Washington Commanders

The Commanders have hired Demitrius Washington as a senior personnel executive, Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports reports.

Washington replaces Scott Fitterer, who left the Commanders to join Athletes First.

Washington previously worked with Commanders General Manager Adam Peters in San Francisco. Washington worked in the 49ers’ football research and development department from 2015-21, overlapping with Peters from 2017-21.

Washington spent the past four years in the Vikings’ front office, most recently as assistant General Manager.

In November 2025, Von Miller said he didn’t regret choosing the Commanders over the Seahawks. He declared at the time he’d make the same decision “10 times out of 10.”

He probably wouldn’t make it 11 times out of 11.

Appearing on the 89 podcast with Steve Smith and James Palmer, via Jacob Camenker of USA Today, Miller said of his decision: “Obviously, I picked the wrong team on that one.”

Although some are aggregating the quote in a way that frames it as a diss of the Commanders, the sentiment would have applied to any of the other 30 teams in the NFL. With a choice between the Seahawks and any other team, the Seahawks were the right call.

But, as always, hindsight is 20/20 vision.

“For me, with the Washington Commanders, I just felt like Jayden Daniels was poised for another great season,” Miller said. “His rookie season went all the way to the NFC Championship, and last year, he got hit with injuries, not just at the quarterback position, but all over the place. And those are some of the things that you just can’t calculate on teams.”

Miller now laments the fact that he missed the chance to win three Super Bowls with three different teams. He won a ring (and the Super Bowl MVP award) with Denver in 2015. Six years later, he won a second ring after an in-season trade to the Rams.

To Miller’s credit, he didn’t agitate to be traded or released once it became clear that the Commanders weren’t going to get back to the playoffs.

His plans for 2026 remain unknown. He said in January he’d like to stay in D.C.

In March, Miller said he’d like to return to the Broncos, if he doesn’t re-sign with the Commanders. In late May, Miller was lobbying for the Broncos.

Hopefully, he won’t have two options again — if the one he doesn’t pick ends up winning the Super Bowl.

The NFL is making a significant change to the offseason calendar for the 2027 season.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the free agent negotiating window will open on March 9 next year. That is the same date that the two-day window opened this year, but the change comes in how close it will be to the end of the Scouting Combine.

NFL teams will wrap up their examinations and interrogations of incoming prospects on March 8 in 2027, which moves the league away from having a week or so between the two events as they have in past years.

Under that setup, the Combine has always been rife with table-setting for free agency as agents and team executives are all in the same place with their minds on the same things. With that gap eliminated, there will likely be even more of that work being done in Indianapolis so that teams are ready to make moves right from the starting gun.

One member of Washington’s front office is departing the organization.

According to multiple reports, Scott Fitterer is leaving the Commanders to join Athletes First, working within the agency’s coaches and executives division.

Fitterer had been a personal executive for the Commanders for the last two seasons.

He was previously the Panthers’ General Manager from 2021-2023, with Carolina accumulating a 14-37 record in his tenure.

Fitterer had been with the Seahawks in a variety of roles from 2001-2020, last serving as the team’s vice president of football operations.

Receiver Brandon Aiyuk’s path to free agency, as we’ve said before (more than a few times) is simple. One, file a petition with the league for reinstatement from the reserve/left squad list. Two, once reinstated, show up for training camp. At that point, the 49ers most likely would release him.

Aiyuk has made it clear that he won’t be doing that.

In his latest Instagram story — which consists of a statement, not a video — Aiyuk says this: “I will not be reinstating with them or ever doing any kind of business with them. I’m locked in and focused on my opportunity to return to the field this season! #RAISEHAIL”

In a separate post, Aiyuk accused the 49ers of lying to the media and the fan base regarding the decision to void his guarantees and his intent to return to the team.

Regardless, unless the 49ers release him from the reserve/left squad list (they have no incentive to do that), he’ll continue to be in limbo. The thing he refuses to do is the one thing he needs to do in order to force the team’s hand.

Either he doesn’t realize this or he doesn’t care. Neither explanation will get him to the Commanders.

At a time when it’s not clear whether receiver Brandon Aiyuk is getting any advice — or whether he’s listening to the advice he’s getting — a former NFL G.M. who knows Aiyuk plans to connect with him.

Appearing Monday on SiriusXM NFL Radio, former Titans G.M. Ran Carthon, who worked for the 49ers during Aiyuk’s first three years in San Francisco, addressed Aiyuk’s recent social-media video habit, including Saturday’s decision to cross swords with Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels.

“There’s something there, and I’m being as transparent as transparent can be,” Carthon said. “B.A. and I, we have a relationship. I was there when we drafted him, and through time spent in the same building, we have a relationship. I honestly have been going back and forth in my head over the last week or so and I really want to reach out to him on a personal level and see if he’s willing to have the conversation, because I think there’s something there that hasn’t quite been unlocked. I don’t know if ‘unlocked’ is the right word. But I do agree with you, this isn’t the Brandon Aiyuk I know. Now, I know him to be stubborn, so I know that part about him.

“But this recent behavior, I’m not as familiar with. And the other part of it, to be quite honest, in this day and age with these guys, it could just be him trolling with the most recent video, knowing that he will get a reaction. And maybe even trying to figure out — these guys are fairly smart — so maybe he’s like, ‘OK, maybe if I create enough buzz in saying whatever he said to Jayden [Daniels] online, then the 49ers won’t think I’m just trying to get to Washington.

“Maybe that’s a game being played right now. But in full transparency, it’s something, probably when we get off the air, I may just shoot a text and say, ‘Hey man, let’s connect.’ I just want to see where his head is and offer him any advice that I can, or be a sounding board.”

Someone needs to tell Aiyuk that it would be a good idea to stop the videos, and to petition the NFL for reinstatement from the 49ers’ reserve/left squad list. That’s the first tangible step toward securing the free agency Aiyuk wants.

The Commanders are adding a veteran cornerback.

Washington has agreed to sign Rasul Douglas to a one-year deal, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports on Monday.

The deal is worth up to $3.8 million.

Douglas, who turns 31 in August, appeared in 15 games for the Dolphins last year with 13 starts. He finished the year with two interceptions, 13 passes defensed, a forced fumble, and a sack.

Entering his 10th season in the league, Douglas has appeared in 135 games with 93 starts for the Eagles, Panthers, Packers, Bills, and Dolphins. He’s also spent time with the Raiders, Texans, and Cardinals. Philadelphia brought him into the NFL as a third-round pick in the 2017 draft.

In all, he’s tallied 21 interceptions, 92 passes defensed, four forced fumbles, and 3.0 sacks.

At a time when Commanders fans wonder whether Brandon Aiyuk will ever arrive, it’s important not to forget about a receiver who’s back for a second bite at the apple.

Dyami Brown, after a season in Jacksonville, has returned to Washington for a second stint.

Via Tony Adams of Heavy.com, a workout video posted by Brown on Friday makes a bold declaration.

“That’s for the old me,” Brown says at the end of the session after taking a swig of hydration. “And the old me gets a drink of water. The new me gonna make it rain. Watch.”

Brown entered the league with promise as a 2021 third-round pick from North Carolina (back when, before its current coach, UNC produced draftable talent). But the production never matched the potential.

As a rookie, Brown had 165 receiving yards on 12 catches in 15 games. In Year 2, he also appeared in 15 games. The good news is that he had an eye-popping 28.3 yards per catch. The bad news is that he had only five catches, for 143 yards.

In 2023, Brown had 12 catches in 17 games, for 168 yards. He performed better in his contract year, relatively speaking. But, still, 30 catches for 308 yards won’t make demand spike on the open market.

But then came the 2024 postseason, and a different Dyami Brown emerged. In the wild-card win over the Buccaneers, he had five catches on five targets for 89 yards and a touchdown. In the divisional upset win over the Lions, eight targets, six catches, 98 yards. Another 42 yards against the Eagles in the NFC Championship slaughter gave Brown 229 receiving yards for the three-game postseason — more yards than any of his first three full seasons.

Brown landed in Jacksonville, where coach Liam Coen said Brown would have a bigger role. It didn’t happen; 14 games, six starts, 37 targets, 20 catches, 227 yards, one touchdown. And five drops, matching his total from four years in Washington.

In the offseason, Brown signed a one-year, $1.75 million deal to return to the Commanders. And, especially without Aiyuk, the door is open for Brown to contribute.

Currently, there are no big names beyond Terry McLaurin on the depth chart. Treylon Burks is expected to be a starter, as is third-round rookie Antonio Williams. Brown is projected for now to be a second-string option.

If he truly is a “new me,” Brown should be able to get on the field, and to get some targets. By the end of quarterback Jayden Daniels’s rookie season, they had chemistry. If, as it appears, the chemistry experiment between Daniels and Aiyuk has gone the way of Peter Brady’s volcano, Brown’s sixth NFL season has a chance to be his best.

Brandon Aiyuk keeps burning bridges.

He may have burned the one bridge that would have led him to the Commanders — his former Arizona State teammate.

Earlier today, after posting an item regarding whether the Commanders have interest in Aiyuk, someone in a position to know a little something about the situation pointed out that the Commanders would indeed pursue the 49ers receiver, if quarterback Jayden Daniels wants Aiyuk on the team. And it was believed that Daniels did indeed want Aiyuk.

Then, all hell broke loose on social media.

Aiyuk, as many have noticed, unfollowed Daniels on Instagram. Then, Aiyuk posted on his Instagram story a couple of videos directed at Daniels.

In one, Aiyuk says this: “You on my team now. You follow my rules. Boy, I’m a grown ass man, boy. You gonna have to stop running your mama and I might believe what you’re talking about. But until then, [no].”

In the next video, which has no audio, Aiyuk holds a pair of shoes behind a graphic that says: “Let’s run it 5! Let’s see! Need you available all [season] and I’ll do the same!”

Daniels apparently has stopped following Aiyuk on Instagram. Daniels’s Instagram story currently consists of an image of NBA star Kevin Durant showing a double thumbs down.

The issue possibly traces to the recent video of a 49ers fan repeatedly yelling at Daniels, “Fuck Brandon Aiyuk!” Daniels responds by smiling and laughing. Aiyuk apparently didn’t appreciate that.

Regardless, Daniels is the key to Aiyuk landing with the Commanders. If Daniels wants Aiyuk, the front office will be inclined to go along. If Daniels doesn’t, it won’t happen.

As of now, it looks like it won’t happen.

None of it matters until the 49ers release Aiyuk. And that likely won’t happen until he petitions the league for reinstatement from the reserve/left squad list and, once reinstated, Aiyuk shows up for training camp.

With receiver Brandon Aiyuk making his interest in joining the Washington Commanders more clear than crystal, the real question is whether the Commanders have interest in Aiyuk.

There have been no reports or suggestions that they are. Perhaps more importantly, there have been no reports or suggestions that they aren’t.

It’s only tampering to express public interest in a player under contract with another team. It’s not tampering to make it known that a team isn’t interested. If they aren’t, why not make it known?

If nothing else, it would save Aiyuk a lot of time and effort.

This suggests that they are. And why wouldn’t they be? Quarterback Jayden Daniels, who played in 2019 with Aiyuk at Arizona State (and who recently got an earful from a 49ers fan at a World Cup game), presumably wants Aiyuk on the team. With Daniels entering the critical third year of his rookie contract, he needs high-end help at receiver in order to put up the kind of season that will unlock a market-level extension.

As to the potential risk of Aiyuk acting up in D.C., the Commanders can easily manage it. Given that he wants to play for the Commanders so badly, they could offer him a one-year deal for the league minimum. Take it or leave it. Then, if anything happens that they don’t like, the Commanders can cut Aiyuk with minimal expense.

None of it matters until Aiyuk is able to be signed. He’s still under contract with the 49ers. And he’s still on the reserve/left squad list. Until he petitions the league for reinstatement (or unless the 49ers release him from the reserve/left squad list), Aiyuk’s obvious interest in the Commanders and the Commanders’ potential interest in Aiyuk don’t matter.