Ron Rivera: ‘A lot of confidence’ in Commanders roster after cuts

ASHBURN — Washington Commanders general manager Martin Mayhew and coach Ron Rivera have been in the NFL long enough to understand that Tuesday’s cut-down day is hardly the last time a team’s roster will be touched. Over the next few days alone, the Commanders and the rest of the league will scour the waiver wire and make any necessary adjustments. Rosters are “very fluid” this time of year, Mayhew said. 

But most of that action falls on the margins. The guys who will actually suit up for Week 1? Well, Rivera and Mayhew made clear they feel very good about those players.

“I think it is,” Rivera said when asked if Washington’s roster was the best it has been since he was hired in 2020. “There’s a lot of confidence.” 

Rivera said the differences in Washington’s offseason work have given him a stronger feel for the Commanders’ potential compared to previous years. The coach acknowledged that he won’t truly know until the real games begin, but Rivera didn’t shy away from his assessment that this year’s team will allow the quarterback to thrive. 

The Commanders, after all, are betting that second-year NFL signal-caller Sam Howell is the real deal: a franchise quarterback.

Howell isn’t the only reason for optimism. The Commanders enter the season with a defense that ranked in the top 10 last year. a talented wide receiver corps that stars Terry McLaurin and a running back tandem in Brian Robinson and Antonio Gibson that’s poised to prop up a young quarterback. 

The biggest question outside of Howell remains Washington’s offensive line, though Mayhew expressed confidence in the group.

Mayhew said he was happy with the free-agent signings of center Nick Gates and Andrew Wylie. He praised the returning linemen on Washington’s roster, such as left guard Saahdiq Charles, right guard Sam Cosmi and left tackle Charles Leno. 

“I feel good about our roster in general,” Mayhew said. “I feel really good about our process (in) how we got here. Our coaches and scouts work really well together. A lot of collaboration, getting to the right answer. … I’m very happy with that.” 

A lot is riding on for the two men’s assessments to be right this time around. A year ago, the Commanders misjudged their evaluation of quarterback Carson Wentz — believing the veteran was the long-term answer at the position. Wentz struggled, was cut after the season and remains out of the league. Despite the quarterback turmoil, the Commanders finished last season with an 8-8-1 record. 

This year, Rivera and Mayhew have a new boss in owner Josh Harris. Harris, who bought the Commanders for a record $6.05 billion, will be closely evaluating their performance to see if a change is needed. That creates pressure for Rivera and Co. — who haven’t been to the playoffs since the 2020 season — to win right away. 

Rivera is putting his faith in Howell. This week, the coach created a stir on social media and local radio when he told Sports Illustrated that he would have played Howell sooner than Week 18 last year if he had known the quarterback could perform as well as he did in the finale against the Dallas Cowboys. 

Asked about those remarks Tuesday, Rivera said they came with the benefit of hindsight. 

“We were also in the middle of a run,” Rivera said. “We were trying to get into the playoffs and we had some things going our way. So, you know, the timing of it all was just hard for us.”

Rivera will get his chance to watch Howell this year. Before then, he and his staff will continue to make changes to the roster. The coach declined to give injury updates on Chase Young (stinger), Phidarian Mathis (calf) or anyone else, but presumably, Washington will clear a roster spot by likely putting someone on injured reserve. The team reportedly has plans to bring back center Tyler Larsen and fullback Alex Armah, both of whom were cut Tuesday. 

The real action begins Sept. 10 against the Arizona Cardinals.

“It’s one of those things that, you just got to go out and see what happens and that’s where we are,” Rivera said. “We feel really confident.”