Washington Commanders DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

Veteran free-agent quarterback Marcus Mariota is signing a one-year deal to return to the Washington Commanders, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The former No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans spent last season with Washington and primarily backed up Jayden Daniels. Mariota threw for 364 yards and four touchdowns in three games a season ago. While Mariota clearly has no path to the starting job, he will be on the fantasy football radar in deep Superflex or two-QB leagues as a deep bench stash. Should Daniels have to miss any time next season, Mariota would have at least low-end QB2 upside playing with wideouts Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel Sr. along with tight end Zach Ertz in Kliff Kingsbury's offense.

The Washington Commanders are re-signing running back Jeremy McNichols to an undisclosed one-year deal on Tuesday, a source tells ESPN's John Keim. Although McNichols wasn't on the fantasy radar at all last year in his first year in D.C., he was a valuable member of the team's RB room as a backup for his blitz pickups while also contributing a career-high 267 rushing yards and a career-high four rushing touchdowns on 55 carries over 17 regular-season games (one start). He also had nine catches for 27 yards and added nine yards and a touchdown on five carries in three playoff games. With both Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler returning to the Commanders' backfield in 2025, McNichols will open the year as the No. 3 RB and will have a bigger role on special teams as a return man. The 29-year-old has only 625 rushing yards and five rushing TDs on 145 carries over seven NFL seasons.

The Washington Commanders are bringing in free-agent wide receiver Michael Gallup for a visit this week. Gallup was released by the Dallas Cowboys last offseason and signed a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders. He didn't last long in Las Vegas before deciding to retire from the NFL. His play has declined since suffering a torn ACL in 2021, which was likely a big factor as to why he decided to hang it up. Now, Gallup is attempting a come back and will see if the Commanders are a potential fit for him. Wherever he lands, Gallup will most likely just be a depth player and probably won't be someone worth snagging on draft day.

Veteran tight end Zach Ertz signed a one-year, $6.25 million contract with the Washington Commanders on Saturday. The deal includes up to $9 million in incentives. Ertz returns to the Commanders after a productive season in 2024 as quarterback Jayden Daniels' safety valve, owning 18% of Washington's target share. The three-time Pro Bowler caught 66 of 91 targets for 674 yards and seven touchdowns over 17 games. It was the first time since 2018 that Ertz played an entire season. With the emergence of Dyami Brown in the postseason and the Commanders trading for wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. in March, Ertz will have more competition for targets in 2025. Despite competing for targets with Terry McLaurin, Samuel, and Brown, Ertz remains a decent fantasy option at the tight end position. As Daniels' primary middle-of-the-field option, Ertz is a high-end TE2 heading into early best-ball drafts.

Veteran wide receiver Michael Gallup, whom the Las Vegas Raiders released from the Reserve/Retired list on Friday, is looking to return to the NFL in 2025, a source tells NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Gallup caught 266 passes in 86 career games with the Dallas Cowboys before signing with the Raiders a year ago. The 29-year-old announced his retirement last July right after training camp started. The former third-round pick (81st overall) by Dallas in 2018 out of Colorado State had a 1,000-yard season with six touchdowns for the Cowboys in his second year in the league in 2019 but never came close to those heights again and didn't exceed 500 receiving yards in his last three seasons in Dallas. Gallup could latch on with a team this offseason as an experienced role player, but he'll probably be fighting an uphill battle for any kind of serious fantasy relevance if he gets picked up.