Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters addressed the media on Monday following the conclusion of the 2025 season. Here are five takeaways from their joint press conference.
1. They want young, fast, explosive talent.
The Commanders had the oldest roster in the NFL in 2025 with players like Zach Ertz, Bobby Wagner and Von Miller playing key roles on game days. A similar strategy worked in 2024 but ran into obstacles in the second season of Quinn and Peters' tenure. It doesn't appear that the Commanders will take that path for a third season.
"There's certainly a few spots where we can improve and get young, really fast, exciting, explosive talent," Peters said. "And that's what we're doing right now. We're working on the draft and got a set of draft meetings coming up next week, which I'm really, really excited about."
The Commanders were already in a position where they needed to retool their roster. They are set to have 23 players hit free agency, 17 of which are 30 or older. They are projected to have some of the most available cap space in the league and possess the No. 7 overall pick. Pass-rusher is one position Peters highlighted as an area of improvement, saying that "would be something we'd definitely be looking for, whether that's the draft or free agency."
Still, there are several veteran players that Washington will want to re-sign. So, Peters and Quinn will need to find a balance of keeping the roster afloat while also injecting it with younger talent.
"I think you're always trying to get younger and faster," Peters said, "and I think that'll be a big emphasis for us this offseason."
2. The plan for Jayden Daniels' long-term health.
Daniels' health was the biggest story surrounding the Commanders' injury issues. The second-year quarterback was hurt three times during the season -- a sprained knee, hamstring strain and dislocated elbow -- that forced him to miss 10 games. In the seven games he played, Daniels had to leave early three times.
As always, the Commanders want to do whatever they can to give Daniels the best chance to succeed.
"For me, I think it's just continuing to...put good players around him. That's in front of him at the O-Line. It's running backs to control the ball and control the clock and not put it all on his shoulders and get in second- and-third-and-manageable. It's receivers that he can trust and throw to so that he's not holding onto the ball longer."
Those roster moves could also include extending left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who Peters called "one of the better left tackles, if not the best in the league." Although Peters did not go into much more detail after that, he did add that "we definitely want to get something done with him and sooner rather than later."
3. The situation at tight end.
The Commanders will have most of their tight end room coming back for next season, but Zach Ertz's future is in doubt after sustaining a season-ending injury against the Minnesota Vikings. Peters doesn't anticipate him being ready for the start of the 2026 season, so the Commanders must figure out how to fill that spot.
The Commanders could address the position in free agency, but for now, they like what they've seen out of John Bates, Ben Sinnott and Colson Yankoff.
"I think they're all really good players in their own right," Peters said. "Ben's developing a lot. He's gotten a lot better this year, and I think he's got another level to go to. John's one of the best blocking tight ends in the league and Colson's kind of a jack of all trades, been an excellent special teams player for a tight end."
Ertz is considered one of the best tight ends in NFL history, so it's unlikely the Commanders will find a player who can replicate his skill set. What's more achievable is making sure whoever emerges as the starting tight end has a good connection with Daniels, who trusted Ertz and knew where he was going to be on every play.
4. The depth at wide receiver.
The Commanders' depth at wide receiver was an issue throughout the season, thanks to both Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown missing extended time with injuries. Those kinds of losses "hurts your depth regardless of how much depth you have," Peters said, and it made it more difficult for Daniels to be without a full complement of receivers around him.
Peters said that the 2025 season had "a good lesson" when it came to acquiring depth at wide receiver. They did explore several options, one of which resulted in the acquisition of 2022 first-round pick Treylon Burks. But there were other options that the Commanders didn't pursue due to a mixture of opportunity and cost.
"We just didn't always pull the trigger just depending on what that cost [would be] or whether it's draft capital, whether it's contract, whatever it is, and I think it's certainly something we'll have to look at down the road," Peters said.
Fortunately, the Commanders should have multiple options in the offseason. They could re-sign Deebo Samuel, who was the Commanders' leading receiver with 727 yards and five touchdowns, or possibly go in another direction with other players set to hit the open market. They could also use the No. 7 overall pick on one of the multiple receivers with a first-round grade heading into the draft process.
5. Change is coming.
The Commanders have made it clear that the 2025 season was not up to their standards. They lost eight straight games as part of a 5-12 season with many of their defeats including double-digit deficits. While they acknowledge that injuries did play a role in the result, they were not the only factor at play in a disappointing season.
"Everything needs to be and is being thoroughly examined and discussed," Quinn said. "And really our work is answering the question, what went wrong and what do we need to do to fix it and make sure we never go through this again and a season like this."
Quinn added that it will be he and Peters' "sole focus" in the coming weeks to identify and address the team's issues. That includes talking with players during their exit interviews and getting their perspectives on what changes to make in the coming months.
