Who made the team?

The roster cuts started yesterday with 13 roster moves announced by the team. The names started pouring in this morning as the team worked its way through 24 players to get to their 53-man roster. Washington will have their eyes on other teams’ cuts, potential trades, and of course filling out their 16-man practice squad with players that can develop and contribute this year.

Washington released 20 players today, and placed 4 more on injured reserve. They are also expected to re-sign C Tyler Larsen and FB/TE Alex Armah after they make other moves following today’s deadline. Both players are vested veterans and did not have to go through the waivers process.

Washington kept the roster even on their initial 53-man roster with 25 players on offense and defense, along with the three specialists. This is the first year that Ron Rivera has only gone with 2 QBs on the roster, with 3rd-stringer Jake Fromm getting cut today. He is expected to be signed to the practice squad tomorrow if he is not claimed on waivers. The Commanders also went thin at RB with Brian Robinson and Antonio Gibson returning as the top two with rookie Chris Rodriguez backing them up. Armah returning will beef up the the run game and add to a 4-man TE depth chart.

The Commanders kept 7 wide receivers on the roster, including undrafted free agent Mitchell Tinsley from Penn State. Kaz Allen was a fan favorite, but his terrible performance against the Bengals in the final preseason game sealed his fate, and secured Dax Milne’s spot on the team. The big question lingering over this group is the status of Terry McLaurin’s turf toe injury.

The offensive line has been declining in Washington since Ron Rivera was hired as the head coach in 2020. This year’s group looks like an upgrade over the Panthers retreads that were signed to replace Brandon Scherff and Ereck Flowers. New OL coach Travelle Wharton will have 4 new starters to work with as they try to make Sam Howell’s first season as the starter a success. Charles Leno, Jr. returns at LT and free agent signings Nick Gates(C) and Andrew Wylie(RT) will take over for Chase Roullier and Sam Cosmi respectively. Cosmi has shifted over to right guard and will play his first season as a guard. Saahdiq Charles and Chris Paul have been fighting for the starting LG spot, but Charles’ injury issues have cast a cloud over the competition. Charles is healthy and has seemed like the coaches’ favorite throughout training camp/preseason. Trent Scott(OT), Cornelius Lucas(OT), and rookie Ricky Stromberg(C) round out the current OL depth chart.

On defense, Washington was reportedly set on keeping 11 defensive linemen, and that’s what they did when the final cuts came down. Jonathan Allen ended his training camp dealing with plantar fasciitis, but is expected to be ready for the season opener against the Arizona Cardinals at FedEx Field on September 10th. Daron Payne had his breakout year during a contract season, and got his payday as a result. He will be paired with Allen, and backed up by John Ridgeway and Phidarian Mathis. Big Phil’s health is another question mark heading into the season after he suffered a calf injury in the preseason opened vs the Browns. If he goes to short-term IR, expect Abdullah Anderson to be re-signed to the roster for DL depth.

The defensive ends are an interesting group led by starters Chase Young and Montez Sweat. Young was also injury during the preseason opener, self-reporting a stinger. The team has been very quiet about his injury, but he hasn’t been a full participant in practices or games, and had a doctor’s appointment on Friday that Rivera never provided updates about. Washington kept 5 DEs behind their starters, including rookies KJ Henry and Andre Jones. Henry, a 5th-round pick the team traded up for, was reportedly outplayed by 7th-round pick Andre Jones, but both will get the chance to earn playing time this season. James Smith-Williams, Casey Toohill, and Efe Obada all return as veteran depth.

Washington kept four linebackers, with Jamin Davis and free agent signing Cody Barton penciled in as the starters. Khaleke Hudson has been making a lot of plays this season, and looks to be the #3 LB ahead of veteran David Mayo.

The Commanders defensive backfield will look a little different this season after they spent their first two draft picks on the secondary. Emmanuel Forbes was taken in the 1st round, and he has shown all the talent he did in college. He is projected to start alongside Kendall Fuller and Benjamin St-Juste. Danny Johnson and Christian Holmes earned the last two CB spots on the roster after strong offseasons.

Safety has become a strength for Washington, and a lot of that has been through late-round picks. Kamren Curl is looking to earn a big payday after getting drafted in the 7th round and becoming one of the best safeties in the league, Darrick Forrest was also a late-round pick(5th round in 2021) who has developed into a key piece of Washington’s defense. Quan Martin was Washington’s 2nd round pick this year, and he joins Percy Butler and Jeremy Reaves in the safety rotation.

Washington had a kicker competition during this year’s training camp, and Joey Slye retained his job after Michael Badgley was released. The Commanders also brought in two different punters, not as competition for MVP Tress Way, but as preseason bodies to punt while Way dealt with back tightness. Camaron Cheeseman returns as the team’s long snapper, and he didn’t have any kind of training camp competition, but he probably should have after spending the whole offseason unsuccessfully working on a new “snapping technique”.

Washington Commanders Roster

Offense(25)

Quarterback(2)

Sam Howell

Jacoby Brissett

Wide Receiver(7)

Terry McLaurin

Jahan Dotson

Curtis Samuel

Dyami Brown

Byron Pringle

Dax Milne

Mitchell Tinsley

Tight End(4)

Logan Thomas

John Bates

Cole Turner

Curtis Hodges

Running Back(3)

Brian Robinson

Antonio Gibson

Chris Rodriguez

Offensive Line(9)

Charles Leno Jr.

Nick Gates

Sam Cosmi

Cornelius Lucas

Andrew Wylie

Trent Scott

Saahdiq Charles

Chris Paul

Ricky Stromberg

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Defense(25)

Defensive Line(11)

Jonathan Allen

Daron Payne

Phidarian Mathis

John Ridgeway

Chase Young

Montez Sweat

James Smith-Williams

Casey Toohill

Efe Obada

KJ Henry

Andre Jones

Linebacker(4)

Jamin Davis

Cody Barton

Khaleke Hudson

David Mayo

Cornerback(5)

Kendall Fuller

Benjamin St-Juste

Emmanuel Forbes

Danny Johnson

Christian Holmes

Safety(5)

Kamren Curl

Jeremy Reaves

Darrick Forrest

Quan Martin

Percy Butler

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Special Teams(3)

Kicker

Joey Slye

Punter

Tress Way

Long Snapper

Camaron Cheeseman

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Roster Cuts

Offense

Jake Fromm, QB

Kazmeir Allen, WR/PR

Brycen Tremayne, WR

Marcus Kemp, WR

Zion Bowens, WR

Alex Armah, FB/TE

Jaret Patterson, RB

Derrick Gore, RB

Tyler Larsen, C

Mason Brooks, OL

Nolan Laufenberg, OL

Aaron Monteiro, OT

Alex Akingbulu, OT

Jaryd Jones-Smith, OT

Defense

Abdullah Anderson, DT

Benning Potoa’e, DT

Anthony Montalvo, Jr, DT

Isaiah Mack, DT

William Bradley-King, DE

Joshua Pryor, DE

Milo Eifler, LB

Tariq Castro-Fields, CB

Rachad Wildgoose, CB

Jace Whitaker, CB

Nick Whiteside, CB

D.J. Sturgis, CB

DaMarcus Fields, CB

De’Jon Harris, S

Kendall Smith, S

Terrell Burgess, S

Ferrod Gardner, S

Joshua Kalu, S

Injured Reserve

Braeden Daniels, OL

Jonathan Williams, RB

Brandon Dillon, TE

Kyric McGowan. WR

Kaden Smith, TE

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Injured Reserve(Pre-cuts)

Troy Apke, S

David Bada, DT

Curtis Brooks, DT

Armani Rogers, TE