We have a lot to cover in the heat of the NFL free-agency negotiating period, so let’s dive in …
• The mandate in Washington is clear—now is the time.
Let’s start with Washington Commanders GM Adam Peters trading WR Jahan Dotson and a fifth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2025 third-round pick and two seventh-round selections (one that was initially Denver’s), and DT John Ridgeway III and their own ’25 seventh-rounder to New Orleans for a sixth-round pick last summer. Peters then flipped the Commanders’ slotted third- and fourth-round picks, and returned the sixth-rounder he got for Ridgeway, to the Saints for CB Marshon Lattimore, who finished the season in Washington and is under contract through ’26.
Lattimore came with a sweetner, too—a 2025 fifth-round pick that Peters flipped last month to the San Francisco 49ers for WR Deebo Samuel. After that came Monday’s blockbuster, with Peters packaging the third-rounder (initially Miami’s, and used by the Dolphins to land Jaylen Wright at pick No. 120 last year) and one of the seventh-rounders (initially Denver’s, and acquired in Philly’s trade for TE Albert Okwuegbunam) he received for Dotson, plus second- and fourth-rounders in ’26 to land Houston Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil and the Texans’ ’25 fourth-round pick.
So, now, the Commanders have Lattimore, Tunsil and Samuel, and five picks left for 2025: Their own first-rounder, plus second- and sixth-rounders, Houston’s fourth and Philly’s seventh. They’re also down two of their first four picks for ’26 with over a year to work on that.
My takeaway is that Washington, rightfully, thinks it’s close. And it’s also pretty cool how they’ve been able to work through all this. As I see it, Peters and coach Dan Quinn inherited a roster needing work at almost every premium position: quarterback, left tackle, edge rusher, corner, and complementary parts at receiver, too.
Not every one of those holes has been filled. But a year later, they have Jayden Daniels at quarterback, Tunsil at left tackle, Samuel opposite Terry McLaurin at receiver, and Lattimore at corner. They spackled the edge-rusher situation last year with veterans Dante Fowler Jr. and Dorance Armstrong, so there are long-term questions there. But they have a draft class in front of them now that is unusually deep at that position.
Now, it’s certainly possible the draft-pick drain of 2025 and ’26 has an impact on the roster long-term. But, again, the Commanders have a lot of a runway to deal with that from here.
And a lot of winning to do now.
• The second question is what happened with Tunsil that made him expendable.
Tunsil, to be clear, is well-liked in the Texans’ building. That said, he isn’t a tone-setter, and the offensive line room in Houston last year went the wrong way, becoming borderline toxic, which adds context to the trade of Kenyon Green and the release of Shaq Mason. That’s part of why the Texans figured they probably wouldn’t give him a third top-of-the-market extension in 2026 after having paid him in ’20 (three years, $66 million) and again in ’23 (three years, $75 million).
So with his 31st birthday in August, Houston spent the past few weeks quietly measuring trade interest in Tunsil, and eventually found the right deal—the price they received for the 10-year vet is roughly the equivalent of a late first-round pick in the form of the aforementioned swap of the tackle and a fourth-round pick for a third- and seventh- round selections this year, and second- and fourth-rounders in ’26.
That gives them resources to find Tunsil’s replacement, if it’s not someone on the roster such as Tytus Howard or Blake Fisher. Will they be able to get a suitable one? How this trade looks in five years rides on it.
And while we’re on the big picture, there’s an element of that in this move for the Texans. DeMeco Ryans has kind of makeup he wants on his defense now, with young stars such as Will Anderson Jr. and Derek Stingley Jr. carrying the flag. He’s still trying to find it on offense, and the hope is turning over the roster some on that side—and finding new leaders—helps.
That, by the way, doesn’t mean the Commanders are barking up the wrong tree here. Just as the Texans are betting on their ability to find new pieces for their line, Washington is gambling on its culture with this move, and that putting Tunsil in a group with guys such as Daniels and McLaurin will get the best out of him. Remember, the sorts of questions that exist here on Tunsil were once there on Trent Williams. Peters was part of the group that landed him as a result in San Francisco five years ago, and we know how that turned out.