Washington Commanders DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

Veteran free-agent running back Austin Ekeler is signing with the Washington Commanders on Monday on a two-year deal worth up to $11.43 million, according to sources. Ekeler is headed to the East coast after seven seasons and 69 total touchdowns with the Los Angeles Chargers. The 28-year-old was extremely productive in his time with the Bolts, but he's coming off one of his worst statistical seasons in 2023 and is now heading to a Commanders backfield where he'll be expected to split the workload with Brian Robinson. On a side note, former Commanders RB Antonio Gibson agreed to join the New England Patriots. Gone are the days of Ekeler being a no-doubt RB1 for fantasy managers, although he still has the talent to be a highly productive RB3/flex option, especially in PPR leagues. In addition, the Commanders' signing of Ekeler is going to be bad news for B-Rob's fantasy ceiling.

The Washington Commanders and Las Vegas Raiders have made preliminary inquiries on free-agent running back Austin Ekeler, according to a source. CBS Sports' Josina Anderson writes that Ekeler's situation remains fluid at this time, but he could choose his next landing spot relatively quickly after Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard have all agreed with new teams on Monday. The Commanders lost Antonio Gibson and the Raiders lost Jacobs, so they have obvious needs in their backfield right now. The 28-year-old Ekeler is coming off one of the worst years of his career in 2023, with 628 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground after scoring a career-high 13 TDs in 2022. A change of scenery could easily lead to a bounce-back campaign, but fantasy managers probably aren't going to treat him as the high-end RB1 like they did in 2023 drafts.

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup was given permission to seek a trade. According to Calvin Watkins of the Dallas News, the situation is tough as NFL teams expect the Cowboys to release Gallup this offseason. The 28-year-old has three seasons remaining after signing a five-year, $57.5 million extension with the Cowboys in 2022. Dallas could free up to nine million in cap space if Gallup is released post-June 1. He caught 34 passes for 418 yards and two touchdowns over 17 games last season. The former third-round pick hasn't topped 500 receiving yards since 2020. Gallup will search for a trade partner but is unlikely to return to Dallas in 2024.

Three-time Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz is signing with the Washington Commanders on a one-year deal worth up to $5 million on Wednesday, according to a source. It will be a reunion for Ertz and new Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. When Ertz was with the Arizona Cardinals in Kingsbury's offense, he saw a ton of targets, so this has the 33-year-old's fantasy stock on the rise again after he played in only seven games in the desert in 2023 due to injuries, catching 27 of his 43 targets for 187 yards and one touchdown. Logan Thomas is now out of the picture in Washington, paving the way for Ertz to serve as the team's top pass-catching tight end if he's healthy, but he could also be taking passes from whichever quarterback the Commanders with the second overall pick in the upcoming draft.

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels and wide receiver Malik Nabers both opted not to take part in the measurements portion of the NFL scouting combine on Saturday with their respective position groups. Daniels will do his measurements at LSU's pro day on March 27, with Nabers expected to do the same. Daniels, 23, is one of the top QB prospects in this year's draft, alongside USC's Caleb Williams and North Carolina's Drake Maye, and he could end up going as high as second overall to the Washington Commanders in April. Daniels also didn't do any throwing drills at the combine in Indianapolis this week. Nabers, 20, didn't do any testing at the combine, either. He's in contention to be the second receiver to come off the board in this year's draft behind Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr.