The Washington Commanders should look to upgrade their pass rush ahead of the 2025 season.
The group lost their top sack artist from a year ago, Dante Fowler Jr., in free agency this offseason and doesn’t have a bonafide No.1 pass rusher on the edge. Dorance Armstrong provides solid production as a pass rusher, but he’s better in a complementary role.
The Commanders could address the need in free agency, but FOX Sports’ David Helman predicts general manager Adam Peters will pull off a blockbuster trade and bring T.J. Watt to Washington.
Helman adds that the Commanders will have to move on from wide receiver Terry McLaurin in order to add Watt.
If Washington were to trade Terry McLaurin, they’d be opening some financial wiggle room to add another lucrative player. They could get at least two, if not three, years of play out of Watt before they have to worry about extending Jayden Daniels. They definitely need the pass rush help. Watt would give Dan Quinn a blue chip player.
Sure, maybe it’s a mixed message to hinder the offense by trading McLaurin only to add T.J. Watt. But, with all due respect to Scary Terry, I think it’s a bit harder to find a DPOY-level edge rusher than an All-Pro caliber receiver in today’s NFL.
Like McLaurin and Washington, Watt and the Pittsburgh Steelers are in a contract dispute. Both superstars skipped their team’s mandatory minicamps earlier this month and seem to be frustrated with the lack of progress in extension talks.
The Commanders should look to re-sign McLaurin. However, if they can’t get a deal done with the 29-year-old receiver, trading him elsewhere and then using those resources to trade for Watt from Pittsburgh would be a masterful move.
The seven-time Pro Bowl edge rusher would immediately upgrade one of Washington’s most pressing needs and take the defense to another level. The Commanders also have the cap space in the future to sign Watt to his desired extension.
More than likely, McLaurin and Watt will agree to extensions with their franchises and stay put. They are just too good of players to let go of.
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