Chase Roullier having knee surgery; Washington gains $3M cap space converting some base salary to signing bonus

Washington Commanders starting center Chase Roullier has had a run of bad injury luck over the past two seasons. He missed 9 games last season after breaking his leg and it wasn’t guaranteed he’d be ready to start this season. He made it back to the field and almost made it through two games before suffering an injury to his other leg. Roullier was injured on the second-to-last play on Washington’s final drive in a loss to the Detroit Lions.

Roullier was seeking second opinions to see if he could avoid surgery for the knee injury, but will now go under the knife this week. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said this will likely end his season, but they could check on his recovery later in the year. For now the team will have to move forward with the options they have available. Veteran Nick Martin was signed less than two weeks ago, and started against the Cowboys on Sunday. Tyler Larsen will be activated from the Reserve/PUP list tomorrow and the team will evaluate when he will be ready to play. They have a 3 week window to activate him or shut him down.

If he’s ready, he could slide right into the starting role if he’s the better option at that point. Washington will also be dealing with new starters to the right of the center. Trai Turner was pulled after another poor showing, and replaced by Saahdiq Charles. Head Coach Ron Rivera said he wasn’t fully recovered from the quad injury he dealt with before the season, and needed to continue to get the strength back in that leg. Sam Cosmi suffered a hand injury Sunday that could cause him to miss some games. He will be replaced by Cornelius Lucas.

Earlier this morning it was reported that Washington had converted $4.5 million of Chase Roullier’s base salary into a signing bonus that will create $3 million in cap space for them this season. Washington had $2,575,062 in available cap space per Over The Cap before this accounting maneuver. Washington’s injuries continue to add up, and they will likely need to have more cap space for the rest of the season as replacements continue to be added.

Chase Roullier signed a 4 year contract extension worth $40.5 million in January last year. He is signed through the 2024 season, and had cap hits of $11.37 million and $12.71 million before the contract conversion.