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Commanders Tipped To Be 'Most Improved' In 2025 Thanks To 2 Additions

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Adam Schultz | Last updated Jun 20, 2025 10:48 AM ET

The Washington Commanders are no longer the punchline to jokes; instead, the NFC East franchise has been thrust into relevance thanks to Dan Quinn, Adam Peters, and Jayden Daniels.

With Washington's new era getting off to an almighty bang last offseason, that carried over to the regular season as Daniels led the team to a 12-5 record, two playoff wins, and an NFC Championship appearance, more is expected.

The Commanders doubled down, trading for Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil this offseason to push all their 2025 chips into the middle of the table.

And due to those two moves, NFL.com has named Washington as one of a host of teams will improve in 2025.

"The Commanders entered the offseason with a clear goal: capitalize on their newfound success, and do so fearlessly," NFL.com writes. "Trades for Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil gave them two proven veterans to bolster an offense headlined by 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels. But if everything works out, the Commanders should be better than they were a year ago, when they sprinted all the way to the NFC Championship Game."

Samuel and Tunsil come with stellar resumes, and the Commanders are banking on both being at their Pro Bowl best in 2025. Anything less, and Washington might have some troubles.

Still, there is enough talent for this team to be playoff-bound, and we are yet to talk about the continued ascension of Daniels as a quarterback, either. If he takes another leap forward, then it might not be the NFC title game that is the benchmark; it might be the Super Bowl.

Everything feels in place for the Commanders to return as an NFC power in 2025, but as we know, rarely do things run smoothly in the NFL.

Yes, there will be pitfalls that Washington has to navigate, but this team, thanks to the additions of Samuel and Tunsil, seems adequately adept to deal with them.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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