The Commanders are coming off a stunning run to the NFC title game, now boast arguably the best quarterback in the NFC that will be entering just his second NFL season, and head into the offseason with the third-most cap space in the league.
Naturally, many fans and analysts believe Adam Peters and company will ride that momentum and financial flexibility to go all in and try to win a title while Jayden Daniels is still on a rookie contract.
Will that be the route that Washington takes this offseason? Grant and Danny aren’t so sure.
“There is this perception around the country that the Commanders are going to into aggressive mode, and do something like what the Texans did last offseason,” Grant said. “They were coming off a stunning year because they drafted a quarterback No. 2, C.J. Stroud, who had a year nobody could believe...the Texans got into the playoffs, won a playoff game, went into the offseason with all this money, and went HAM.
“I get the sense that is something along the lines of what people are expecting the Commanders to do now around the country. I’m really skeptical that they actually do that.”
Houston were in a strikingly similar spot last season after Stroud burst onto the scene, and they went out and splurged for offseason additions like Stefon Diggs to give Stroud more weapons. Injuries hurt the Texans during the regular season, but they still won a playoff game and reached the divisional round, where they fell to the Chiefs. It may be tempting for the Commanders to go that route, or at least for fans to want to see that kind of aggression, but Grant and Danny agree that it doesn’t guarantee that is how the front office will operate.
“I’m skeptical that they want to go big,” Grant said. “If I’m Peters, I just made the NFC title game by not doing this, by watching my quarterback and coaching staff elevate my guys. That scares me into thinking that might be what Adam Peters wants to do again this offseason.”
“Free agency is a wonderful tool. It helps you,” Danny added. “But the perception is ‘Hey, they’re here and they shouldn’t have been. Now isn’t the time to play it safe. It’s time to push your chips in the middle. You have three years with Daniels being super cheap.’”