Ron Rivera’s biggest Commanders trade nightmare just won’t go away

There were too many terrible moves to count before Adam Peters and Dan Quinn joined the Washington Commanders. Thankfully, these dark days of incompetence are firmly in the rearview mirror.

Ron Rivera took the lion's share of blame for the team's failures over his four-year reign. He was not only Washington's head coach, but previous owner Dan Snyder gave him the final say on personnel decisions in one last bid to turn the tide.

It didn't go well. Mainly because Rivera failed to get things right at football's most important position. Everything else crumbled as a result.

Commanders trade for Carson Wentz still haunting Ron Rivera

A constant stream of free-agent signings, draft picks, and trades came and went without much success. The worst of these was the Commanders' trade for Carson Wentz, which cost substantial resources and lasted just one season before he was shown the door.

Acquiring Wentz was an unmitigated disaster. Kristopher Knox from The Bleacher Report went one step further, naming the transaction as the worst Washington's made over the last decade.

In 2022, Washington traded its 2022 and 2023 third-round picks to Indianapolis for Carson Wentz and a 2022 seventh-round pick. The trade also involved a 2022 pick swap that dropped the Commanders five spots in the second round. The Wentz trade was essentially a waste of assets for the Commanders, who saw better play from Taylor Heinicke and failed to audition then-rookie Sam Howell until the season finale. At least the Commanders finally got their guy two years later.Kristopher Knox

While this doesn't come close to the Cleveland Browns' trade for Deshaun Watson or the Minnesota Vikings giving up a first-round pick for Sam Bradford, it was another proverbial nail in Rivera's coffin in D.C. Wentz couldn't generate any momentum. And this was always the most likely outcome after his time with the Indianapolis Colts quickly fizzled out.

Washington's one saving grace was his contract. This allowed the Commanders to move off Wentz to save just over $26 million on their salary cap. That didn't help Rivera save his job once Josh Harris wrestled the franchise from Dan Snyder's grasp. But at least his woeful final campaign at the helm put the new regime in a position to select Jayden Daniels at No. 2 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.

That was a game-changer in no uncertain terms. Daniels is a superstar, something the Commanders haven't had since Robert Griffin III. But unlike that situation, this can be more than just a fleeting moment if managed correctly.

As for Wentz? He's now a backup, first with the Los Angeles Rams and later with the Kansas City Chiefs last season. He remains on the free-agent scrap heap entering 2025.

And Rivera? He's back at the collegiate level at his alma mater, California, looking on at Washington's immense turnaround with probable envy and regret.

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