The Washington Commanders made a big move at the NFL trade deadline to obtain 4-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore from the New Orleans Saints.
Even in the wake of the Commanders’ stunning run to the NFC Championship Game — their first appearance there since 1991 — it’s evident they gave up too much for Lattimore and didn’t get enough in return.
Coughing up their third, fourth and sixth round picks in 2025 in exchange for Lattimore and a 2025 fifth round pick was too high of a price to pay for a player who didn’t prove to be the difference maker they needed. You can make an argument the Commanders still reach the NFC title game without him.
With Lattimore likely a salary cap casualty in 2025 — it would add $18 million back onto the books for the Commanders — it’s time to turn to free agency to try and find the elite cornerback they thought they were getting with the trade.
With close to $100 million in salary cap space available, it’s not outlandish to think any free agent is on the table for the Commanders, including New York Jets cornerback D.J. Reed.
Reed, who is about to enter his eighth season, is one of the most high profile free agents in the 2025 cycle.
“While Reed has largely been overshadowed by Sauce Gardner, he’s been a high-level starter for the (Jets) since arriving in 2022,” Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox wrote on January 30. “Keeping Reed would make plenty of sense for the Jets, though the cornerback appears more interested in testing the open market.”
Reed in Line for Biggest Payday of Career
Reed broke into the NFL as a fifth round pick (No. 142 overall) by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2018 NFL draft after being a 2-time All-Big 12 selection at Kansas State.
Reed played 2 seasons with the 49ers before he became a full time starter with the Seattle Seahawks in 2020 and signed a 3-year, $33 million free agent contract with the Jets in March 2022.
While Reed has played in the shadow of Gardner during his time in New York, he’s also become one of the NFL’s elite cornerbacks — PFF graded him out at 70.7 for the 2024 season, he allowed just an 87.1 passer rating when thrown at and averaged approximately 73 tackles and 10 pass breakups over the last 3 seasons with the Jets.
Spotrac projects Reed’s market value in free agency in the range of a 4-year, $58.6 million contract that would pay him $14.7 million per season.
The Commanders should be wary of signing Reed to a deal with that many years on it – he turns 29 years old in November — and instead might start in the range of a 3-year, $45 million contract offer or a 2-year, $32 million contract that’s almost fully guaranteed.
Draft Mistakes Led to Great Future for Commanders
One reason the Commanders have so much money in salary cap space is their abject failure at drafting players in recent years — meaning there aren’t any players waiting in line to get massive contracts.
After 2023 first round pick Emmanuel Forbes was released midway through the 2024 season, all of the Commanders’ first round picks from 2020 to 2023 were no longer on the roster.
That means that they have a window of 2 more seasons before they will have to pay rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who already seems on track to receive the biggest contract in NFL history in March 2027.
