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Commanders Free Agent Fits: Edge Rusher

With a ton of cap space and lots of holes to fill on the roster, the Commanders are set to be quite active when free agency opens in a month’s time.

So with that in mind, it’s time to start previewing free agency. If you’re new here, I typically preview free agency with posts evaluating a few potential free agent fits at different positions of need. I try to look at a high profile free agent, a good value free agent and an under the radar option for each position. Sometimes I can’t find a good fit at all three levels, which is the case for today’s position. Perhaps the Commanders biggest need, and it has been for nearly two years now, is edge rusher. Top tier edge rushers rarely make it to the open market and the ones that do often get very significant contracts.

The twist for the Commanders this year is that the profile of edge rusher they’re looking for this year is potentially quite different from the profile they would have wanted last year. With Daronte Jones coming in as the new defensive coordinator, the Commanders could be shifting to more of a 3-4 defense, which Jones ran in Minnesota. Most defenses are hybrids now, with both 3-4 and 4-3 fronts, but the Vikings used their edge rushers in different roles to most. Rather than having them just line up and rush the passer, the Vikings relied on their blitz schemes to generate pressure, which often required those edge rushers to drop into coverage to enable others to blitz instead.

So instead of just a pure pass rusher, the Commanders need to find someone that perhaps isn’t quite as strong of a pass rusher, but someone that is comfortable dropping into coverage. On top of that, the Commanders run defense on the edge last year was poor, so they could use with someone that can set a firm edge in the run game too. It’s not easy to find profiles of players that are as well-rounded as that, which makes this a tough task for Washington. But there’s a few potential options for the Commanders to pursue this offseason.

High Profile: Jaelan Phillips, Eagles, 26.

Phillips may well be the top pass rusher on the market, certainly of those that are under 30 years old at least. It will be interesting to see if he even hits the open market. The Eagles traded for him during the season, giving up a third round pick to the Dolphins in hopes that Phillips could boost their edge rush. I’m not sure Eagles general manager Howie Roseman would give up such a high asset without the intention of extending Phillips to keep him around. But the Eagles only have $20 million in cap space currently without a ton of obvious moves to get more. Phillips could get a contract in that $20 million per year range, which wouldn’t all count against the cap but take up a pretty significant chunk of it.

So if Phillips does end up hitting the market, the Commanders could have plenty of interest. He’s listed at 6-foot-5, 266 pounds and has an explosive athletic profile. His pass rush, while not necessarily as refined or consistent as you’d like it to be, is clearly a strength that would be a nice boost to the Commanders.

Commanders Roundtable

One assistant who could leave Commanders 2026 staff; one who could join

For the second time within a 24 hour span, John Keim of ESPN noted the uncertainty around Brian Johnson’s role on the staff moving forward after he was passed over for the offensive coordinator vacancy.