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Dan Snyder Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Three biggest concerns for Washington Commanders before draft

By Bruce Ewing | Last updated 3/25/23

The Washington Commanders are two seasons removed from being NFC champions but haven’t had a winning season since. As usual, the team enters 2023 with a host of concerns. Here are three:

1. Problems at the top

Without good ownership, NFL teams have little chance to win. Case in point, Washington has just six playoff appearances under Dan Snyder since 1999. But his reign could soon be over.

News of a possible sale broke in November. Since then, a host of potential buyers have been linked to the team including Jeff Bezos, Josh Harris and more recently, Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos.

Snyder reportedly cleaned out his office, leading some to believe the sale is imminent, but financial concerns could hold things up. According to Front Office Sports, Snyder is one of few, if not the only owner to take a salary. Recently, he raised his $10 million salary and took a $450 million dollar loan from the NFL. Now other owners have concerns and until they’re addressed, team ownership remains in limbo.

2. Questions under center

Sam Howell has one win. His lone start came against the Dallas Cowboys in last season’s finale. The fifth-round rookie went 11-19 for 169 yards with one touchdown and an interception. Is that enough to earn the starting job? Washington says so, but we’ll see.

: #Commanders are signing former #Browns QB Jacoby Brissett, per @diannaESPN pic.twitter.com/fDn7brl7Jb
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) March 15, 2023

The team signed Jacoby Brissett as a backup just in case. The 30-year-old journeyman threw for 2,608 yards and 12 touchdowns with Cleveland last year, but couldn’t keep a starting job with four teams in seven years.

Keep an eye on Stanford’s Tanner McKee. Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus believes the Commanders would be a great fit for the QB. Tavita Pritchard, his quarterbacks' coach at Stanford, has the same position in Washington now. McKee projects as a mid-round pick and could compete for a starting job next year.

3. Little in the middle

While there are reasons for optimism around the Commanders’ defense, the linebacker group isn’t one of them. Jamin Davis led the team last year with 104 tackles and three sacks, but the rest of Washington’s linebackers only had only four sacks.

Cole Holcomb played well in seven games last year, but he’s a Steeler now. What’s left is a group of underperforming veterans like David Mayo, Jon Bostic and Milo Eifler. The team tried to sign Anthony Walker Jr. away from Cleveland but will have to settle for Seattle’s Cody Barton.

After three uneventful seasons, Barton had a career-high 136 tackles for Seattle last year but received average grades across the board from Pro Football Focus. Barton signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the team and will look to prove 2022 was not a fluke.

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