The What: Washington Commanders Left With Big Holes After Trades
Although the Washington Commanders have lost 5 of their last 6 games, replacing both of their starting Edge Rushers will be interesting to watch considering the athleticism and physical prowess that Montez Sweat and Chase Young displayed at their positions. It will also be interesting to see how their replacements perform considering that both Sweat and Young never realized their full potential with the Washington Commanders.
The What Now and The Who Now: Commanders “Excited” About Replacements
Defensive ends on the Commanders’ active roster after trading Chase Young and Montez Sweat:
Andre Jones Jr.
KJ Henry
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 31, 2023
The projected starters going forward are Casey Toohill and James Smith-Williams. Per OverTheCap.com, here’s their snap count percentage in a side-by-side comparison to Young and Sweat for the team:
| Name | Current Team | Position | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 ▾ |
| Montez Sweat | Bears | EDGE | 63.60% | 66.30% | 43.60% | 74.20% | 69.20% |
| Chase Young | 49ers | EDGE | 73.70% | 43.10% | 10.90% | 74.70% | |
| Casey Toohill | Commanders | EDGE | 4.80% | 32.60% | 33.30% | 19.80% | |
| James Smith-Williams |
Commanders | EDGE | 9.40% | 35.00% | 51.60% | 34.70% |
3 Things To Be Most Excited About
1. Coaches are soo “Excited”: Head Coach Ron Rivera and Def. Coord. Jack Del Rio are “excited to see (all of) them compete”, while Rivera also expressed a strong admiration for edge rusher Casey Toohill’s performance during the Falcon’s game.
Here is Ron Rivera’s commentary regarding the remaining defensive ends on the roster during his November 1 press conference:
“Yes, for the most part, really just talked about opportunity and as well as some of the younger guys too, they’re going to get chances to step out on the field and play a little bit more as well. I think that’s the thing that’s exciting is really to find out where that is.”
On November 2, Jack Del Rio engaged with the media during his weekly press conference, where he discussed his thoughts on the team’s defensive ends:
“I treat it, for me as a coach, I treat it like next man up, like somebody was injured. It obviously provides opportunities for others to play and we’re excited about working with them and looking forward to going out and competing.”
“We’ll adjust as we feel we need to. Bottom line is we’ve played with James [Smith-Williams] and Casey [Toohill] before. Efe [Obada]. The two young guys will get some opportunities now, Andre [Jones Jr.] and KJ [Henry]. We’re excited to see them compete.”
Here’s Ron Rivera’s comments on Casey Toohill following the Falcons game:
“Probably the one thing that, if you go back and look at the plays that Casey has made, first and foremost, they’re all based off of him getting after the quarterback off of play action. The two that I’m thinking of from yesterday, very disciplined player who’s in the right spot. He works his technique. He’s got a good little burst to him. He closes ground very quickly and he’s got length. That’s one of the things, he’s stout.”
“If you watch those guys, how disciplined they all were trying to keep that run play from getting outside, trying to keep it bottled up. Those guys did that. Casey was one of the guys that did that. And because of that, he got the opportunities, and he made the most of them.”
2. A “3 for 1 Special”- Casey Toohill’s production this season:
Casey Toohill: 10 Tackles, 8 solo tackles, 4 Sacks at 19.8% of the defensive snap counts
Chase Young: 15 Tackles, 12 solo tackles, 5 Sacks at 74.7% of the defensive snap counts
Montez Sweat: 32 Tackles, 21 solo tackles, 6.5 Sacks at 69.2% of the defensive snap counts
Despite having significantly fewer snaps and playing time (19.8% compared to 74.7%), Casey Toohill has recorded only 5 fewer tackles and one less sack than Chase Young. In a similar vein, with less than a third of the playing time (19.8% compared to 69.2%), Casey’s statistics, if projected at the same rate of production, could potentially match or even surpass Montez Sweat’s numbers.
3. Projected Starters at Defensive Ends- “Looking good, Looking good” and “I’ll take it”:
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