Few opinions about anything DC sports are as respected as David Aldridge’s, so take it in good faith, Commanders fans, that DA likes what the Commanders have done.
“It's weird; most people I think are excited about it, and I wouldn't say I’m excited, but I like what they're doing,” DA said. “They’re not breaking the bank, we don't have Redskin One fueled up ready to go all over the country to give people $30 million signing bonuses; these are all reasonable contracts. They haven't overspent, in my opinion, on anybody, and what they're saying is the floor was a lot lower than y'all think it was; like, we can't run it back with the group we had here last year, we have some major, major holes that need fixing right away. That's what I take from it.”
And that’s when DA hit JP and Brian with the dagger for Ron Rivera:
“It boggles my mind that one group can spend four years ignoring the linebacker position, just completely ignoring it, and the other group fills it in two days,” DA said. “It's unbelievable to me. You just can't ignore a position, that's like ignoring one of your fingers. The parallels between Wagner and London Fletcher make sense, and what I know about Bobby Wagner is when he hits somebody, they stay hit. And Luvu, by all accounts, is a really kind of an up-and-coming guy that they can move all over the place, which I think is good."
The one thing that did puzzle DA, before Sam Howell was dealt, was how Washington dealt with their QB room.
“I would have tried to spend a little bit more to keep Jacoby Brissett; I think he's a better quarterback than Mariota, and if your No. 1 goes down, I want somebody who's better than Mariota,” Aldridge said. “I don't think Marcus Mariota at this stage of his career has shown me he's ready to step in and play four or five games if you need him to start, and whether it's injury or poor performance from your rookie quarterback, there's a fairly large possibility that he will have to, so I think you could do better.”
That said, even before Howell was dealt, Aldridge understood the plan.
“I think they brought in a veteran because if Howell is your No. 2, you’re handcuffing the rookie, because no matter what he does, if it’s bad, the town's gonna say put Sam all in the game,” DA said. “So now by having that buffer, that veteran as your backup, that won't be happening as much. That kid's gonna have so much pressure on him coming in to start right away, they just want to remove as many obstacles to him succeeding as you can possibly remove.”
Take a listen to DA’s entire segment above, which includes some thoughts on leadership and more!