The Washington Commanders finalized their initial 53-man roster on Tuesday. And that roster looks familiar to the one Washington fielded last season when it went 8-8-1.
Last season’s Washington team almost made the playoffs, if not for an 0-3-1 stretch heading into Week 18. A big reason for the Commanders’ struggles was inconsistency at the quarterback position. That’s a theme in Washington, right?
Well, the Commanders have a new starting quarterback in 2023: Second-year QB Sam Howell. While Howell is unproven with only one career start, there are many reasons to be optimistic that Washington will be much better on offense in 2023. Howell and new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy gave everyone a glimpse of Washington’s new-look offense this preseason.
As for the defense, everyone returns. Additionally, defensive end Chase Young is back, and the Commanders also added first-round cornerback Emmanuel Forbes and second-round jack-of-all-trades Quan Martin.
With NFL rosters mostly finalized, Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap analyzed every NFL roster and says the Commanders will return 73.4% of last season’s roster, which is No. 6 in the NFL.
Last one. Here are the teams running it back with the most similar rosters to 2022
1. Bengals/Bills- 75.9%
3. Ravens- 75.4%
4. Chargers- 75%
5. Jaguars- 73.8%
6. Commanders- 73.4%
7. Vikings- 72.9%
8. Dolphins- 72%
9. Giants- 70.9%
10. 49ers- 69.5%— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) August 30, 2023
All five of those teams ahead of Washington were playoff teams in 2022.
No, that doesn’t guarantee success for the Commanders this season. And no one can predict Howell will be better than the combination of Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke in 2023, but it feels like a safe assumption, right?
After re-signing defensive tackle Daron Payne to a four-year extension, Washington opted for continuity in 2023. The Commanders believe a young, talented quarterback paired with a respected offensive mind could be what takes the franchise back to the playoffs.