Michael Deiter‘s Texans contract ended up producing more starts than expected, as the AFC South champions needed the ex-Dolphins draftee due to injuries along their front. But the sides will part ways.
The Commanders reached an agreement to bring in Deiter, according to the team. The five-year veteran interior O-lineman is coming off a 10-start season. The former third-round pick has worked at center and guard as a pro.
Washington released starting center Nick Gates but added Tyler Biadasz early in free agency, giving the team a clear-cut favorite to become the starting snapper. Guard Nick Allegretti also signed with Washington. However, guard starter Saahdiq Charles left to join the Titans recently. Deiter stands to at least provide swing depth for the rebuilding team.
The Commanders’ O-line will look different next season; Charles, Gates and left tackle Charles Leno are no longer on the roster. The team still has a need on the blind side, and while right tackle Andrew Wylie and right guard Sam Cosmi remain under contract, Biadasz and Allegretti are on track to start. Deiter provided important depth for a resurgent Texans team that employed a rookie quarterback chosen second overall; his Washington role could be eerily similar.
Deiter played on a one-year, $1.23M deal in Houston but ended up being needed extensively at center. The team lost its primary 2022 starting pivot, Scott Quessenberry, to a season-ending injury last summer and then saw guards Kenyon Green and Kendrick Green go down for the year. Second-round pick Juice Scruggs, who had been tapped to play center coming out of Penn State, debuted well into the season due a significant hamstring setback sustained during the preseason. This turn of events moved Deiter into a starting job, and the team kept him there when Scruggs recovered. With Scruggs potentially set to take over at center in Houston, Deiter is moving on.
Pro Football Focus graded Deiter 26th among centers last season. The Dolphins demoted him following a 15-start rookie year, one that came for a Miami team beginning a rebuild, but used him as an eight-game starter in 2021. The Wisconsin alum’s starter experience — particularly for rebuilding teams — should be key for a Commanders team breaking in some new faces up front.
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