowles, Davis had proven himself to be adept in man coverage when given the opportunity,” Ryan Mathews wrote. “And a plus-defender against the run, two very coveted skills in Aaron Glenn’s defense. Since 2020, Davis put up impressive numbers when in man coverage: 48.3% completion rate allowed, 24.8% forced incompletion rate, 72.4 passer rating allowed, four interceptions versus five touchdowns allowed. And maybe most importantly, he had established himself as a true No. 1 cornerback capable of handling those tough assignments.”
Lions coach Dan Campbell said Davis brought plenty to the Lions’ defense.
“That’s been an outstanding addition,” Campbell said during the season. “I (told him), ‘Man, one of the best moves we made was acquiring you, getting you here.’ And there is nothing better than a cover corner who runs, hits, tackles, fills the run, no fear, and then you see what he’s able to do with those takeaways yesterday.”
The part where Campbell says “no fear” should perk up the ears of Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. This is the type of player the Commanders want for their defense. So it seems like Davis fits on multiple levels.
Tampa Bay drafted Davis in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He has racked up an impressive 11 intereceptions in 88 career NFL starts. Davis spent his first six seasons with the Buccaneers, helping them win the Super Bowl in 2020. Davis started all four games of that postseason, defending three passes along the way.
