Not counting special teams, 44 Washington Commanders have played at least 20 snaps in 2024. Of those, only 19 were with the team last season.
That number includes Jamin Davis and Emmanuel Forbes Jr. - former first-round draft picks who have now been released. If you factor in those and also consider a new kicker and long snapper, you realize that general manager Adam Peters has rebuilt more than 60 percent of the inherited roster in less than one year.
And he is not done yet.
Peters has rebuilt previous weaknesses into strengths, most notably at quarterback and linebacker. But when the Commanders take on the league’s elite - teams like the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Philadelphia Eagles - it is clear that holes remain.
Those three franchises do a marvelous job of roster building. They constantly reload with draft picks. They hire good coaches. They maintain an identifiable chain of command. In short, they are well-run organizations. Not surprisingly, they tend to have consistent success.
Peters came from one of the best examples of that. The San Francisco 49ers certainly have their share of stars, but they tend to have success because of the depth they maintain across the entire roster. They may not have elites in every position, but they rarely have holes.
With the recent release of Forbes, Peters has shown he will continue making changes to the roster. With that in mind, here are five Commanders' players who find their stock falling at the bye week.
None may be in danger of imminent release, but all five need to show something in the final month to feel good about their position heading into 2025.
Commanders players whose stock is tumbling at the bye week
John Bates - Commanders TE
John Bates has always been a block-first tight end. Several things have happened this season which suggest he might not be around by the start of next year.
First, though he has primarily been a blocker in his first three seasons, his targets this season have shrunk to virtually nothing. Bates has been on the field for around the same number of plays as last year - about 50 percent of offensive snaps - but he has been targeted just seven times. He normally would get 25-35 targets before this season.
Second, Bates’ blocking has not been special. His Pro Football Focus score as both a run blocker and a pass blocker puts him at or below the league average.
Finally, although Ben Sinnott has not made much of a mark yet, you can expect him to get more attention as the season winds down. The very fact that a player like Colson Yankoff made the roster this year is an indication that Peters prefers the type of versatile tight ends he saw in San Francisco.
Percy Butler - Commanders S
Percy Butler was forced into action last season when free safety Darrick Forrest was injured. He performed adequately, though it often appeared that he was better suited to playing in the box as a strong safety.
The Washington Commanders are already invested in Jeremy Chinn in that position. His performance levels have been up and down, but he has shown the ability to make more plays than Butler if used properly.
The Commanders have steady veteran Jeremy Reaves and the athletic Tyler Owens as a developmental player at the position. Butler’s defensive snaps have been greatly reduced this year. That is not surprising considering he was pressed into the starting lineup last season due to injury.
More concerning is that he has been losing defensive snaps in the second half of the season. Butler is now primarily a special teams player. With special teamers like Reaves, Owens, Mykal Walker, and Nick Bellore, that might not be enough for him to hang on next year.
By the way, Forrest is not included here because it has been clear from the beginning of the season that his stock has collapsed.
Benjamin St-Juste - Commanders CB
Benjamin St-Juste’s career in Washington has been like that very slow-moving cruise ship in Speed 2, heading toward disaster for what seems like an eternity.
St-Juste is a talented player as evidenced by his impressive pass-defended stats over the years. But he can also be counted on to make at least one major mistake per game.
Usually, it is a penalty of some kind. He often commits more than one at key moments.
The former third-round pick has never been able to balance the bad plays with enough good ones. St-Juste has just one career interception through 50 games despite being targeted often. That's not good enough.
He has still been on the field quite a bit this season. But in recent weeks, St-Juste began to cede snaps to backup Michael Davis. Once newly acquired Marshon Lattimore can play, the Minnesota product could find himself pushed further down the depth chart.
Sadly, until this season. he has been subjected to very poor position coaches. St-Juste may have developed too many bad habits for the current regime to tolerate.
Trent Scott - Commanders OT
Trent Scott is a journeyman swing tackle who will be 31 years old next season. Decent swing tackles can last a long time in the right situation, but recent developments suggest that the Washington Commanders may not be the place for him.
When right tackle Andrew Wylie was unable to go last weekend against the Tennessee Titans, Cornelius Lucas got the start ahead of Scott. This left rookie Brandon Coleman free to man the blindside by himself.
Lucas, who seemed less comfortable on the right side back in 2021 and 2022, acquitted himself rather well. With the continued development of Coleman on the left, Washington’s tackle situation is coming into focus.
It would not be at all surprising to see general manager Adam Peters address the position this off-season, perhaps looking for a mid-round right tackle to pair with Coleman going forward. If so, Scott, who will go down in history for catching the first touchdown ever thrown by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, may be looking for a new team in 2025.
Olamide Zaccheaus - Commanders WR
Right after Adam Peters shocked Commanders’ fans by trading away 2022 first-round pick Jahan Dotson in the preseason, it appeared that newly acquired wideout Olamide Zaccheaus might have a much bigger role with the club than had been previously assumed.
There was no other reliable option on the outside after Terry McLaurin. Then Peters was able to scoop up Noah Brown to be the primary Z receiver, and coaches began exploring what Dyami Brown and rookie Luke McCaffrey could offer.
It didn’t happen right away. But over time, Zaccheaus’ role on the offense began to shrink.
Through the first seven games, he was targeted 27 times. Over the last six, he has only seen 11 passes come his way.
The big-play potential Zaccheaus had shown while a member of the Atlanta Falcons a few years back seems to have vanished. His yards-per-catch are way down. What’s more, he is now fifth on the team amongst wide receivers in snaps, trailing McLaurin, McCaffrey, and both Browns.
At this point, Zaccheaus is primarily on the team to be a punt returner. He has been steadier in that role of late, but it will not be enough to earn him a spot in 2025.
