DEAL IN ADVANCE STAGE: Commanders Are Speeding up Process to Sign $105 Million Edge Rusher From NFC East Rival

Here’s how an exceptional NFL roster works: you start with a core group of 15-20 players and grow from there. Simple as that. Year after year. Outside of that group, everyone else is constantly in a state of “prove it or lose it.”

The Washington Commanders demonstrated that they were already on that path when they built their 2024 squad, dismissing more than half of the roster from 2023’s terrible 4-13 season before training camp began.

And it has worked. The Commanders are 7-2, leading the NFC East Division and off to their finest start since 1996. Expect more of the same as the Commanders continue to assemble their core in the coming years, which will undoubtedly revolve around rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. And, with players eager to join a rising team and an expected $104.3 million in cap space in 2025, several high-profile free agents may visit with general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn.

According to Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox, one of those players in 2025 might be longtime Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, who is in the final season of a three-year, $40 million deal extension inked before the 202s season.

Lawrence, who inked a 5-year, $105 million contract deal in April 2019, might seek a new home as an unrestricted free agency. Lawrence played three seasons for Qunn and was the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator from 2021 to 2023.

Cowboys' DeMarcus Lawrence Could Be Commanders' FA Target

“Washington would also serve as a sensible landing spot — and not entirely because former Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is now the head coach,” said Knox. “Quinn’s presence would undoubtedly be part of the equation, but the Commanders are also set to potentially lose both Dante Fowler Jr. and Clelin Ferrell in 2025 free agency.”

Lawrence Could Still Fetch Big Money as a Free Agent.

Lawrence will most likely consider two factors when he enters the free-agent market following the 2024 season: where can he win and where can he score one final, enormous paycheck.

Lawrence, 32, has been on injured reserve since October 2 due to a foot ailment, but he is a four-time Pro Bowler, including 2022 and 2023 under Quinn, and won NFL All-Pro honours in 2017.

 

While being in your early 30s may have been a barrier to landing another huge contract in the past, we can look at the contract 35-year-old Buffalo Bills edge rusher Von Miller signed in 2022 – a 6-year, $120 million deal — as proof that age no longer means what it used to.

Even if Lawrence can’t aspire for those kinds of numbers, it’s reasonable to believe he may seek a contract worth around $30-$45 million over three years.

DeMarcus Lawrence of Dallas Cowboys facing 4-game suspension for violating  NFL's substance abuse policy - ESPN

Commanders Win With Budget-Friendly Roster.

The Commanders could afford to spend some money on edge rushers.

In 2023, they traded former first-round selection Montez Sweat to the Chicago Bears, and he promptly signed a four-year, $98 million contract extension with $72 million in guarantees.

This season, the Commanders will pay their two starting defensive ends a total of $8.5 million, including Ferrell ($4.8 million) and Dorance Armstrong ($3.7 million).

Fowler, who leads the Commanders with 6.5 sacks through nine games, will make only $3.2 million in 2024.

 

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