Before we get to the real gut-punch, it is worth noting two brutal losses that set the tone on Sunday.
The Washington Commanders entered Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks with only two bright spots left – their kickoff returns and Jayden Daniels.
They exited the game with both in ruins, and a 38-14 loss.
The opening kick-off saw promising wide receiver Luke McCaffrey go down with a broken collarbone. He is likely out for the season. For a critically depleted wideout group, and a league-leading return unit, it was a double blow.
Late in the game, with the score 38-7, the broadcast infographic summed it up, stating: “Jayden Daniels had been pressured on 54% of dropbacks and had scrambled on 42%.”
Those numbers laid out in cold facts what our eyes were seeing. Daniels might be a superhero, but he was running for his life on every other play, trying to find a way to move the ball without his running back and most of his receivers.
The game was effectively over. So, what was the point of risking the star of the franchise?
The inevitable happened
I wrote a note to myself: “Why is JD5 on the field down 38-7? The franchise is on the line, not the game.”
That was before he went down with what looked like a broken arm, later described as a dislocated elbow. Either way, Washington’s season probably ended right there.
So why was he still in the game? To prove a point? For reps? Because Dan Quinn was not thinking?! Whatever the reason, it now feels unforgivable.
History has shown that with Jayden Daniels, Washington can win any game. Without him, they can barely compete. He is the glue holding together a roster that too often looks like a pile of spare parts.
For many fans, this feels hauntingly familiar – shades of Robert Griffin III all over again. While the comparisons are obvious, the other awful thought is, what if that is the last we see of ‘JD5’ and/or Terry McLaurin? What if 2024 was the one great year, like 2012 was?
Even before Seattle, most fans had written off the season. With Detroit up next, a 3-7 start feels inevitable. And so, the question looms: Where do we go from here?
The cost of a ‘win-now’ gamble
Key injuries – including to Daniels – have cost Washington the season. The ‘win-now’ approach, built around veteran talent, has collapsed under its own weight.
The defense appears unable to stop the run or the pass, and the offense is in tatters.
Bobby Wagner, Zach Ertz, Von Miller, Terry McLaurin… they will all be another year older next season. Washington has the oldest roster in the league, with 18 players aged 31 or older. It is asking a lot to expect improvement from a core that is already showing its age.
Watching Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold connect with wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba only highlighted Washington’s other major flaw.
The Commanders have no true WR1, all the more so given the injury to McLaurin, and his aging profile.
With Marshon Lattimore’s ACL injury potentially ending his career, another hole opens in a defense that already lacked depth. Many fans – myself included – will be glad to move on, but his absence only underlines how thin this roster truly is.
Worse still, Washington already burned future picks in the trades for Tunsil and Lattimore. The ‘win-now’ window has slammed shut, and some of our draft capital went with it. So what is left to rebuild with?
The unthinkable thought
It is a sickening idea, even typing it, but maybe Washington has to consider the unthinkable: trading Jayden Daniels.
Let that sink in for a moment. Trade the hero? The one bright light in a decade of darkness?
But think about this. If we are talking about rebuilding, then how long will that take? Two to four years is standard, assuming it goes well.
There are two years left on JD5’s contract, with the option to extend it for one year. So, at best, by the time we do rebuild it will be time to renegotiate his contract.
He is earning roughly $9.5 million annually. Assuming he is still a star when the time comes, what will his annual salary be? $50 million right now, by then? $60 million? $70 million?! It is going to be 20–30% of the cap.
If we cannot build a team to win around him when he is costing $10 million a year, how on earth will we do it when his rates skyrocket?
What could he fetch? Two first-rounders? Three, probably? It has happened before – six times, in fact.
And there is a cold logic to it: trade one superstar for a rebuild haul. Bill Belichick’s “trade-down” philosophy is part of what made the Patriots dynasty possible. One elite player could become five or six high-value picks.
Right now, with the oldest roster in the league and a shattered ‘win-now’ plan, that might be what Washington needs.
The irony? I had jotted that idea down before the injury – and the only relief is that it was not his throwing arm. If it had been, his trade value would have plummeted.
The hard truth
Jayden Daniels is the most exciting player Washington has had since RG3. Losing him, even temporarily, changes everything.
I do not want to see Daniels go. I want to see a team rebuilt around him, but is that realistic?
If this season taught us anything, it is that the ‘win-now’ with aging talent strategy is a bust. Washington gambled and they lost.
So maybe the question is not whether to rebuild – it is how deep the rebuild has to go, and how brave they will be when the teardown begins.
