What’s next for Commanders after brutal 2025? Roster must be restocked

ASHBURN, Va. — It became known as “The Pause” among those following the Washington Commanders. In his introductory press conference nearly two years ago, Adam Peters had to pause, consider, reconsider and proceed carefully when asked about the state of the roster, one that was bereft of talent and had produced four wins the season prior.

Eventually, Peters talked about “a few cornerstone pieces” and “a lot of work to do” once the coaching staff was in place. It was an answer that reflected where the woebegone franchise was at that point: lacking obvious answers.

He struck a much more positive tone ahead of his second season.

“Gosh, I could probably go through the whole roster and tell you something I like about every single guy on there and every single guy we have on the practice squad as well but … the depth, I think the depth is better, up front on both sides.”

How did he get it so wrong? One year after he constructed from the ground up a 12-5 team that went to its first NFC Championship Game since 1991, his team of holdovers and win-now additions crumbled to 5-12.

There’s a long list of answers: injuries, underperformance, poor coaching, bad luck, small misses and, frankly, big misses.

“This season was a disappointment in a lot of ways and certainly didn’t meet our standards,” Peters said Monday. “And you know, we’re going to do everything we can to not let that happen again. And that starts today with this offseason. “

If two losses could summarize a season, Weeks 9 and 14 do the trick. In Week 9, Jayden Daniels returned from a hamstring injury, hoping to briefly reignite positivity, even if the season was past saving. But it was Sam Darnold who stole the show, going 16 for 26 for 282 yards and four touchdowns in the first half and making it look effortless, as if defenders weren’t even there.

“I can speak for every coach and player: just an unacceptable performance by us tonight,’ Coach Dan Quinn said. “We missed it by a mile.”

He missed it by a mile, too. Trailing 38-7 late, Daniels dislocated his elbow on a scramble. Immediately after the game, Quinn said he hadn’t thought about taking Daniels out. One day later he admitted he erred keeping Daniels in.

That wasn’t the end of Daniels’ season. Quinn stressed how important it was for Daniels, as a young player, to continue to get reps, continue to grow, continue to learn.

So Daniels returned. But the defensive struggles never went away. The Minnesota Vikings, who entered Week 14 having gone 22 straight possessions without a touchdown, scored touchdowns on each of their first two drives. In the third quarter, Daniels landed on the afflicted elbow trying to chase down Andrew Van Ginkel on an interception. Daniels didn’t suffer any further structural damage, but Washington finally, mercifully shut him down for the season. The Commanders lost 31-0 — its worst shutout loss since 1961.

Those games illustrated four things:

1. The Commanders couldn’t hang with the league’s middle class, much less its best teams.
2. The Commanders’ defense was broken beyond repair.
3. Daniels, try as he might, could not save the Commanders.
4. Almost anything that could go wrong did go wrong.

“That’s kind of the focus for me this offseason: rebuilding myself from the ground up and hopefully go out there, and that’s the most important thing, to be available for my team,” Daniels said.

The 2025 Commanders were what the 2024 version could have — and maybe should have — looked like: quarterback showing flashes while figuring out what he can and can’t do, bridge veterans not able to get it done at the highest level, youngsters not ready to contribute to a winner, overall roster just not there.

The problem was this wasn’t 2024. It was 2025. The Commanders made win-now moves for Laremy Tunsil, Deebo Samuel, Marshon Lattimore and others. They had brought back the veterans who had well outperformed expectations — players who, offensive Kliff Kingsbury had said, “people thought … were being sent off here to die.” They had hoped the young core, led by Daniels, would continue to progress.

But this roster wasn’t ready for that. Maybe 2024 was part mirage, part overachievement, part superstar rookie quarterback, part everything going right. After all, “The Pause” hadn’t been that long ago. The Commanders became the seventh team to follow a season with four or fewer wins with a season of 12 or more wins. All seven followed that up with a losing season.

This was the most “down” of down years, though. Injuries wreaked havoc, not just to Daniels but across the roster. Sports Info Solutions said the Commanders had the second-most injury-impacted season this year. More than anything, the team simply didn’t have the personnel.

“I don’t think there are any magic calls or magic schemes,” said Von Miller, who finished with a team-high nine sacks playing a role much bigger than he or the team initially envisioned. “The players bring the schemes to life. The players bring the defense to life. [Defensive coordinator Joe] Whitt called the defense and [Quinn] called the defense. We got the same result with both coaches.”

The numbers qualify a defense severely lacking the necessary components. Only the New York Jets had fewer takeaways or a worse turnover margin this season. Only the Cowboys had a worse defensive expected points added per play.

How did it get there? Many of the young pieces of the 2024 breakthrough — both the young and the old — struggled in 2025. Pro Football Focus’ grades are imperfect, but they paint a good enough picture.

“I think my performance is a direct image of what the season looked like for us,” Sainristil said.

The offense was never quite right from the start: Terry McLaurin’s contract dispute spilled over into the very end of August, and with him absent, the offense and its paper-thin receiving corps struggled. Daniels hurt his knee in Week 2, McLaurin his quad in Week 4. Overall, they played just three games together.

“I think for me, it’s coming back healthy, having a full offseason so I can grow with Jayden, grow with the guys that are here,” McLaurin said. “I think that’ll be great for everybody, just give them more sense of normalcy.  … I’m looking forward to being part of the building process start to finish and see where we go from there.”

A full offseason with McLaurin will be a good start, but the Commanders need more. Much more. I outlined five steps Washington must take to build a winner around Daniels, and the biggest one will be Daniels protecting himself after playing in just seven games due to three different injuries and one injury aggravation.

“I think you always grow and mature,” Daniels said. “The best ability for myself is availability so I can go out there and showcase my God-given abilities, and if I’m not out there, I’m kind of hurting the team, and my number one job is to protect the team.”

But the Commanders also need to upgrade his pass catchers, retain his left tackle — Tunsil was by far the Commanders’ best move this offseason, and Peters expressed a desire to re-sign him — consider changes to the offensive scheme (the Commanders were last in under-center rate for the second straight year) and give a massive facelift to the defense.

That penultimate point could be a big one if Kingsbury leaves, whether it be via a head-coaching job or a firing (or both). Players across the offense stumped for Kingsbury, with Daniels saying “I loved working with Kliff,” and “[We] share a special relationship.”

But The Athletic reported there was a potential rift between Kingsbury and Peters, and neither Peters nor Quinn shied away from the potential for change.

“Everything needs to be and is being thoroughly being examined and discussed,” Quinn said.

All that leaves a lot on Peters’ and Quinn’s plates, and they said Daniels will be a big part in a crucial offseason of. Washington is projected to have the fifth-most effective cap space in the NFL, per Over The Cap, and it owns the No. 7 overall draft pick.

Remember the above graphic of team to jump from four or fewer wins to 12 or more? Peters was with the 49ers when they made the jump in 2019 and the downfall in 2020, not unlike his Commanders.

Those 49ers bounced right back and have been contenders ever since. The biggest difference? The 49ers had already seen draft picks grow into either stars (Fred Warner, George Kittle, Nick Bosa, Samuel) or solid contributors (Dre Greenlaw, Colton McKivitz, Mike McGlinchey). The Commanders’ breakthrough was mostly on the backs of veterans and Daniels.

That means this offseason will not only be a referendum on Peters going forward, but Peters in hindsight. The Commanders made nine picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, five in the top 100. Daniels and Sainristil were the early highlights. Will others join?

“I love some of the trajectory that some of them are on,” Quinn said. “The belief that we have in them is so strong. And so, that’s kind of what your first and second year is. It kind of goes up and it goes down. I wish development was just going straight up, that would be awesome. But what I can say is we’ve got some really, really good strong foundation pieces.”

Peters emphasized “younger and faster” as foci this offseason. Maybe Jordan Magee, who fits both descriptions, makes the jump. Magee watched film with future Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner, picking up aspects both traditional and non-traditional, such as watching the game broadcast to hear opposing quarterbacks’ cadence. With Wagner, 35, a free agent, Magee could be even more crucial. In San Francisco, Peters nailed not one but two mid-round linebacker picks in Warner and Greenlaw.

“I can’t replicate Bobby Wagner,” Magee said. “I can only be myself, so that’s what I’m gonna try to do, be the best version of Jordan Magee, just continue to grow, develop. A lot of the ‘work ons’ I had this offseason came to fruition, and I’m gonna continue to just go out there and be the best Magee I can be.”

The 2025 class must also produce. First-round pick Josh Conerly Jr. did so despite flipping from left tackle in college to right tackle as a rookie. He improving down the stretch, proving himself to, most importantly, himself.

“I definitely know exactly where I need to attack, and I’ll make sure I do that and make sure I come back even better,” Conerly said, adding he’s focused on adding strength. “… It’s gonna be great so I can solely focus on [right tackle] … It’s gonna be a lot easier, and it’s gonna be a lot easier mentally, too.”

Second-round cornerback Trey Amos suffered a broken leg but will also be counted on for a bounce-back year. The NFL’s oldest team in 2025 needs big steps from its youngsters in 2026.

In the end, this is who the Commanders were. Not good enough, not deep enough, not healthy enough, not lucky enough. Many players who papered over roster holes in 2024 exposed them in 2025, and they may not be back as a result. That’s life in the NFL, a week-to-week and year-to-year business. Ask the 2024 Commanders, whose locker clean-out day was full of hope, and the 2025 version whose season couldn’t end soon enough.

“As a competitor, you don’t want to have locker room clean-out this early, you want to be in the dance” Daniels said. “Most definitely motivation for next year, but that’s just not how the cards were dealt this year.”