It’s 5 o’clock somewhere…
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One position group (of many) that is filled with question marks heading into 2025 is off the ball linebackers. In fact, at the end of February, the Commanders had only two linebackers — Frankie Luvu and Jordan Magee— under contract for 2025. Luvu played very well after signing a 3-year deal with Washington last offseason, but Macgee played only 15 defensive snaps in 8 games of his rookie season.
2024 roster
Bobby Wagner was the premier free agent signing of the Washington offseason, and he made a huge impact as the leader of the defense, a team leader off the field, and as a close “older brother” to rookie QB Jayden Daniels. While Wagner doesn’t have the sideline to sideline speed that he had earlier in his gold-jacket career, he still played well and was often talked about as a key ingredient in aligning the vision and defining what it means to be a Commanders player.
I think many people took it for granted that Wagner would come back in the 2025 season, but that possibility seems a bit less certain of late. Asked twice last week about Wagner’s return to the ‘25 roster, Dan Quinn twice responded by saying that reporters would have to ask Wagner’s agent. Just a day or two earlier, Pete Carroll, now the head coach of the Raiders, who drafted Wagner and coached him for 11 seasons, reminded everyone that Bobby will be a free agent shortly. Wagner’s contract paid him $6.5m in 2024.
Frankie Luvu was the free agent signing I was most excited about last year, and he turned out to be every bit the kind of player I (and many other fans) expected him to be. Luvu will be back in ‘25, but it remains to be seen if he will be paired up with Wagner or whether the team will look for a new middle linebacker.
Macgee is the only other off-the-ball linebacker from the 2024 roster who will be returning. The coaches seem to be enthusiastic about him, but he simply didn’t play enough defense for any fan to have a truly informed opinion about his play in the NFL.
2025 Estimated cap space and free agency options
The NFL announced last week that the league-wide salary cap will be $279.2m. Following the trade for Deebo Samuel, which Over the Cap is treating as a $17.46m cap charge for Washington in 2025, the Commanders have an estimated Effective Cap Space of about $58.65m.
The breakdown looks like this:
- Current estimated available cap space (46 players): $64.45m
- Less: Cap space required to sign draft picks: $8.32m
- Add back: Rule of 51 offsets/other adjustments: $2.52m
- 2025 Effective Cap Space: $58.65m
- Less: allowance for injury replacement during season: $5.65m
- 2025 Cap space available for signing/re-signing veteran free agents: $53m
The Commanders will likely head into the season with just 4 off-the-ball linebackers and a defensive scheme that utilizes strong safeties as de facto linebackers as needed. If Wagner re-signs with Washington, then expect the fourth guy in the room to be a young player — probably a Day 3 draft pick — to develop behind the future Hall of Famer.
If Wagner is not re-signed, then the front office is likely to add two new players, with at least one of them coming via veteran free agency.
For a full list of upcoming free agents, CLICK HERE
The list can be sorted by team or position.
Of course, some — maybe even most — of the most talented of these players will re-sign with their current teams, but Washington should be a popular destination for free agents looking for an opportunity to get to the playoffs with a dynamic quarterback. Washington should offer more appeal to high-quality free agents than at any other time in this century.
Options in the NFL Draft
Below is a list of college linebackers who will be entering the NFL via the draft in April, ranked by CBS Sports.
The overall rank in the left column can provide some general guidance about which round each player is expected to be drafted in, though such rankings are highly subjective and likely to change substantially between now and the end of April.
Washington holds the following draft picks (per Tankathon):
