Commanders $10 Million DT With ‘Non Stop Motor’ Poised for Breakout Season

If you take a second to put yourself in Jer’Zhan Newton’s shoes this offseason, you might get a bit of a queasy feeling. Because it’s been a rollercoaster.

Newton, a 2024 second round pick (No. 36 overall), proved he was good enough as a rookie that the Commanders made the move to release 2-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jonathan Allen in a salary cap move and watched him get snatched up by another NFC contender with the Minnesota Vikings.

That’s where the rollercoaster cascades. A floating feeling, if you will, as it looks over the entire park. Things can’t get any better … then come the loops.

Just 3 days after Allen was released, the Commanders made one of the more criticized moves of the offseason when they signed underachieving defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw to a 3-year, $45 million contract on March 10.

That leaves the Commanders with a pretty stout group of interior defensive linemen with Kinlaw, Newton and Pro Bowler Daron Payne, who is playing on a 4-year, $90 million contract extension he signed in March 2023.

While it leaves Newton with some serious questions about the pecking order at defensive tackle, NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks thinks he could eventually emerge as the Alpha Dog of the group and put Newton on his “All Breakout Team” defense for 2025.

“The heavy-handed defensive tackle exhibited disruptive skills at the point of attack during his rookie campaign,” Brooks wrote. “Newton’s powerful hands and non-stop motor helped him amass 44 tackles (six for loss), seven QB hits and a pair of sacks in 16 games, including 11 starts. Given more responsibility and freedom within the scheme, the second-year pro could become Dan Quinn’s designated playmaker on the defensive front, given his unique talents as a power player in the trenches.”

Injuries May Have Factored Into DT Signing

While Newton may have felt the full range of emotions this offseason as he watched his position group subtract and add talent around him, the Commanders took a much cooler, calculated approach to the proceedings.

That’s because Newton, 6-foot-2 and 295 pounds, might have tremendous upside but he also has some serious injury concerns. This is the first time in 2 years he hasn’t had to undergo offseason foot surgery.

In May 2024, JP Finlay of NBC Sports broke the news that Newton would undergo surgery on his left foot for a partial Jones fracture. It’s the same injury that required surgery on his right foot in 2023, when Newton was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year at the University of Illinois.

It’s also the injury that likely cost Newton his status as a first round pick and dropped him to the Commanders in the first place, where he signed a 4-year, $9.75 million rookie contract.

“Dan Quinn says 2nd rounder Johnny Newton has an injury to his other foot, not the same foot as his college season but the same injury and has a procedure scheduled for next week,” Finlay wrote.

The Commanders open training camp on July 22 and open the regular season on September 7 at home against the New York Giants.