Commanders need to avoid two-time Pro Bowl cornerback that was given permission to seek trade
The Washington Commanders are 6-2 as the NFL's trade deadline approaches and the team could certainly upgrade a couple of spots on its roster.One such position is cornerback. Outside of rookie Mike Sainristil, the Commanders are still looking for a true lockdown guy that can routinely match up with an opposing offense's top receiver. The […]
The Washington Commanders are 6-2 as the NFL's trade deadline approaches and the team could certainly upgrade a couple of spots on its roster.
One such position is cornerback. Outside of rookie Mike Sainristil, the Commanders are still looking for a true lockdown guy that can routinely match up with an opposing offense's top receiver. The collection of Benjamin St-Juste, Noah Igbinoghene, Michael Davis, and Emmanuel Forbes hasn't been an unmitigated disaster or anything like that, but it definitely hasn't been anything close to what you want in terms of an NFL position group.
Cornerback is a premium position, so it's hard to find in-season upgrades, unless a team is just clearly out of the playoff hunt and trying to accumulate assets for the future. Even then, odds are said teams aren't going to part ways with their guy unless the acquiring team pays a hefty price to obtain the player's services.
Regardless, Los Angeles Rams cornerback Tre'Davious White, a two-time All-Pro and Pro Bowler, is on the market after Sean McVay and co. gave him permission to seek a trade.
“He’s been such a pro about the way he’s handled obviously a not-ideal situation for him,” McVay told reporters Monday. “If you guys saw the way he’s practiced, the way that he’s been a pro in every sense of the word, and approaches some things where, he hasn’t been active the last three weeks. [The] guy wants an opportunity to be able to compete, and we love him here. We’d like to be able to keep him here, but if that is something that he and his agent want to be able to explore, we’re obviously respectfully understanding of that. So the answer is yes, we’ve allowed them to be able to talk to some teams to see if that’s a possibility.”
Commanders need to look the other way when it comes to the idea of a Tre'Davious White trade
Sure, White's past play tends to brew up some interest when first hearing his name, but said interest fades once he's placed under the microscope.
For starters, White isn't the top corner he once was thanks to the multiple long-term injuries he's suffered over the last few seasons. He tore his ACL late in 2021 and tore his Achilles in 2023. Both injuries are obviously serious in nature, themselves, but they can really affect cornerbacks due to the mechanics of the position and what players are required to do. He can still play, but he's not a long-term solution by any means and the Commanders would be in the exact same position they are now come next offseason.
White played all but six defensive snaps through the Rams' first four games of the season, but he's been a healthy scratch the last three games. Darious Williams' return from injured reserve has definitely played a part, but per The Athletic's Jordan Rodrigue, the Rams never intended to play White as much as they did during the beginning of the year, either. They wanted to bring him along slowly so he'd be ready for a full-on role come November.
White's injury history is enough reason to stay away, but there's also the question of fit. He doesn't really have the size and length that Commanders head coach Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. desire. On top of that, his man coverage skills aren't what they used to be. Overall, he's inconsistent and is better suited for a defensive scheme that is more zone coverage, than anything.
Sure, White would be cheap. He'd cost a low-end Day 3 pick, at best, and the Commanders would take on the remaining $750k of his base salary. He also has a per-game roster bonus that pays him $58,823 for every game in which he's active. That comes out to an additional $529,407 if he were to hypothetically be active for all nine games with the Commanders. So, in total, Washington would have to pay him a little less than $1.3 million if all goes well.
But even then, I'd rather use the draft capital on a player I can coach up and develop that also fits what I'm trying to do on defense. The same goes for the money – that could be used to either sign the aforementioned draft pick or the Commanders could find their own cheap veteran that provides depth or even a starting-caliber role. Those guys will definitely be out there when free agency starts up next March.
Acquiring White wouldn't come with much risk, but the reward isn't much, either. Washington is better off staying the course with who they have now. If they do want to add to the secondary, primarily the CB position, then looking elsewhere is what they need to do.
