The Washington Commanders have already made one big move this offseason. They agreed to a massive contract with Daron Payne, on who they had placed the franchise tag on. The two sides agreed to a four-year, $90 million deal with $60 million guaranteed.
Coming off of a career season, it made sense for the Commanders to lock Payne up long-term. Washington now has one of the most vaunted defensive fronts in the NFL with Payne, Jonathan Allen, Chase Young and Montez Sweat.
The re-signing of Payne was certainly a headline grabber for the Commanders, but they could be in line to make another move. It was recently revealed that Los Angeles Chargers running back Austin Ekeler was seeking permission from the team to talk to other franchises about potentially making a trade centered around him.
Ekeler and the Chargers have engaged in contract extension talks, but no progress was made. As a result, Ekeler wants to canvas the league and one of the teams who have come up in rumors involving him is the Commanders. Ken Johannesen of Riggo’s Rag reported that there have been strong rumors from multiple sources about the Commanders having an interest in acquiring Ekeler.
Washington already has a strong stable of skill position players offensively. Terry McLaurin leads an emerging wide receiver trio that also includes Jahan Dotson and Curtis Samuel. In the backfield, the Commanders have Brian Robinson Jr. handling the early down role and Antonio Gibson as the chance of pace and pass-catching back.
If the Commanders were to make a move for Ekeler, it would almost certainly mean the end of Gibson’s tenure with the team. He saw his role diminish last season and given the pass-catching ability of Ekeler, there really wouldn’t be much of a use for him. He was the team’s kick returner last season but doesn’t help out on special teams otherwise.
It would certainly be interesting if Ekeler’s ultimate landing spot was Washington. It would show they are committed to Sam Howell as their quarterback and putting the best possible supporting cast around him. He would have arguably the best group of skill position players in the NFL adding Ekeler to the existing group.
