The Washington Commanders pulled off a series of moves to kick off NFL free agency on March 10 that left many scratching their heads — doubling down on how many already felt about the offseason for a franchise that enters the 2025 season with Super Bowl aspirations.
On The Ringer NFL Show Podcast following the first day of free agency on March 10, co-host Steven Ruiz put the Commanders firmly in his “biggest losers” category after a series of moves that included bringing in or bringing back players who almost all seem past their prime.
Those moves included signing defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw to a 3-year, $45 million free agent contract and making a surprise trade with the Houston Texans for left offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, who will be counted on to protect the blind side of Pro Bowl quarterback Jayden Daniels.
“I’m going to go with another very busy team this offseason … I’m going to go with the Commanders as my second loser,” Ruiz said. ” … Like they’re a team that doesn’t have any new ideas and it feels like they’re running back their strategy from last year. And it’s like, hey, guys that seem to be on the decline but they’ve been good player sin the past and they’re coming cheaper than they usually would. They traded for Laremy Tunsil. They traded for Deebo Samuel.
“This isn’t one guy who was cheaper, but Javon Kinlaw, I think, was the biggest shock deal early on. Three years, $45 million for a player that has largely been forgotten since his days in San Francisco … Kinlaw was a free agent last year and signed a 1-year, $7 million contract and had 2 1/2 sacks in 12 games. He wasn’t even on my radar as a Top 50 free agent.”
Kinlaw Signing Defies Logic in Terms of Finances
The Ringer and Ruiz weren’t the only ones left scratching their heads over the signing of Kinlaw, who represents a considerable downgrade in terms of performance from departed 2-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, who signed a 3-year, $60 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings — although it’s not much of a savings in terms of finances.
Kinlaw was a first round pick (No. 14 overall) by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2020 NFL draft and after playing 14 games as a rookie only played 10 games, total, over the next 2 seasons due to injuries and didn’t play all 17 games until his fourth season in 2023.
In his lone season with the New York Jets in 2024, Kinlaw had his version of a breakout season by starting all 17 games for the first time with career highs of 40 tackles and 4.5 sacks — still not numbers that jump off the page.
Commanders Have Brought Back Several Veterans for 2025
One thing the Commanders have done this offseason besides making moves to bring in veterans like Samuel, Tunsil and Kinlaw is to bring back the veterans who helped them make it to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991.
All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner and tight end Zach Ertz both starred for the Commanders on 1-year contracts in 2024, with Wagner leading the team in tackles and Ertz finishing as the team’s second leading wide receiver.
The Commanders brought back Wagner on a 1-year, $9 million contract — a $2.5 million raise. Ertz is back on a 1-year, $6.5 million contract — a $3.5 million raise over last season.
