Should Commanders Sign Offensive Line Reinforcements in Free Agency?

The Washington Commanders need to fortify their offensive line and could look to free agency to do so.

One of the biggest issues that Eric Bieniemy and Sam Howell had to deal with last season was the form of the offensive line.

At times, Howell, who was in his first year as an NFL starter was sacked at will as the line gave up the second-most sacks in the NFL (65) as Howell was running for his life.

Now, with the Commanders looking like taking a quarterback at No. 2 in the upcoming draft, getting adequate protection is paramount as the franchise will not want to take years off their quarterback's life by giving them a poor line (just ask Andrew Luck) and we are sure that new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury is already aware of it.

General manager Adam Peters has stated that the franchise will build through the draft and the sprinkle free agency additions in as the new era in the nation's capital begins to take shape.

With that in mind, CBS Sports has picked Cincinnati Bengals left tackle Jonah Williams as one name that the franchise could sign during free agency.

"Washington's offensive line is in really rough shape, and after cutting ties with Charles Leno, the Commies need a new left tackle," CBS Sports writes. "Williams played better on the left side of the line before the Bengals moved him over to the right in the wake of last offseason's Orlando Brown signing, and Washington could use a long-term answer at that spot."

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Per spotrac.com, Williams has a market value of $10.8 million APY which won't break the bank as the Commanders have significant cap room to make several moves.

Williams, a former first-round pick in the 2019 draft has been a beacon of consistency and in the last three years, has played at least 16 regular season games for the Bengals - so he's dependable.

He did allow eight sacks last season and only had five penalties per PFF, so the Commanders would be getting a solid contributor for either Howell or whichever quarterback they draft.

Williams looms as a cost-effective move for the Commanders as just because they have the financial means to offer big money, it doesn't mean they should.

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The former first-round pick could be a handy addition to the Washington offensive line as last year it was simply too easy to get access to Howell.

Washington doesn't want that same fate for whichever quarterback is under center in 2024 and in Williams, it's a start at fortifying the troubled offensive line.