Commanders updated depth chart - the 90-man offseason roster

Like every NFL team, the Commanders can carry 90 players in the offseason. The team selected 8 new players during the draft, which took place on the final three days of April.

On Monday, there were widespread reports that the team had signed veteran offensive guard Trai Turner to a one-year $3m contract. Later, the team announced the signings of 13 undrafted college free agents.

The numbers that appear beside some players’ names are 2022 cap hits per Over the Cap.

Please note that assigned positions and color coding are my own personal opinions. They do not necessarily represent the thinking of Washington’s coaches or front office, nor are they necessarily consistent with fan consensus. This chart represents my interpretation, and may not reflect the thoughts of other writers on Hogs Haven. Finally, when it comes to backup players, I don’t put much effort into making sure that they are on the right or left or behind the specific player that they backup. I mostly just try to fit everyone on the chart efficiently.

Officially, Landon Collins remains on the Commanders roster until June 1, though the team has already announced his release. Collins is not shown on the chart above; for this reason, the chart has only 89 names, despite the fact that the team has already reached its maximum limit of 90 players.

Please note that I have listed every player in only one position, though that obviously does not show the full picture of positional depth. For example, Wes Schweitzer is shown as the starting right guard, but he is capable of playing all three interior line positions, and is probably the #3 center on the depth chart. Likewise, although only 3 offensive tackles are shown on the chart, players like Saahdiq Charles and Chris Paul played tackle in college, and provide positional flexibility as potential backups at the tackle position. Most of the receivers can align in at least two positions, and many of them are capable of playing all three (x, y, z). This chart should be seen as a visual representation of the 90-man roster rather than offering a complete picture of the depth at every position.

While I feel pretty comfortable with the positions of most players, there may be inconsistencies. For example, although Jahan Dotson primarily played as a z-receiver in college, I have listed him as a slot receiver here. This is a preliminary decision based on comments from the head coach and player, and a number of draft projections. Likewise, there is often scant information available about undrafted players. For linebackers, receivers and the safety, I have made some effort to identify whether the receiver plays in the slot or outside, whether the linebacker plays primarily in the middle or on the outside, and whether a safety is primarily a free or strong safety. My positioning of those players on the current depth chart is my best guess at the moment, but the chart will evolve as it becomes clearer what role these bottom-of-the-roster players will fill. I welcome helpful information in the comments about where these types of players should be listed.

I think it’s important to note that the roster is not a finished product just because it has reached the 90-man limit. If the team identifies a player that it prefers in the coming days, weeks or months, that player will be signed and one of the current players on the roster will simply be cut to make room for him. There will likely be several moves made between now and training camp in an effort to optimize the roster. The chart will be updated and published regularly as the roster evolves.

I don’t expect the addition of Trai Turner to be the last signing of a veteran free agent this month. The roster looks a bit thin at linebacker and the defensive secondary, in particular, and I suspect the front office may still be hoping to come to terms with some veterans in this ‘third wave’ of free agency, now that new player signings no longer affect the compensatory pick calculation.

Salary Cap update

Prior to the signing of veteran Trai Turner on Monday, Over the Cap estimated that the Commanders had $11.3m in cap space. Due to the Rule of 51, which means that only the top-51 contracts by 2022 cap hit are counted against the teams salary cap in the offseason, the signing of Turner would have decreased that number by approximately $2.15m.

The application of the same rule means that the 8 draft picks selected by the Commanders this week will reduce available cap space by an estimated $3.9m.

The result is that, with its full training camp roster set, the team has roughly $5.25m in cap space available, which is just about the amount of contingency needed to sign players during the season as injury replacements.

That does not preclude the team from being active in free agency, however. An additional $11.88m in cap space will become available when Landon Collins’ release becomes official on June 1st.