3 veteran Commanders who could be on chopping block ahead of Week 1

The Washington Commanders knew they had a ton of holes to fill this offseason, and for the most part, they were able to do so.

We know injuries play a large role in the team’s 2025 struggles, but a lack of quality depth hurt as well. With OTAs and minicamp over, we’ve learned a good bit about this team, and there definitely seems to be more quality depth on both sides of the ball.

Whenever talent is added, though, it means some former contributors may lose their roles. Today, let’s identify three Commanders‘ veterans who could be somewhat surprising cuts ahead of Week 1.

Jeremy McNichols has become a familiar face in Washington. The running back played all 17 games in both 2024 and 2025. McNichols has never been a huge part of the offense, but he’s a very reliable special-teams contributor, which gives him value.

However, the Commanders overhauled the running back room this offseason, and it may be hard to justify keeping him around again. Bill Croskey-Merritt, Rachaad White, Kaytron Allen, and Jerome Ford are all in the room, and even rookie Robert Henry Jr. has looked impressive. Assuming the team keeps four running backs, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Ford or Henry sneak in ahead of McNichols.

It may seem crazy to say Burks is in danger of being cut, considering the Commanders don’t have the best receiver room in the world. However, let’s take a look at my reasoning.

You have to assume Terry McLaurin, Antonio Williams, Dyami Brown, Luke McCaffrey, and Jaylin Lane are probably locks. This means there’s probably only one spot available for either Burks, Van Jefferson, or impressive undrafted free agent Jaden Bradley — and that’s assuming the team doesn’t add a veteran like Brandon Aiyuk.

Even if the room stays as is, Jefferson and Bradley have been better than Burks this offseason. The former first-round pick doesn’t exactly have the best track record either, so I think he needs a big preseason.

On paper, it seems like Ahkello Witherspoon should be safe. He has experience with general manager Adam Peters, and he’s, at times, been a reliable corner in this league. The problem is, Witherspoon didn’t have as good an offseason program as some other defenders, and he’s struggled to find consistency.

Both Fred Davis II and Trey Hawkins III had some moments at minicamp, and Darius Rush can’t be completely counted out either. We know the top three corners are Trey Amos, Mike Sainristil, and Amik Robertson, but there are definitely spots to be had behind them. It will be interesting to see if Witherspoon can step up and hold off the younger guys.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: 3 veterans who could be on chopping block