The Commanders have officially moved off of Jonathan Allen, what's next for the team?
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00:00Let's go to the Rude, guest hotline Rude, the most reliable heating and air conditioning products
00:05in the DMV. And let's get to the bottom of some of the movement and shaking the commanders have
00:09been doing over the last few days with Ben Standing of The Athletic, who covers the team. Ben,
00:14we will start with the news of the day, and that is the release of Jonathan Allen.
00:18Not necessarily a surprise, but when did it become pretty clear this was the way they were going? And
00:24why do you think they didn't feel like he was worth keeping around and maybe not making the
00:2816 and a half million in cap space that they created by releasing him? Yeah, I mean, I was
00:34looking back at some of them, some of my notes and stories from last year. And I was already
00:40talking then about John Allen is possibly on the last year of his deal. You know, he had this large
00:45cap number, 22 million on the on the cap, basically, and not even so much because they drafted
00:52Johnny Newton, though, you know, that's notable, but, you know, that's a huge number. He's going
00:58to have to, you know, he, he, he hadn't been playing well enough at that point to justify
01:03those figures. And I know it's 15 million salary, but, you know, going to the last year,
01:07he's going to want a new deal. You know, just like we talked about with like coaches or, or
01:11some other, or other key players, like, Hey, I think I've put in my time. I think I've done a
01:14good job. Why are we doing an extension? And I think this, this group who didn't draft John Allen,
01:20who didn't sign with the last extension, we're like, you know what, we'd rather have, um,
01:24use that money elsewhere. And, you know, look, he also had the injury last year, which I can't
01:28ding him for, you know, things happen, but, um, ultimately, you know, just what they were just
01:32weren't getting from the money. And I don't think they wanted to commit multiple years beyond this.
01:38If they're going to give him an extension, what, how far away from the level, this,
01:43this question probably won't make any sense. And I'm sure I'll have to rephrase it, man.
01:46I've done my best. How far away from the level of worth it was his play last year. In other words,
01:51if he was a pro bowl, or if he was a star, I don't think you'd think twice, maybe you would,
01:55but you know what I mean? Like this now seemed to be to go in the no-brainer category.
01:58Wasn't that he was bad, but it wasn't going to be 22 mil worth, right? How far away from that
02:02level was senior in your mind? Well, I, I, I probably look at it like this, you know,
02:08it's sometimes hard as we know, to sort of identify one player when you're talking about a
02:12four player line and, you know, 11 on defense, all these things.
02:17The Washington was 30th on the run against the run last year, and they were bad, whether John
02:21was in the lineup or not, they're, you know, they, they were not getting this done. And again,
02:25I'm not putting it all on him, but you know, if you're one of those defensive tackles, that's a
02:29true game record that the other team really has to focus on. You know, I don't know how much that's
02:34happening too often. And, um, you know, I just, and look again, look to Ron Payne could easily
02:41have been the guy instead of Alan, except that his contract goes for two more years.
02:45And that's the rub his cap hit is a huge, uh, would be a huge penalty for them. Whereas John
02:51Allen actually saved 16 million. So, you know, look, I could, you look at his defense as a whole.
02:56I don't think any of us are going, you know what, bring them all back. That thing worked last year.
02:59And, you know, again, not pinning it on one guy or Allen, but you know, the way the collective
03:06work, I just don't think there was enough there. You know, also like he had nine and a half sacks.
03:09I want to say in 2021 is his sack totals and his QB hits went down each of the next two years.
03:16Obviously last year, he missed half the season. That's going to be lower, but you know, the
03:19numbers were declining as well. Uh, so, you know, put it all together with the new staff. And so I
03:24think that's just kind of what happened. Ben standing of the athletic Duron pain is not
03:29played up to his contract either. They need more out of him. Johnny Newton was only a rookie,
03:36but I thought it was okay, but they certainly are going to need him to make a leap.
03:39Maybe some thoughts on that, but then also is D tackle suddenly a position
03:44that they could spend money at again, or that they may need to go get,
03:47you know, as I like to call them a smart car who can take on blocks and help
03:51clog things up. Or do you think they just kind of go forward with Sheldon day types
03:55behind their starters? Oh, I think it's definitely conceivable that they added defensive tackle,
04:01maybe even in the draft. I mean, this is considered, as I'm sure you guys have discussed
04:05a very strong draft on the defensive line. I've heard some people say tackle is even better
04:10than edge. And, you know, look, if Duran pain is going to be in the John Allen position next year,
04:14then we'll be, we'll be, we'll be talking about Duran pain just getting released,
04:18unless he has a significantly better year. So they're going to possibly need another
04:22defensive tackle anyway. I know that they've gone through a litany of defensive tackles.
04:26Let's not forget, but Darian Mathis was a, was a recent pick, but you know, um, but yeah,
04:31I mean, basically if, if Alan, sorry, if pain and Newton were to play 70% of the snaps, which is,
04:36you know, sort of in line with tackles, then that's obviously a 60% that's still out there
04:40between the two spots. So, you know, they could justify adding another player, uh, one where,
04:45you know, whether it's, uh, you know, more of a high profile guy or a first or second round pick.
04:50I don't think that's crazy at all. I mean, right now they only have four defensive linemen total
04:54on the roster, more or less. Sorry about that. Oh, that's my thought. I cut you off.
05:00Ben standing of the athletic with this year on G and D. I want to ask you about Wagner coming back.
05:05I'm a fan of it. I think it's the right thing to do. I'd love to be in a position at some point
05:08in the not too distant future where I don't need my 35 year old. That's, you know, obviously not
05:14as good as he was five, six, seven, eight years ago, even though it was a hall of famer to come
05:17back. But I think they are in that position where they needed to have him, but your general reaction
05:20to Wagner returning. Yeah, look, I mean, you mentioned the age, you know, there's obviously
05:26some decline in terms of just like this overall, like athletics, uh, ability, speed, past coverage,
05:32things like that. But the instincts are really, really honed and sharp, but he can make up
05:39for any athletic decline by understanding what's about to come. He, he, he, you know,
05:45teaches the others on defense, what he's saying, you know, he, the other guys on defense and the
05:50whole team followed his lead when it comes to, you know, work and, uh, things like that. So
05:55the intangibles ultimately outweighed the, uh, outweighed the, uh, the, any potential downside.
06:02I don't think linebacker is a position that definitely want to spend money on in free agency.
06:07And you can't just go find another Bobby Wagner in terms of what he can bring to the table. So
06:11unless you wanted to go out and spend, you know, legit money on like a Nick Bolton, who's afraid
06:16to do it with a guy I like, but then you're probably not really getting much of a difference
06:20maker. I think the hope has got to be though that Jordan McGee, who was basically banged
06:24up most of this year, he's able to play and able to show something when called upon.
06:28So they can feel better about him possibly being the replacement plan for 26. But yeah,
06:32I mean, for now, Bobby Wagner is a big, a big need or a big, big hole filled. And also look,
06:38he's got that big brother, little brother, uh, bond with Jane Daniels and anything you can do
06:42to help the quarterback you do. And, you know, keeping it, keeping Bobby Wagner does that,
06:46then, you know, it's the right move. Can they be a great run stopping team
06:50with him at Mike linebacker? You know, if his speed subsides even more this year.
06:58And it's, it's a great question. And, you know, it's, uh, you know, I, I, I try to watch the film,
07:04but I'm not going to sit here and pretend I can tell you exactly where all the holes are. You
07:08would like to think that if the defensive tackled the offensive line in general, did their work,
07:12you know, or a force of resistance there at the line, then that makes Wagner's job a lot easier.
07:18I don't think that was happening though. Last year. Uh, I remember looking late in the season
07:24when they just kept giving up, you know, all these huge rushing games to, to put to teams,
07:28you know, I saw some stats as basically they were like dead last in the league in yards,
07:33going to the edge. And then simultaneously, they were also around like dead last when it came to
07:38yards before contact. So before anybody's even getting to the guy, the running back is already
07:42down the field. And that's where, you know, the lack of resistance up front is why they've got to
07:46get more help on the edge, uh, to, to be not just for a pass rusher, but to, you know, to, to be a
07:52firm presence there. So yeah, obviously there's gotta be some concern with Wagner, but you know,
07:56he's going to need the defensive line to help his cause. If not, then yeah, there could be some
08:01concerns for sure. So again, devil's advocate here, Ben, I am a fan of the signing. I think
08:05it was the right thing to do. It makes perfect sense to me. I think it's not about what he
08:08doesn't do, but about what he does. But at the same time, we're talking about this, they couldn't
08:12stop the run. And I argued that the past defense was every bit as weak, if not more so. And they
08:17had to overcompensate for that. And that kind of led to maybe them willing to give up five, six,
08:22seven, eight yards before contact on a lot of cases, just so they didn't give up a lot through
08:25the air. But that said, what would you say to somebody that goes, why are we in such a hurry
08:30to bring back a guy from a terrible defense that couldn't stop anything? Shouldn't we be looking
08:35upgrade there? What would you say to a person like that? Yeah. I mean, look, I think you just
08:40have to look at all the, everything. They look at the entire board for them. Other than quarterback,
08:46you could tell me, you could justify anything to me that they should do sign any position draft,
08:50any position. I can absolutely make an argument for it because it's such a weird dynamic.
08:54They make the MC championship game. It feels like they're on the rise, which I'm not saying
08:58they're not, but half the team is missing. And they still like, even last year, like what there's
09:02no other like obvious strength on this team. Right. It's not like you can say, Hey, the defensive line
09:08is this, and you know, maybe it's McLaurin and Samuel, but we got to see on that. And so when
09:12you look at that, then you figure out that, Hey, they only have three draft picks in like the top
09:16205 right now. Maybe they'll trade out of the first round to get some more, but they only have
09:21right now, three picks, three of them are in the top 79. So that's good. But if you look, if those
09:26three picks are used on, say an edge and offensive tackle, and let's say a cornerback and you can't
09:31get, you can't address the other stuff. And I think those things are more important right now
09:36than the middle linebacker. I'm not dismissing the middle linebacker. I'm just saying those
09:40other positions are more core need. So filling in the one year gap here, so to speak, if that's
09:44the way it plays out for Wagner one more year, this way, I think makes more sense for using your
09:50assets than it would be to spend big at middle linebacker rather than go less at some of those
09:55other key positions. So that's kind of how I would look at it. And again, Wagner's intangibles are
10:00just, you know, pretty off the charts and, uh, you know, they, they just got to get more personnel
10:05around them. How would you feel Ben about trading for Trey Hendrickson? And what do you think it
10:10might take? So I've been in the same with mild Garrett. I've been on the, uh, no trade team,
10:17not because obviously fantastic players, but it's twofold here. Look, they're on this. Like
10:24they've got this short window with Jane Daniels on the rookie contract for a couple more years,
10:28at least. And you know, the momentum from last year, and obviously those players are still
10:33that edge defender, a gap that they desperately have to have, but they're going to cost you
10:38graphics. And this team's only had one draft under Adam Peters. I like, again, we, because
10:44Jane Daniels covers up so much, they really don't, they're not like young team. I mean,
10:48they were one of the oldest teams in the league last year, you know, other than Jane Daniels,
10:52Sandra, still Kwan Martin. Yeah. It's hard to point to too many guys right now who are young
10:57and say, wow, there's, there's your core of their team. They were the only playoff team,
11:00by the way, Ben. Right. Right. So like, you know, look, maybe Johnny and Brandon Coleman
11:05are officially clear starters going forward. And, you know, I think they were both fine this year,
11:09but we'll see where things go. Um, so I think they just have to get more graphics. So I get it, but
11:15because they're missing half a roster right now, I just don't think they're like that one guy away.
11:20And I, I've, I'm Adam Peters. I'm just not trading away my first round pick. Um, you know,
11:26let me ask you this. If you found out like in a, in two hours that they gave up this year's two
11:32and a next year's three. So now they have a first, you know, that they basically are down
11:37to five picks and they pick like twice in the top tool five or whatever the number would be at that
11:42point. But they, they get Hendrickson for a two this year to three next year. Would you say, okay,
11:47I wouldn't have done that, but I think it's a pretty good move or like, what would your reaction
11:51be? Yeah, probably something like that. Look, it's not like I don't want to have fun, but I mean,
11:56obviously it would be a lot more fun. There's the element of like, they have not had a guy like
12:01that. Like you saw Dexter Manley. I didn't, they have not had a 15 plus sack tackle for loss
12:08quarterback hit Maven. They've had some good edge rushers like Kerrigan and Marco Coleman in a year
12:12of LaVar, but they haven't had that like all pro DPOY number two.
12:20Yeah, look again, there's no doubt about it. That would be a huge addition to this team. It
12:26would be something they would need. And you know, when you get those premium players,
12:30you know, in theory, they make everybody around them better. Cause you're going to have to send
12:33double teams their way or put more attention. And that would give, you know, Doran's Armstrong or
12:37Frankie Lou Vu, maybe a little bit more a one-on-one scenarios where they can beat their
12:42guy. No argument, but you know, look, it's hard to just say, well, look ahead to, you know,
12:48two years from now, then what again, they've only had the one draft. We'll see how some of
12:53these other guys plant look, you know, Benson and Luke McCaffrey. I don't know what to make
12:57of them yet. Not saying they're, they're bad or they're bust or anything like that, but I don't
13:01know. I mean, so you've got to build up more of these things. I mean, this is not just a one-year
13:06deal. Ultimately for me, it's about Jaden Daniels and you want to build with him. And they just
13:10don't have a lot of guys right now who are going to grow with him because they've only had the one
13:14draft. Unfortunately, Brad and Peters and Dan Quinn, the Ron Rivera drafts were mostly busts
13:18as we know. So they just don't have a young baseline. And ultimately I don't, I find them,
13:24I don't want to be looking up in three years going, wait a minute, we have Jaden Daniels
13:27and everybody else on our team is, you know, getting AARP magazines, you know? So I would
13:34pass, but if they did it, like, I wouldn't be like, wow, that's a major overpay. It's just
13:39sort of, how would you build your team? Ben, what's your reaction to this? The Danny Ruyeh
13:42or the Danny Peters plan depends on, on, um, you know, which, which one do you want to call it?
13:46I would do this. I would make sure that Mikey Sandler still goes back to what I drafted him
13:50to do, which is play slot corner. I'm hoping Marshawn Lattimore plays better than he did
13:55last year. I'd like to re-sign Igbenogany, but who knows if he'd be willing to do that as a
13:58fourth corner, maybe fifth. And then I'm going to go to the one spot that looks decent in free
14:02agency, which is the cornerback spot. And maybe I'll win the bidding for a Traveris Ward or a
14:06DJ Reed or Carlton Davis or somebody like that. That's something that I would do. What do you
14:11think about that? Yeah, I don't think that's crazy at all. I mean, again, at the moment,
14:16the only corners they have are Lattimore and Sandler still there. They've got to get pure depth
14:21at a minimum. And then, yeah, the question is who's, where's Sandler still playing? I would
14:25agree with you. I would put them inside. I kind of imagine that's what their plan would be,
14:31but obviously he showed that he can play outside. Uh, and then in order to get one of those types
14:35of corners, it's, it's not a, you know, it shouldn't be just a minimum salary or a late
14:41round pick. It should be a decent investment, whether that's a second or third round pick,
14:45or as you said, there's some guys in free agency that could be fun. Ward, you know, Adam Peters
14:50obviously had Ward in San Francisco and that would be sort of on the high end thing. Um, you know,
14:55I'm not going to say that they're definitely going to spend on one of the top names in free
15:00agency or, you know, but like it wouldn't, I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Um, and so
15:04if they end up at saying it's, it's Ward and maybe his, maybe his salary doesn't get too,
15:09too high coming off, you know, um, some injuries and a little bit of a down year, maybe that's the
15:14case. But, um, yeah, I, I wouldn't have an issue with that, especially look in the division that
15:19they're in. Right. I mean, you've got AJ Brown and Devante Smith, uh, the Giants have Malik
15:23neighbor Dallas has, uh, CD Lamb. We'll see what else they do at receiver. So, you know,
15:27you've got to have against the teams you're playing the most, you're going to get, you got
15:32to have good corners. So I wouldn't have an issue that plus like with a lot of more, you know, if
15:36things did go sideways this year, they could get out of his contract next year easily. So having
15:42the hedge at a minimum, wouldn't be bad. Let alone a guy who can actually start right away.
15:46Ben standing of the athletic art. I want your prediction. If Washington does one of the two
15:50things that I'm about to give you, which one do you think they'll do an elite corner or a top of
15:56the line edge? Um, I heard Logan say top of the line edge, and I'm never going to disagree
16:04with Logan Paulson. So I would say that, but I also think that to me, it just makes the most
16:08sense. You know, um, the thing about the line that I just, to this day, I just think too many
16:13people just don't quite grasp the line on either side of the ball makes everybody else better.
16:19Right. You, you know, you get a pass rusher who, who gets the quarterback
16:23off his mark, gets them on the run, gets them down. You can have lesser cornerbacks and the
16:27same thing. I like a receiver. You don't have to have grades receivers. If you have a Jaden Daniels
16:32at corner. So as much as a quarterback, so as much as I would think they need a corner,
16:36I think it's no question edge. And, and I, and I think that Adam Peters is going to feel the same
16:41way.