The Commanders need to think about making bold moves before the NFL trade deadline to fix major roster issues
Teams should be calling the Commanders at the trade deadline.
The Washington Commanders’ season is over, and franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels suffered a very controversial, severe arm injury in a blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
There have been many questionable decisions by the coaching staff and the front office, and it’s time to gut the team from top to bottom again. The approach this offseason after reaching the NFC Championship was a complete failure, and now general manager Adam Peters needs to get to work to fix it.
The NFL trade deadline is Nov. 4 at 4 p.m. ET, and the Commanders need to discuss making major changes right now.
Commanders need to think about trading Daron Payne
The Commanders don’t have a ton of assets to trade, but defensive tackle Daron Payne would absolutely be a valuable trade piece. Payne has been playing at a high level this season and could be a player to help push a playoff team like the Buffalo Bills, who need defensive tackle help.
He’s only under contract for 2025 and 2026, and the defense needs to be gutted. There’s no way they would extend Payne and keep him in their long-term plans, so trade him now while his stock is high.
Unload every corner possible
The defense needs to be reset with a new coaching staff that can come in and build the defense they want with their own players. The Commanders have a couple of corners in Noah Igbinoghene and Jonathan Jones that can be traded for a Day 3 pick or a pick swap, at the very least.
Corners are the most needed players at the trade deadline, and they should have no problem getting a pick for one of those two. Igbinoghene was a name teams checked on before the season, and the 25-year-old has been inactive for the last two weeks.
Commanders can trade an offensive lineman
The Commanders also have multiple options on the offensive line to trade with Brandon Coleman and Andrew Wylie, and there will be a major need out there for the position, just like cornerback.
Peters invested a lot of draft capital on the line after a trade for Laremy Tunsil and drafting Josh Conerly Jr. in the first round, and it’s time to collect what picks you can. The line was a huge disappointment against the Seattle Seahawks.
Should the Commanders trade Terry McLaurin?
Unfortunately, Terry McLaurin’s contract is not tradeable at all for the Commanders, or I would say to trade him. Yes, the Commanders are at that kind of rock bottom right now. They need to get younger, and McLaurin’s 2025 season, following his new contract, has been as bad as possible. McLaurin has missed the majority of the season with a quad injury and has only 203 yards and one touchdown.
He comes with a dead cap hit of almost $30 million in 2026, and it’s not worth it unless they get an insane trade offer, which won’t happen. 2026 is likely his last year in Washington, with an option out of his contract in 2027. A conversation needs to be had about Deebo Samuel as well, who has shown that he can still play. The team might not re-sign him this offseason, so it might as well trade him for a pick, too, with teams looking for wide receiver help.
The Commanders don’t have a second- or fourth-round pick, and their roster needs more draft picks. A total of six draft picks, with only two inside the top-100, doesn’t sit well with fixing the roster. At this rate, however, the Commanders could be looking at a top-five pick.
The Commanders need a fire sale, where no one other than Daniels is safe.
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