- The Washington Times - Wednesday, September 13, 2023

ASHBURN — The Washington Commanders understandably took a quiet approach to free agency. The sale of the franchise was looming, and coach Ron Rivera and Co. seemed intent on preserving the team’s cash. Center Nick Gates (three years, $16.5 million) and tackle Andrew Wylie (three years, $24 million) headlined Washington’s moves on the market — both relatively modest deals.

But after one lackluster performance, it’s fair to ask if the Commanders could have done more to address the trenches.

The Commanders’ offensive line didn’t pick up many glowing reviews from Sunday’s season-opening win over the Arizona Cardinals. And while the unit didn’t play as poorly as the six sacks in the box score suggest, the line remains a question mark as it prepares to face a stout Denver Broncos defensive line this weekend. 

Consider this: The Commanders rank 27th in positional spending along the offensive line, according to Over The Cap. That’s 15 spots lower than last season — a year when the Commanders’ line seriously underperformed. Washington attempted to fix this year’s group with two veteran free agents and two younger, in-house options. Left tackle Charles Leno is the team’s lone holdover among the line’s starting five. 

“I don’t think anything comes down to the money side,” Wylie said. “We’ve got some fierce competitors on this team. Everyone wants to be part of the No. 1 offensive line in this room. I can honestly say that. … We do want to be the best offensive line in the league.” 

It should be noted that spending lavishly on the line doesn’t automatically mean a team is guaranteed to have a top-rated unit. Last year, the New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions were the five highest-spending teams in the league for the offensive line. Of those, the Broncos and the Colts allowed the most sacks in the NFL. 

But the Commanders’ moves were still seen as risky.

The first game did little to ease the concerns of those who second-guessed the strategy. Wylie and Gates, for instance, allowed five of the 13 pressures given up by the Commanders, according to Pro Football Focus. The analytical website also put the blame on Gates (2) and Wylie (1) for three of Washington’s six sacks. 

Still, a deeper dive shows Washington’s offensive line had a better game than the box score statistics would indicate.

Quarterback Sam Howell was pressured on 13 dropbacks, about the league average. But he had an average of 2.96 seconds to throw on those dropbacks, 11th best in the league in Week 1. 

Rivera and Howell agree that the quarterback can help the offensive line by getting the ball out quicker.

“Obviously, the stats don’t show it but I gotta do a better job helping those guys out,” Howell said, telling reporters he’s “always gonna err” on the sacks being his fault. 
  
The most encouraging signs of Washington’s offensive line came on the interior, where left guard Saahdiq Charles and right guard Sam Cosmi had standout games.

Cosmi, who became a full-time guard this offseason after spending most of his first two seasons at tackle, was Washington’s highest-graded offensive lineman, according to Pro Football Focus. And though Charles was called for a holding penalty, the 2020 fourth-rounder had a relatively clean game with only one pressure allowed. 

Cosmi and Charles are each on their rookie-scale contracts, which helps explain why Commanders are in the lower tier of teams spending on the offensive line. Rivera said Wednesday that if Cosmi continues to play as well as he did Sunday, he’ll be in line for an eventual payday.

“I thought Sam Cosmi played exceptionally well,” Rivera said. 

Rivera also noted how Cosmi — a 2021 second-round pick — is the highest-drafted player the Commanders have along the offensive line. Unlike Washington’s defensive line, which typically has four first-rounders up front, the Commanders’ offensive line doesn’t have a former first-rounder on the roster. 

Washington hasn’t drafted an offensive lineman in the first round since Brandon Scherff in 2015. 

This year, the Commanders were linked to Tennessee tackle Darnell Wright — who eventually landed with the Chicago Bears at No. 10. With Wright off the board, Washington took cornerback Emmanuel Forbes with the 16th pick. The Commanders later added to the line by taking center Ricky Stromberg and tackle Braeden Daniels in the third and fourth rounds. Stromberg played three snaps Sunday, while Daniels (rotator cuff) was placed on injured reserve last month. 

“There’s a lot of mistakes that were made that first game,” Wylie said. “The universal feeling in this locker room is that we’ve got a lot of (stuff) to improve on.” 

• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.

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