Washington should make it a priority to extend Sam Cosmi now

For all the discussion about the weaknesses of Washington’s offensive line last year, something most fans in the DMV can agree about is that right guard Sam Cosmi was not one of them.

And that assessment is backed by the data from last season as well.

With 2024 the last season on Cosmi’s rookie deal, he’s likely in line for a significant payday in advance of playing in 2025.

Among those in Cosmi’s orbit last year, here are the average annual salaries of the NFL’s top guards:

• Chris Lindstrom (right guard) – $20.5M/yr, deal signed in 2023, through 2028.
• Joe Thuney (left guard) – $16M/yr, deal signed in 2021, through 2025.
• Tyler Smith (left guard) – rookie deal
• Quinn Meinerz (right guard) – rookie deal
• Kevin Zeitler (right guard) – $6M/yr, deal signed in 2024.

The average annual salary of the top 5 right guards is currently $17.825M, with the average annual salary of the top 5 left guards currently standing at $18.2M, leaving the average of the top ten paid guard around an even $18M per year.

Last year, looking back over the prior decade, I examined the salary growth rate of top players at positions on both the offense and defense. Right guard actually had the third fastest rate of salary growth of the offensive line positions (behind both the tackle positions).

At 25, Cosmi is two years younger than Lindstrom and seven years younger than Thuney. I don’t think it would be difficult to imagine him securing a $20M+/yr deal after the 2024 season, should he play as well this coming year as he did last season.

Currently, Washington’s offensive line is pretty inexpensive, with Cornelius Lucas running under $3M/year (and a rookie contract player likely to slot into that role in the coming years), Nick Allegretti, the team’s most expensive option at left guard, at just over $5M/yr, Tyler Biadasz locked in at $10M/yr for several seasons, and right tackle Andrew Wylie being paid an average of $8M/yr.

Generally, I wouldn’t be crazy about paying a guard an exorbitant amount of money, but Cosmi – once he settled in at guard – has been incredibly reliable and a real asset. I also think he’s still on the upswing of his career, and worth locking on a deal that will look incredibly reasonable in its final year or two.

I’d like to see Adam Peters offer Cosmi a 4-year extension, taking him through 2028, at $19M per year, with his salaries through 2026 fully guaranteed. Locking him in now probably saves the team $1-2M per year over the life of the contract, shows a good faith effort to lock up young talent, and gives Cosmi some additional protection over of the course of the coming season, in the event of injury.

One alternative, seeing Cosmi walk after the 2024 season, is particularly undesirable, as the team is likely to be active in free agency again next offseason, potentially cancelling out any compensatory pick capital that he might otherwise generate.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments.