The Washington Commanders have been pretty active thus far in NFL free agency. Their biggest move was re-signing star defensive tackle Daron Payne to a massive four-year, $90 million deal. After that, Washington got to work filling some of the holes elsewhere on the roster.
The offensive line has been reinforced with multiple signings. Nick Gates was signed away from the New York Giants to bolster the interior of the offense line while Andrew Wylie will shore up the right tackle spot. Center Tyler Larsen was also re-signed to provide the team with extra depth.
The signing that arguably drew the most discussion was Jacoby Brissett. Brissett is the consummate professional, capable of starting games and keeping a team afloat or being utilized as an elite backup option.
Right now, it looks as if he will compete with Sam Howell for the team’s starting spot. Earlier in the offseason, the Commanders shared that they plan on starting Howell in the 2023 season.
Turning the team over to a fifth-round pick certainly has its risks, which is likely why such a high-level backup as Brissett was brought in. However, if the Commanders could put themselves in position to land a higher-ceiling quarterback, would they take that chance?
This trade with the Seattle Seahawks would certainly give them that chance. In this suggested trade, the Commanders would trade the No. 16 and No. 118 overall picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, along with a 2024 first-round pick, to Seattle in exchange for the No. 5 overall pick.
It would certainly be a risk making that trade as there is a chance that the first four picks of the draft are quarterbacks. That would be a worst-case scenario for the Commanders: trading a lot of capital in hopes of landing one of the top prospects, whether it is Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson or Will Levis.
All four of those prospects are higher-rated and have a higher ceiling than Howell does and would improve the long-term outlook of the franchise. It certainly wouldn’t be cheap, but the Commanders could be a quarterback away from making some noise in the NFC given how good the rest of their roster is.
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