Commanders now have a potential Pro Bowler to target in free agency thanks to latest NFL trade

The Washington Commanders need to upgrade the offensive line, even if every starter from 2024 is under contract heading into 2025. 

One area that needs improvement is the left guard position, which was manned bye  Nick Allegretti last year. Allegretti was OK overall, but it's clear his ceiling is only about average as he enters his age-29 season. 

The other side could stand to use a backup plan, too, as star right guard Sam Cosmi is recovering from an ACL injury he suffered during the playoffs. It remains to be seen if he'll be ready by the start of the regular season.

Fortunately for the Commanders a very talented, yet underrated option just became available and his name is Teven Jenkins. 

Jenkins is basically out the door after the Chicago Bears traded for Jonah Jackson on Tuesday. Unless something falls through between now and March 12, Jackson will take over Jenkins' left guard spot once he's officially on the roster. That leaves the soon-to-be fifth-year player looking for a new home heading into free agency.

Jenkins has Pro Bowl-level talent, his issue has been staying healthy over the years. But when he's healthy, he's a clear upgrade over Allegretti and is someone who can fill in for Cosmi due to his ability to play both guard positions. 

Teven Jenkins on the field has the potential to have a Pro Bowl impact for another team, the only concern is keeping him on the field. During his four years in Chicago, Jenkins missed 23 games due to injuries, mostly soft issue problems. He worked hard last offseason changing his diet and regime but still missed time in 2024 due to a lingering calf injury. That frustrated GM Ryan Poles, who had no ties to the former second-round pick to begin with. Even still, Jenkins is only 26-years-old and has the ability to play either guard position at a solid level when healthy and surrounded by a good OL. - Kole Noble, A to Z Chicago

Per Pro Football Focus, Jenkins allowed four sacks on a 3.4% pressure rate and finished with a pass blocking efficiency rating of 97.7 during the 2024 regular season. Allegretti allowed three sacks on a 5.3% pressure rate and finished with a PBER of 96.9. In the run game, Jenkins finished with a final grade of 74.3, which was good for 14th out of the 58 qualifying guards with at least 243 pass blocking snaps.

He finished with a 70.5 grade in zone-scheme runs and a 65.4 grade in gap-scheme attempts, which were both top-22 marks. The final split between the two schemes was 100-111, respectively, which is the same kind of varied ground attack the Commanders deploy.

Those numbers were far better than Allegretti, who finished with respective grades of 63.9, 64.1, and 62.5.

Jenkins won't be expensive, either, which is good when looking at Allegretti's contract. The Commanders basically have to keep him on board due to the money he received at signing last year, but that's not a bad thing, at all. Jenkins can come in and compete with Allegretti and if he beats him out (which he should), then Allegretti all of a sudden becomes very valuable depth and the Commanders are paying him just $2.490 million in cash in 2025.

And of course, there's the aforementioned emergency option he could provide for Cosmi.

It makes a solid bit of sense when it's all said and done. Jenkins could easily be a sneaky move that pays off in a big way if Washington is willing to take a risk on his injury history, even if he's coming off a year where he played a career-high 14 games.