Commanders updated depth chart ahead of mandatory minicamp

two open roster slots

Late on Monday, the Commanders announced that they had waived two bottom-of-the-roster players.

Johnson’s release was inevitable as long as Joey Slye stayed healthy. Slye signed a 2-year extension in early April, meaning that Johnson was nothing more than insurance.

Adams is a small school defensive back from Va State who had been signed just before the start of OTAs in mid-May. While fans showed some enthusiasm for the local player, the chances of Adams doing much more than earning a practice squad spot were always thin.

Roster size and expected additions

With the two waivers, the roster is down to 89 players; because defensive lineman David Obada came to Washington via the International Player Pathway program and has never been on the regular roster, the team gets an exemption for him, allowing the Commanders to have 91 players in the offseason.

That means that the team is likely to announce the addition of two new players this week, maybe as soon as Tuesday. Given the current roster imbalance (46 offensive players; 40 defensive players) it seems all but certain that any new signings will be on the defensive side of the ball, and most likely at the linebacker or defensive back positions.

Updated roster

The numbers that appear beside some players’ names are 2022 cap hits per Over the Cap.

Please note that assigned positions and color coding are my own personal opinions. They do not necessarily represent the thinking of Washington’s coaches or front office, nor are they necessarily consistent with fan consensus. This chart represents my interpretation, and may not reflect the thoughts of other writers on Hogs Haven. Finally, when it comes to backup players, I don’t put much effort into making sure that they are on the right or left or behind the specific player that they backup. I mostly just try to fit everyone on the chart efficiently.

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Terry McLaurin and his contract

The biggest headline this week will be about Terry McLaurin and his contract status. It has been reported that McLaurin will not attend minicamp because he is in the final year of his rookie contract and seeking an extension. The Washington Post reported over the weekend that the team and the player are “far apart”, setting the stage for a long six-weeks, with the next practical ‘deadline’ for a deal coming with the start of training camp in late July.

TE Logan Thomas

Injuries affect the depth chart. The most significant seems to be the knee injury suffered by Logan Thomas in early December. It seems likely that Thomas will miss at least the first four games of the season. Absent the team signing another veteran tight end, the starting role would likely fall to 2nd year player, John Bates, who performed well when called upon following injuries to both Thomas and Ricky Seals-Jones in 2021.

DE Chase Young

Of course, Chase Young suffered a knee injury last season as well, though his occurred 3 weeks earlier, opening up the possibility that he might be ready to play in Week 1. If Young is not ready for the opening game at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 11th, then the players who seems most likely to take the first defensive snap in his stead is James Smith-Williams or Efe Obada. JSW was a 7th round pick in the 2020 draft, but has played well in his two seasons playing for the Washington Football Team. Obada was a free agent acquisition signed from the Buffalo Bills in late March.

Chase Roullier and other concerns

Chase Roullier was injured midseason; he suffered a fractured fibula and underwent season-ending surgery. He also suffered ligament damage to his ankle, but seems likely to be ready to play by the start of the 2022 season.

Another injury situation that hasn’t received much attention involves 2nd year tight end, Sammis Reyes. He spent all of the OTA sessions rehabbing, and Ron Rivera discussed his situation last week, saying that Reyes has a screw or pin in his knee that has been there for a long time but was ‘irritating’ the player. The coach says that doctors had ‘taken care of it’ and that he expected Reyes to be fine. While Reyes was on the regular roster throughout the ‘21 season, he will probably need to develop quickly as a tight end to do the same in 2022.

One other report that might have caught the attention of fans last week could’ve been a Curtis Samuel rest day. Ron Rivera said that Curtis had been “sore overall generally” and so the trainer had recommended a rest day. After last season, reporters and fans are likely to be keeping an eye on Samuel’s participation in minicamp this week.

There was also a collision on the final day of OTAs between safety Jeremy Reaves and receiver Dyami Brown that drew the coach’s ire and was widely reported. It sounded as if Brown was escorted from the field, so, again, there will probably be keen interest in his minicamp partcipation as well.