David Bakhtiari and DJ Humphries are coming off major injuries and aren’t likely to be Pro Bowl anchors again, but they are two proven veteran names that are out there that can play left tackle – a position where the Commanders don’t truly have someone penciled in atop the depth chart.
Is it worth a look, or do the Commanders have a plan?
“Would you be in the market, even if it meant paying over a two-year deal let's say, for someone coming off of injury like Bakhtiari or Humphries, or do the Commanders have a plan?” Grant asked Danny. “Do they have a way forward here that is worth kicking the tires on with Cornelius Lucas, who's super cheap, and if you go get a Bakhtiari or a Humphries, it probably means Brandon Coleman doesn't get a shot this year, and the rookie you just drafted might not play as soon. So are you of the belief they should sign one of those guys and kind of cross their fingers and kick the tires, or are you okay playing the long game, seeing who gets cut closer to the season, and continuing to move forward with Lucas and Coleman?”
The answer came out of Danny’s mouth faster than saying yes to mayo on a hot dog.
“I would set a record for how fast I sign one of those guys: immediately. I would have done it yesterday, and I would do it now and every second,” Danny said. “To me, they have a plan and it’s clear they do, but I disagree with the plan; I don't think it's a good plan, I think it's too big a risk. I'm not saying Bakhtiari or Humphries or, I don't know, 15-year veteran Duane Brown, who's still a free agent, is the answer. I'm saying they don't have an answer in my mind, and I'm gonna throw bodies at the problem. The time to draft a marquee guy came and went, they missed their shot in free agency, and for whatever reason that was, they were not very anxious to upgrade that left tackle spot.”
And that’s a problem to him (and many others) who think they should’ve been.
“If this was a situation where we’ve got Justin Herbert, Pat Mahomes, Joe Burrow, I’d go, ‘yeah, we have to get away with it, we're probably up against the salary cap,’” Danny said. “This is not the time to pinch pennies, not the time to go, ‘well, we can't really afford it, we don’t want to get tied to anything bad.’ You need to maximize and protect your quarterback. I think they have not done a good enough job in this regard, and I would absolutely sign one of those guys, because there's no rule that they have to start. There's no rule that says they have to play 17 games; let the best player play, I’m fine with that, but I need more security than they seem to care about.”
“There's no rule that you got to play him, but it might take enough money that it warrants that you get him on the field, and also, if it’s gonna take two years,” Grant replied. “I don't know what the market is, we're just getting to a point now where we're about to find that out.”
GP mentioned Dallas as another potential suitor for a veteran, with the caveat that they DID use a first-round pick on a tackle, so it might not be as necessary – although a guy like Bakhtiari, especially, is tempting.
“I don't know what he's asking for or what he wants. He’s only 32, and it feels like he's a lot older than that because he's basically missed two of the last three seasons in full, and missed a big chunk of ’22, but this is a guy that was a first team All-Pro twice,” Grant said. “He also made three Pro Bowls, and when he was cooking from 2016 to 2020 for the Packers, protecting Aaron Rodgers’ blindside, he was arguably as good a tackler as there was in the league, so I am still really intrigued. To me, when you have all the money they have, it is worth it to me to pay him on a one-year deal. If he’s terrible or never gets healthy, so what? That is worth an investment; I'm paying to just make sure that he's not good, because what if he is? What if it's behind him and he can give you two years of maybe a little better than Charles Leno? What do they have to lose, really?”
Take a listen to their entire discussion above!
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