The Commanders’ decision to shut down Jayden Daniels for the rest of the season starts the clock on Adam Peters’ biggest task
Jayden Daniels’ season is officially over, and now Adam Peters needs to start thinking ahead for rebuilding the roster this offseason to support him.
The Washington Commanders still have three games left on the season, and thankfully, the offseason is just around the corner.
The season is already over for quarterback Jayden Daniels, however, and now he continues to practice while he gets healthy for a critical offseason ahead. He’s not the only one who has to have a perfect offseason, because the pressure is on for general manager Adam Peters now more than ever.
Peters probably looks back at the offseason with a lot of regret, especially when it comes to free agency and not addressing certain positions, while bringing shaky players back. His clock for the offseason officially starts now with Daniels getting shut down for the season, and he has to capitalize.
The Commanders have a lot of work to do between now and Jayden Daniels’ return
It’s no secret that the Commanders’ roster is overall just rough and needs a ton of work. They have 22 current free agents heading into the offseason, and need to replace a lot of starters on both sides of the ball. A lot of the older veterans need to go, and they also have starters for next season, like Dorance Armstrong, who are currently dealing with injuries that could cause them to miss time to start the season. The Commanders are set to have a good amount of salary cap space, but lack a lot of draft capital after trading a second and fourth round pick for Laremy Tunsil.
The roster needs help on offense to surround Daniels with support and talent, but improving the defense would be just as helpful when it comes to keeping the offense on the field as often as possible.
Adam Peters needs to revamp the entire defense, which is one of the worst in the league
The defense needs an overhaul from the coaching staff to the scheme and personnel, and Peters has to be aggressive in fixing the defense for once. Peters’ first goal is finding a true defensive coordinator who can bring out the best in the players, and hopefully bring a new scheme with them. Then, he has to sit down with the new defensive coordinator and find out what pieces are missing, and be aggressive in filling in those roster holes in free agency and the NFL Draft.
Daniels would benefit from a better defense because the team started with a double-digit deficit in seven of the 14 games so far and had to fight back from way behind too often. Daniels needs a defense that can get turnovers and stops on third down to get the offense right back on the field. Struggles on defense directly impact the play calling and efficiency on offense, especially when they’re playing from behind for the majority of the season.
Jayden Daniels needs more weapons on offense
Peters’ first mistake was relying on Noah Brown to stay healthy and be a starting wide receiver for the season, and that never stood a chance. It also didn’t help when Terry McLaurin missed the majority of the offseason and then the regular season with his injuries. The bottom line, though, is that Daniels needs more options on offense, and not just random veterans and practice-squad wide receivers. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a loaded wide receiver room, and they still drafted Emeka Egbuka. The Commanders need to have that same mindset.
Trading for Deebo Samuel was a respectable swing, but even he hasn’t been as impactful as many hoped. Peters needs to swing on a player like Alec Pierce in free agency, and think about the draft as well with Jordyn Tyson, Carnell Tate, and Makai Lemon as real options in the first.
Daniels needs to start getting healthy and hit the offseason with a plan to improve his playing style and decision-making, while Peters works behind the scenes to give him the best situation to succeed.
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