Commanders Clips
The well-traveled Sam Howell will be traveling again.
Via Adam Schefter of ESPN, the former Eagles backup quarterback has agreed to terms with the Cowboys.
A fifth-round pick of the Commanders in 2022, Howell was the full-year starter in 2023, leading the league in both attempts (612) and interceptions (21). He was traded to the Seahawks in 2024.
Last year, Seattle traded Howell to the Vikings. After the preseason, he was re-traded to the Eagles.
The current Cowboys understudy to Dak Prescott is Joe Milton III. The Howell arrival suggests that Will Grier won’t be back as the third quarterback. Or it could set up a potential trade of Milton, who is under contract through 2027.
Linebacker Leo Chenal is signing a three-year, $24.75 million deal with the Commanders, according to Jordan Schultz of The Schultz Report.
Chenal, 25, ranks 20th on PFT’s list of top-100 free agents.
He entered the NFL as a third-round pick of the Chiefs in 2022 and spent his first four seasons in Kansas City, winning two Super Bowls.
In his career, Chenal has appeared in 65 games with 44 starts. He has totaled 218 tackles, seven sacks, 17 tackles for loss, 16 quarterback hits, an interception, six passes defensed and three forced fumbles.
Mr. Settle is going back to Washington.
Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Media, defensive tackle Tim Settle has agreed to a three-year deal with the Commanders.
Garafolo notes the contract is worth up to $25.5 million.
Selected by Washington in the fifth round of the 2018 draft, Settle played his first four seasons with the club before spending two years with the Bills and the last two seasons with Houston.
In 2025, Settle started 12 games, recording 15 total tackles with three tackles for loss, one sack, and three passes defensed.
Settle has appeared in 124 career games with 29 starts, tallying 30 tackles for loss, 27 QB hits, and 15.0 sacks.
Edge rusher Odafe Oweh is on his way to Washington.
Oweh has agreed to a four-year deal to join the Commanders as a free agent when the new league year opens on Wednesday. Multiple reports peg the total value of the deal at $100 million with $68 million in guaranteed money.
Oweh, who was No. 38 on PFT’s list of the top free agents in the league, was traded from the Ravens to the Chargers during the 2025 season. He had 7.5 sacks in 12 appearances for the AFC West team and added three more in their playoff loss to the Patriots.
The Ravens drafted Oweh in the first round in 2021 and he had 25 sacks in 72 appearances with the team.
The second overall pick in the 2015 draft will continue to be the No. 2 quarterback in Washington.
Via Ben Standig, the Commanders are re-signing quarterback Marcus Mariota. It’s a one-year deal for the 11-year veteran, with a base package of $7 million and a maximum value of $11 million.
In his second season with Washington, Mariota appeared in 11 games with eight starts.
Mariota spent his first five years in Tennessee. He was the full-time starter until he was benched for Ryan Tannehill during the 2019 season.
Mariota’s next shot at a starting job came with the Falcons in 2022. He was benched late in the season for Desmond Ridder.
The Commanders are adding to their secondary.
According to multiple reports, Amik Robertson has agreed to a two-year deal with Washington.
The initial reports indicate Robertson’s deal is worth $16 million with $9.3 million guaranteed.
Robertson, 27, spent the last two seasons with Detroit. He appeared in 17 games with 10 starts in 2025, recording 52 total tackles with 12 passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and an interception.
A Raiders fourth-round pick in 2020, Robertson has played 86 career games with 35 starts, recording 35 passes defensed with five interceptions. He has not missed a game since 2021.
The Commanders have made an investment in keeping their left tackle in place.
Laremy Tunsil has agreed to a contract extension that should keep him in Washington, protecting Jayden Daniels’ blind side, beyond 2026.
The extension adds two years and $60.2 million to Tunsil’s contract, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. That includes a $32.5 million signing bonus.
A year ago, the Commanders landed Tunsil in a trade with the Texans, and he played well enough that the Commanders want him to remain their left tackle for years to come.
The 31-year-old Tunsil was a 2016 first-round pick of the Dolphins and was traded to the Texans in 2019 before landing in Washington in 2025.
As expected, the war in the Middle East has forced the Saudi Arabian flag football event out of Saudi Arabia.
Via Sports Business Journal, Fanatics Studios has announced that the March 21 three-team tournament will relocate to Los Angeles. The games will be played at BMO Stadium, a 22,000-seat soccer venue that will host flag football games during the 2028 Olympics.
The latest announcement has a new twist. Two teams will consist of current and former NFL players. The third team will be the U.S. men’s national team.
As initially described, the tournament consisted of three teams coached by Kyle Shanahan, Sean Payton, and Pete Carroll. Now, the coaches with NFL ties will be Shanahan and Payton, with Robert Saleh serving as the defensive specialist for both of the teams made up of non-flag players.
On March 18, the two teams will pick players from a pool that is expected to include Saquon Barkley, Myles Garrett, Odell Beckham Jr., Rob Gronkowski, and Logan Paul (with Paul there, Le’Veon Bell could make an unscheduled appearance).
The involvement of the U.S. men’s team will indeed make it a real competition. USA Football will eventually determine the identity of the U.S. men’s team for the Olympics. The existing flag football players will want to show that they deserve fair consideration. And the flag players know the flag game far better than the non-flag players do.
That alone makes the tournament far more compelling. And it underscores that the active NFL players who will be participating will be assuming a risk of injury that is less than playing tackle football but greater than not playing flag football against a team of flag-football experts with something to prove.
During a dozen years in Tampa, receiver Mike Evans has quietly pieced together a strong case for Canton. The next chapter could be coming with a new team.
Evans becomes a free agent on Monday. Two years ago, he re-signed with the Buccaneers before hitting the market.
Teammate Chris Godwin, who opted to stay with the Bucs during free agency a year ago, can’t process the possibility of Evans playing elsewhere.
“It would be so weird,” Godwin said, via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “I can’t imagine talking to him on a different field and seeing him in a different jersey. . . .
’I hope that he’s here. I don’t know the intricacies of the deal. Everybody does their own thing. I don’t know what he’s willing to take and I don’t know what they’re willing to offer. But I hope that he’s back, for a lot of reasons, but he’s my brother.”
As Stroud notes, Evans will have interest elsewhere. Possibilities include the 49ers, Chargers, Commanders, and Giants.
It all comes down to money. Chances are that the terms already are in place, with the only thing standing in the way of the news breaking is the clock striking 12 on Monday afternoon.
Evans had 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons with the Buccaneers, tying him with Jerry Rice for the all-time record. (Evans holds the record for consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to start a career.)
With 866 catches, 13,052 yards, and 108 touchdowns, Evans ranks 31st in career catches, 21st in receiving yards, and 10th in receiving touchdowns. He was a member of the team that won Super Bowl LV.
Whether he joins a new team or stays put in Tampa for at least another season will be known soon.
The Commanders made the departure of Marshon Lattimore official on Friday, putting behind them what turned out to be a disappointing trade.
Washington released Lattimore, saving $18.5 million on the salary cap for 2026.
Lattimore joined the Commanders in a 2024 midseason trade, but he was limited to two appearances for Washington that season due to a hamstring injury. Lattimore returned to start nine games in 2025 before tearing his ACL in early November.
The Saints acquired three draft picks — third-, fourth- and sixth-round choices — in exchange for Lattimore and a fifth-round pick. New Orleans used those picks to select safety Jonas Sanker, cornerback Quincy Riley and running back Devin Neal.
Lattimore had 31 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery during his time with the Commanders.
He also missed significant time with the Saints in 2022 and 2023 but made four Pro Bowls in his first five seasons with New Orleans.
