The Washington Commanders are entering a critical offseason in 2026, and will need an infusion of youth, talent, and some luck as they try to bounce back from a 5-12 season. Year 2 of general manager Adam
Peters’ “recalibration” of the roster started with sky-high expectations after an NFC Championship Game appearance the year before. A Terry McLaurin hold-in, along with injuries to multiple starters made for a miserable season, but with last weekend’s Super Bowl over, and a new champion crowned, we’re on to a new season.
The Commanders have over 30 free agents to make decisions on, but they’ve already got one of their most valuable players locked up for another year. Washington will have a lot of cap space to reshape the defense again under new DC Daronte Jones, along with six picks in April’s draft. Jayden Daniels will need some more weapons as he looks to move past an injury-filled season that didn’t meet anyone’s expectations.
Washington has the No. 7 overall pick in this year’s draft, and the power rankings reflect how poorly last season went. There is hope that the coaching changes made will have a positive effect, but OC David Blough and DC Daronte Jones haven’t called plays in the NFL, and there will be a learning curve. Washington ranks as high as #17 with faith in Jayden Daniels priming them for a bounce-back season. The other side of the spectrum has the Commanders ranked as low as #29 with serious questions across the roster, and Dan Quinn’s future as head coach.
Where should the Commanders be ranked going into the offseason?
High: 18
Low: 29
Average: 23
#17
Fox Sports (Vacchiano)
A healthy Jayden Daniels will be a big boost for this team, but now he’ll have to succeed without OC Kliff Kingsbury. Also, his injuries weren’t the only problem in D.C. The defense needs a big offseason overhaul, too.
For the Win (D’Andrea/Zeglinski)
This is putting a lot of weight on a healthy Jayden Daniels, a top-seven draft pick and a boat load of salary cap space. Washington started 2025 with two of those things and still looked unimpressive even before Daniels got hurt. The Commanders will have to refine their talent search to patch a bottom-two defense and land the supporting castmates Terry McLaurin needs to help the 2024 rookie of the year soar once more.
Clay Harbor Network
#18
Pro Football Network (Infante)
Let’s face it: 2025 was a disastrous season for the Washington Commanders. Not only did Jayden Daniels regress in Year 2, but more importantly, he missed a significant amount of time due to injury. The offense looked lackluster due to injuries to him and Terry McLaurin, and their defense ranked third-worst in the NFL by PFSN’s Defense Impact Metric.
Though they have an aging roster, the Commanders hope that having their star players healthy again will get them back near the top of the NFC. If Daniels returns to his rookie year form, it’s hardly out of the question that Washington bounces back and wins the NFC East in 2026.
#20
The Athletic (Kendall/Graff)
The takeaway: It’s all on Jayden Daniels’ arm
This is not a particularly nuanced analysis, but nothing else matters nearly as much as how Daniels bounces back from an injury-plagued season. When Daniels was great in 2024, the Commanders were contenders. When he was not in 2025, they weren’t even average.
ESPN
Offseason in three words: Rebuild the operation
After going from the NFC Championship Game to 5-12 in back-to-back seasons, Washington has already changed both coordinators and let go of four other defensive coaches. Now, the Commanders have to turn to talent acquisition. According to OverTheCap.com, they have the fifth-most cap space — but only seven teams have fewer roster spots filled for 2026, so that space must be spread around. They also need to add more explosiveness on offense, whether at tight end, receiver or both. If Washington does all this and stays healthy, then it has a chance to get back on the track it was on a year ago.
#21
USA Today (Davis)
It would be easy to explain away their issues due to QB Jayden Daniels’ injuries. But they were getting thumped regularly even when he was on the field late in the season. A team that made so much headway with a veteran influx in 2024 needs to take a hard look at its roster construction now.
NFL Spin Zone (Bedinger)
This feels extremely high for the Commanders based on how this past season went, but I think it’s justified. This is a team that was in the NFC Championship Game just two seasons ago, and injuries derailed their progress more than on-field regression this past season. The Commanders probably overachieved in 2024, but I think we’ll see them start creeping back up again in 2026. The biggest question will be how this team responds to a couple of major coordinator changes, especially offensively with David Blough taking over for Kliff Kingsbury.
#22
Sporting News (Iyer)
The Commanders will want to go back to buzzing with Jayden Daniels, hoping their own dynamic dual threat QB will be healthy to deliver rookie-like play in Year 3.
Yahoo Sports (Schwab)
Keeping Jayden Daniels healthy is the most important factor in getting back to the playoffs. Washington also needs to remake a roster that was by far the oldest in the NFL last season. In most scenarios, a team that won only five games with a roster that old would be in deep trouble. However, Daniels is a massive difference-maker as long as he is healthy. Washington also has a good amount of cap space to build the roster back up around him.
#23
Team Rankings
#26
NFL.com (Edholm)
In 2024, the Commanders went 12-5 and got within one win of the Super Bow. In 2025, they fell hard and fast, and they now seem pretty far from contending. Welcome to the NFL — Part Infinity. The inherent risk in targeting a few older, more expensive offensive pieces last offseason — a departure from the team-building strategy they deployed prior to their ’24 success — was that they’d take a step back. How will the Commanders attack the offseason this time around? There are multiple pressing needs. Yes, the defense absolutely must get better, lacking in pass-rush juice and high-end cover corners, while venerable linebacker Bobby Wagner is bound for free agency. But there are offensive issues, too, with running back, offensive line and receiver all needing help — and with Deebo Samuel set to hit the market.
Clutch Points (Johrendt)
Replacing Kliff Kingsbury with David Blough is hopefully going to take the offense to a new level, as the Washington Commanders were lagging a lot on that side of the ball in 2025. Granted, injuries to Jayden Daniels slowed this down, but the run game was invisible for most of the season.
With as old as this team is, their class of free agents could very well all be heading elsewhere next year. Players like Deebo Samuel and Bobby Wagner, among others, don’t match the timeline of this current team, as they would be better suited on a contending team, so expect these players to earn considerable external interest in free agency.
Bleacher Report
This will be a pivotal offseason for the Washington Commanders, whose 2025 campaign was derailed by injuries and one of the league’s worst defenses. A year after reaching the NFC title game, Washington went 5-12 and now carries several glaring needs into the offseason.
The Commanders can’t count on returning to playoff contention by simply staying healthy. They need defensive help in a big way, better receiver depth, and upgrades along the offensive line. They must also navigate changes at both the offensive and defensive coordinators.
Washington has the cap space needed to address its biggest weaknesses, but it’s time to take more of a long-term approach. Regardless of how well the Commanders played two years ago, they’re not built to win a championship now.
Philly Voice (Mosher)
HC Dan Quinn must focus on getting roster younger, helping QB Jayden Daniels develop.
#27
CBS Sports (Prisco)
They went from an NFC title team to a bad one in a year. Injuries didn’t help, but they have issues on defense too.
The Ringer (Lee)
After his defense gave up almost 500 yards to the Cowboys on Christmas Day, I don’t want to hear about head coach Dan Quinn’s reputation for building defenses ever again. This was the fifth game this season in which Washington allowed at least 30 points—and this unit has allowed more than 6,000 yards of total offense on the year. Until Quinn hires a new defensive coordinator who comes from outside his circle, I can’t take this team seriously.
Wolf Sports (Chappine)
2026 is going to be super interesting for Washington. Parting ways with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury seemed crazy with the job he did, but David Blough has upside as a play-caller. They’re another organization that must show more in terms of making better player personnel decisions, though.
#29
DAZN (Muehlhausen)
Surprised Dan Quinn didn’t get the boot.
