NFL insider thinks Sonny Styles and the Commanders have a future problem on their hands, but it’s a good one to have
Sonny Styles has a very bright future with the Commanders and it’s easy to see why. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler recently brought up a topic about said future that could complicate how business is done between the two parties.
It’s going to be a lot of fun watching Sonny Styles play for the Washington Commanders over the next few years. Historically, he’s one of the NFL Draft’s most intriguing prospects when it comes to his measureables and his tape/on-field play backs it all up.
Another big reason why he’ll be fun to watch is because he has one of the NFL’s better defensive minds in Dan Quinn helping coach him up. On top of that, new defensive coordinator Daronte Jones developed under several top-notch defensive minds, himself. Both coaches should quickly find the best ways to maximize Styles’ impact on the field.
Said impact should come in all different ways, as well. Styles can do it all for the Commanders: He can cover, he can defend the run, he can blitz, and he can make plays from sideline-to-sideline. Styles has the aforementioned athleticism, but most importantly, he has the instincts to play linebacker at a high level in the NFL.
The Commanders would obviously be in a great spot if all this comes together and results in four productive years from Styles. And if things work out as projected, that success should result in accolades like a Pro Bowl nod (or nods) and maybe even an All-Pro.
That’s obviously way down the line, but it’s certainly a viable conversation when it comes to Styles and this perfect storm of a situation has ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler believing it can result in the Commanders turning down Styles’ fifth-year option.
This would be a good problem for Sonny Styles and the Commanders, if it comes to fruition
And that’s because things would have gone really, really well, like they have with Jack Campbell and the Detroit Lions. The whole reason the Lions are turning down Campbell’s fifth-year option is because the NFL can combine both off-ball linebackers like Styles and Campbell with outside linebackers –or EDGE/pass rushers– in the formula for all linebackers.
Meaning, guys like T.J. Watt and Josh Hines-Allen, who clearly play a different position and get paid a lot more on a per-average basis, are grouped in with off-ball ‘backers. Therefore it puts teams at a disadvantage when it comes to utilizing the fifth-year option on a player they like. Campbell’s fifth-year option price would surpass the highest-paid off-ball linebacker in the NFL, based on a per-year basis.
That math simply doesn’t math and it’s easy to see why.
So, it’s not like the Lions don’t want Campbell. Honestly, going ahead and signing an extension, now, instead of being on the hook for a one-year deal that eats directly into cash and cap is better for both parties. Campbell gets a lot more money up front and the Lions now have a contract that’s easier to manage.
And look, there’s no guarantee Sonny Styles and the Commanders work out a deal in this hypothetical. The Baltimore Ravens and Tyler Linderbaum ran into the same situation as the Lions and Campbell this past free agency period. It resulted in Linderbaum actually signing a deal that paid him more than what he would’ve received from the fifth-year option.
If that happens, yes, it’s not ideal to lose a foundational player. However, it’d be a great situation for Styles to get paid like that and the Commanders would receive a top-tier compensatory pick. So wouldn’t be a total loss, at all.
And, again: All of this means things would have gone well enough over the next four years for any of this to even be a potential scenario. That in itself is a win and will be viewed as such at the time, as well.