Cornerback Noah Igbinoghene is coming off the best season of his NFL career. But that doesn’t mean he will keep his starting job or even his roster spot with the Washington Commanders.
Pro Football Sports Network’s Sterling Xie argued on May 2 that Igbinoghene is the top trade candidate for the Commanders this summer.
“Because of how he performed, it’s no lock Igbinoghene is a goner,” Xie wrote. “Still, it’ll be tough for him to beat out a pair of recent second-round picks, which could leave him as a decent trade asset for Washington.
“Given his pedigree and promising 2024 performance, Igbinoghene would be a sneaky trade target for teams needing help in the slot.”
Xie included Igbinoghene on a list of potential cut or trade candidates. But clearly, the PFSN analyst sees the cornerback more likely to be a trade chip.
In 2024, which was his first season with the Commanders, Igbinoghene posted a career-best 55 combined tackles, including one tackle for loss. He also registered seven pass defenses.
Igbinoghene started 10 games for Washington after only starting five games over his first four NFL seasons.
The Miami Dolphins drafted Igbinoghene at No. 30 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Why the Washington Commanders Could Trade CB Noah Igbinoghene
Washington didn’t have a lot of opportunities to add to its roster through the 2025 NFL Draft. But the team made another second-round cornerback addition.
The Commanders have drafted a cornerback in the second round each of the past two years. Xie explained those selections are the main reason Igbinoghene could be the odd-man out for Washington this fall.
“The Washington Commanders only made five draft picks, with three of them going on offense. However, they did add Ole Miss cornerback Trey Amos in the second round,” Xie wrote. “A feisty man cornerback, Amos mostly played on the perimeter in college and should slot in there opposite Marshon Lattimore. That would allow second-year pro Mike Sainristil to shift back into the slot, where he mostly played at Michigan.
“Of course, that means veteran cornerback Noah Igbinoghene could get squeezed out of a job.”
One could argue the Commanders landed a cornerback possessing first-round value with Ole Miss’ Trey Amos.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein projected Amos to be a second-round pick. Others, though, considered him a possible late first-rounder.
The Commanders managed to grab Amos at No. 61 overall, which was the fourth-to-last pick in the second round.
Why Igbinoghene Could Have Strong Chance to Stay With Commanders
It’s never a good sign for a veteran when their team targets their position early in multiple NFL Drafts.
However, 2024 second-rounder Mike Sainristil already had a sizable role on Washington’s defense last season, and Igbinoghene still carved out a role.
Granted, Igbinoghene only started one of Washington’s final four regular season games. But during that stretch, he still played at least 83% of the team’s defensive snaps in three contests.
Igbinoghene then started in the playoffs twice and played at least 87% of the team’s defensive snaps in two of three postseason games.
The 2020 first-rounder did that while Sainristil started every game.
Furthermore, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Wednesday that one reason why Amos may have fallen in the 2025 NFL Draft was an injury.
“Multiple teams discovered a back injury in the pre-draft process. This wasn’t a major red flag for some teams, but it was at least a mild concern that ‘probably caused him to slide a bit,’ as one AFC exec said,” wrote Fowler.
While the Commanders clearly didn’t see Amos’ back injury as a concern not to draft him, Washington will have to ensure Amos is fully healthy for 2025 before parting with Igbinoghene.
Even if fully healthy, a team with Super Bowl aspirations might not immediately turn to a second-round rookie if they don’t have to. Depending on how offseason workouts go, Washington could still see Igbinoghene as a significant part of its defense.
