The Washington Commanders emphasized that their 53-man roster was a "fluid" situation. They have the No. 2 spot in the waiver wire at least until Week 3, and with several players becoming available due to roster cuts around the NFL, general manager Adam Peters was primed to keep tweaking the talent at the team's disposal.
Peters still might do that between now and the regular season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the Commanders were quiet on the waiver wire yesterday, choosing not to claim a single player.
The fact that the Commanders were inactive on the waiver wire does not mean that the team was passive yesterday. They brought in immediate help at wide receiver by signing veteran Noah Brown, released by the Houston Texans, and planned by trading John Ridgeway III for future draft compensation.
But like everything else they have done over the past eight months, the Commanders are being intentional with their choices, and that includes sticking with what they have for now.
"In the end, I think it really speaks to the guys we have in this building and looking through the waiver wire and being really happy with the guys that we have," Peters said.
While the Commanders seemed at least prepared to make changes to the bottom of their roster, the fact that they didn't claim anyone is more in line with the rest of the league than one might think. Fifteen other teams didn't make a claim, either, and other than the Carolina Panthers, who claimed six players off waivers, the teams that were active only made one or two claims.
The Commanders were one of the most active teams during the offseason as they tried to overturn a roster that went 4-13 a year ago and had half its players set to hit free agency in March. They signed more than two dozen players, most of which are still on the roster and set to be major contributors, and drafted nine players. Among that group of rookies are quarterback Jayden Daniels and cornerback Mike Sainristil -- both considered Day 1 starters -- and offensive tackle Brandon Coleman, who is expected to be a starter at some point this season if not in Week 1.
And the Commanders could have claimed almost any of the players picked up yesterday with the No. 2 spot to address areas of need to keep shuffling the roster. Had they chosen to do so, they could have grabbed linebacker Trevor Nowaske (claimed by Detroit), guard Royce Newman (claimed by Tampa Bay), kicker Brayden Narveson (claimed by Green Bay) as competition for Cade York or any of the players picked up by teams other than the Panthers.
After considering the players available, though, Peters and the Commanders concluded that the players they had were simply better fits for them.
"We thought you compare them to the guys that you have and the guys that are out there, and we thought the guys that we have in the building we're really happy with," Peters said.
Perhaps it is tempting for Peters and Quinn to go out and grab one of the more notable names available on the open market. There are certainly a few players out there whose names are more recognizable than what they have on the roster right now. And on the surface, it would seem like bringing in those players would address positions on the roster that are weaker than others.
But Quinn and Peters have clearly established the type of players they want to fill their roster with during their tenure. They want physical players who have the "Commanders" tag and can elevate their teammates. They aren't looking for names but rather fundamental pieces to build around that match their culture.
That's a principle Peters first learned during his time with the New England Patriots. There was a phrase in their personnel manual that read, "We're not collecting talent, we're building a team."
"That's what we're trying to do here, too, and that that rings true 20-something years later. And I think we're gonna keep getting better at it," Peters said. "The more we're around each other, the more that our scouting staff knows what they're looking on the field looking for on the field, offensive and defensively, we're gonna get better and better and better, and we're already on our way to that, probably faster than I thought we would be, and really excited for what's to come in the future."
Although the Commanders' game against the Buccaneers is days away, they are still open to making moves, whether major or minor, to give them an advantage. They didn't like their options in the first round of waiver cuts, but Peters added they could still add players. As for anything "major," depending on how one defines the phrase, as Quinn joked, the team will talk through it, see how it could fit into their plans and decide on how to address it.
But the Commanders are "not just going to go make a big splash move just to make a splash move." They intend to stick with their biggest question before making any move: does it help the team?
"And that's for the short and long term," Peters said. "And so, every decision we make is going to be with that in mind and we're gonna talk about it, and there's gonna be a lot of different things that come across in our desks. And we sit down, and we talk about it. Do we think this is the right move for us right now and for the future?"
