Commanders can kick two starters to the curb even though they don't have to

When an NFL team has as much cap space as the Washington Commanders, it's easy to gloss over potential cut candidates, especially if the savings are minimal.

It's always nice to save eight figures in one move, but sometimes, smaller moves that make sense can really add up.

Such is the case for both Commanders starting tackle Charles Leno Jr. and starting tight end Logan Thomas. Washington is currently sitting very pretty with a league-leading $73,629,646 in cap space, per Over The Cap, but that number could go up to over $87 million if new general manager Adam Peters decides to let the two aforementioned veterans go.

Thomas is more of a bet than Leno Jr.

It's more than fair to say the former college QB hasn't lived up to the three-year, $24 million deal he signed back in 2021. He has recorded just 94 receptions for 819 yards and five touchdowns over the last two seasons while missing four combined games. 

But it's the contract structure that makes Thomas a way more likely candidate, and honestly the top candidate, to get cut. The Commanders can save $6.540 million against the cap by releasing Thomas while incurring $1.750 million in dead cap.

Personally, I don't mind dead cap money as long as there are significant savings attached or as long as it makes sense. But I'm obviously not an NFL GM and those guys hate dead money. The trick is, for the savings-to-dead-cap ratio to be as high as possible. Obviously, in this instance, there's a $4.7 million difference in favor of the savings and the $1.750 million hit isn't all that bad, in itself. 

Compared to Leno Jr., whose hypothetical release saves $7.280 million, but creates $8.250 million in dead cap, it's easy to see why Thomas makes a lot more sense.

The case for keeping Leno Jr.

Washington's offensive line was dreadful in 2023, but Leno Jr. was very serviceable in pass blocking, but not as much run blocking. Still, he finished in the upper-half of most of Pro Football Focus' advanced blocking metrics among 50 tackles with at least 749 blocking snaps during the regular season.

Swing tackle, Cornelius Lucas, is also a free agent. Right tackle Andrew Wylie is pretty much a below-average player, at best. Cutting Leno Jr. would not only be releasing the best player on the front five, but the Commanders would be perilously thin at the position. Good tackles don't hit the market in free agency (see Andre Dillard and even Wylie, himself, last year) and Washington needs to take a QB at No. 2, so that would leave a second-round (or lower) rookie, potentially, as the best option to replace Leno Jr.

It could certainly work, but why not keep the established vet around for the last year of his deal and then make a decision after the season? 

Final word

I think the Commanders ultimately keep Leno Jr., but I'll be surprised even Thomas is on the roster even when March rolls around. Unless he's willing to take a pay cut, his skill set, salary, and production are all out of whack and when looking at the contract structure, it's a move that simply makes too much sense.