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riverside no action from the commanders on deadline day josh upton's studio: To the Washington Football Podcast. I'm your host, Josh Upton. It's trade deadline day. We have passed the deadline. It's actually trade deadline night. The commanders did nothing. After weeks of speculating whether they'd be buyers or sellers, could they use a receiver? Could they add a running back? Could they trade off guys like Daron Payne before he got injured? Calavon Chason, Stefan Diggs. Could they trade off any of those guys? Would they be buyers or sellers? Could they win enough games to buy? Would they lose enough games to sell? They ended up, I guess, in their minds, right in the middle and on Tuesday, deadline day, they did absolutely nothing. I will get into what I think about their decision to stand pat, not make any trades, not buy, not sell before this show is over. But want to talk about maybe some reasons why they chose to do what they did. This episode, we're just gonna talk about the trade deadline. We'll talk about the Giants tomorrow. There's time to turn this thing around with the pieces that they have left. But let's talk about the deadline. Why did they decide to do nothing when it seemed so obvious that this team would wind up in a good spot either way to maybe buy or sell with the division and Still, I wouldn't say within their grasp, but within their reach, and with, you know, the also the possibility that they were gonna fall out of it and that this team needed to be thinking about its future. So I think maybe the first option is that they're saying that they actually have some faith in this coaching staff and this roster to still be able to do something this year. Now, let's be clear, I'm thinking about them in my mind. I'm thinking about them showing up to today, showing up to this week as sellers after the loss to the Rams. So I don't think this applies to them being buyers at all. They didn't have enough faith in what was still left here with the injuries and the coaching staff and the current roster to buy, to try to add anything, to use some of their draft capital to try to fortify this team as they come down the stretch here. So I don't think them saying they have faith. I think that's them having faith in this roster, you know, the fact that they didn't buy says something. But that said, I mean, do think you have a chance to turn things around. And leaving this unit intact gives you your best chance to be able to do that. Some of the guys you signed this offseason, both of your quarterbacks, I think Marcus Mariota. was maybe one of your best remaining trade pieces with teams like the Ravens and the Vikings in need. Having him around should Jaden go down again definitely gives you your best chance to get this team to limp into the playoffs. So maybe they just said we can do this with this team. Not enough again to add, and I'll get into why I think that is, but If we keep this team together, maybe this team can do it. Sure, they've showed some promises. We've talked about all last or all season about them playing a complete game if this team could do that, you know, a handful more times, maybe. You know, maybe they, you know, this is maybe they had faith in this roster to be able to operate at a higher level with a new coaching staff. Next year. I don't know how much of this really applies. You know, I think there are certain rosters where you look around and you think about a new coach coming in and you're like, Yeah, somebody can get more out of this, which I think is possible. Adam Peters is thinking that. Especially he's looking at his 2024 draft class and he's like, I need to find somebody who can help me get something out of the players. That I picked just a couple years ago in my first ever draft as a general manager. But how many of those players were actually gonna get you something in return? Not very much. not Luke McCaffrey, not Ben Sinett. People have talked about Mikey Sandra still as a potential trade target. what is he gonna get you? He is now riding your bench. So, there's the twenty twenty four draft picks who Course Adam Peters would like to see more out of, but they weren't gonna get you anything. And then you got a bunch of free agents, including guys, a bunch of soon to be free agents, I su I should say, including guys like Calavon Chason and Marcus Mariota, who if they like it here so much and you love them so much, you could re sign next year after trading them for something. So I don't think I don't think necessarily that they were holding these players at this moment. Because of what somebody else may be able to get out of them next season. I think a very good a very possible reason is that don't that they don't have much on this roster worth trading. And that is just a fact. The Eagles are a team that found themselves in a great position. They're coming out of a great era in Eagles football. They win the Super Bowl, they go to another. They've reached the point where it's just not gonna happen for them this year, but they have good players. So they trade away AJ Brown in the offseason. They can start to trade away some of these good players. They were active at the deadline, they have a trade go through, another one gets rejected. They're they're able to be active at the deadline, fortify for the future, and get ready for this next wave that they're expecting to go into. Their next kind of Super Bowl window. Washington didn't have players like that. But the players we've named here still could get you something. If Daron Payne was your best trade piece, which he may or may not have been, then you could get something for Stefan Diggs and Calavon Chason and Marcus Mariota and Frankie Louvu. You could get something for these players. I do think they lost a big piece when Duron Payne went down. That hurts. they've been hurt with injuries. on the field. It has hurt their ability at this trade deadline to be able to make some moves. And maybe he's a
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player they would have actually dealt with Johnny Newton returning on Sunday. Like maybe Durham Payne is a player they would have dealt. We'll never know. I know that Diggs was unsigned until well in the training camp. So it's not like the whole league was knocking down doors to get him, but he's been impactful for Washington and there are Wide receiver needy teams who could benefit from a guy who can play the way we've seen Stefan Diggs play so far this year. Again, are any of those guys going to get you a first, second, third round pick? Probably not. But are they going to get you into the playoffs? I would say probably also not. So you take what you can get from them and move on. I think the real interesting conversation about all this is what does it say about job security for these guys? I think it could go either way. you could say for Adam Peters, I'm Adam Peters is thinking he's not tied to Dan Quinn. I'm not gonna do anything rash here. I wanna save my picks. I'm thinking about these players that I picked in twenty twenty four and twenty twenty five. I'm thinking about some of these players that we still have on the roster. I think they can do more. And I'll find a new coaching staff next season who can do that. I think ultimately it is worse for both of their for Dan Quinn and Adam Peters job security that we saw Adam Peters decide to do nothing at this deadline. Adam Peters, seeing what we've seen so far and this season is. Cannot be feeling like the chances are good that they are gonna find their way into the playoffs. They're around this team. they know more about the team than we do, but we are well into the season now. It's not two, three games in. They've played now eight games. They're just about halfway into the season. And even the players are saying we're talking about the same thing every week. We're making the same mistakes. We're losing close games. All of a sudden they can't even winning time moments. That was Dan Quinn's thing, their first season. That was this team's thing in 2024. Now it's week after week. There are late game blunder. So Adam Peters can't be looking at this and thinking, yeah, we got the right guys here. This team is going to turn this around. I don't know how anybody could necessarily be feeling that way at this point, even though it is mathematically possible, and they still do have Jaden Daniels. If Adam Peters felt secure, he could trade off some of these players, some of the players that we're talking about, these free agents that he signed in 2024, his 2024 draft picks. Again, with the caveat that those might actually be able to get you anything whatsoever. But if he felt secure here, he could start thinking about his future. He could punt on Dan Quinn and just think about what he could do to get draft picks back. He's gonna rebuild, obviously, a new coaching staff. it'll be a second time if he's secure. It'll be a second time to hire a coach. Everybody feels like he got his third choice when he brought in Dan Quinn a few years ago. Well, if choice number one was Ben Johnson, And choice number two is Mike McDonald. Those two look pretty good. So if I can go out this time, get my first choice, get my second choice. I've got more draft picks now. I think this new coach is going to get more out of some of the players that I bring in. if I'm secure, I can punt on this season. But Adam Peters, I think that Adam Peters hanging on to this these players, not doing anything at this deadline, shows that. He is on the hot seat with Josh Harris as well. And some of you guys may be saying, duh. I have not felt like, you know, for whatever reason, that Adam Peters seat is as hot as Dan Quinn's. I have not felt like they've been tied together. That Adam Peters may get the chance to make a move this offseason, fire Dan Quinn, and try to hire the next guy. You know, Adam Peters is a first-time GM, and he was A prized hire when he was brought in here. and he's just in his third year. It hasn't gone great. He has been tied to some of these losses. He's got issues of his own, including draft picks that haven't turned out. but I I would have a longer leash for Adam Peters than Dan Quinn. Whether or not, you know, you allow Adam Peters to hire a second coach and a new coaching staff, you know, I don't know. I get wanting to start fresh. I've not felt like they've been tied together, but I think them doing nothing at the trade deadline may be a sign that Adam Peters and Dan Quinn both are Josh Harris was not going to let them sell. Josh Harris, Adam Peters, and Dan Quinn, they are close. Dan Quinn has been asked about it recently. They talk weekly, multiple times a week. Josh Harris was not going to let them be buyers and go out. And be active at the deadline, sell their future to try to turn this thing around. So their only other option was to keep this roster together and pray that they can somehow compete for a division and save themselves one more year. I don't know if that'll be the case, but I think if you're looking at this roster and why they would not be if you're looking at this roster, this team, this situation and thinking about why they wouldn't be sellers. It's because this is their only chance to save themselves. And so really, well, I'm disappointed that they didn't do anything at the deadline. I think it makes so much sense that they should be sellers and that we've seen so much bad football this year over the last couple years that we're in this place again where Dan Quinn, as great of a guy as he is, it's just grading now. To hear the same old things, the same old issues, the we're gonna fix it, and it doesn't get fixed. this stuff is just wearing on me. I'm tired of it, and I want to see something change. And I'm not saying that heads necessarily need to roll, but like, do something, do anything. Try to get a draft pick for a single player that you've seen all of this happen this year, and granted. Injuries were a big part of the story last year. They've they've been bitten by the injury bug again this year. I think it's flown a little bit under the radar. But it's happening again. They are hurt. They're hurt all over. They're they're big time players that they've lost for this season. And there are big time players that they've had to play without. to have to play without Traylon Burks and Deami Brown against the Rams, that's tough. You lose Lucas Patrick in the game. now you got center issues again. They're losing people. Duram Payne and Javon Kinlaw, it's happening again. But to see this season slipping away and to see them do nothing, it's just disappointing. Like I want to see you do something. We really have no idea. We hear from Dan Quinn about we're gonna get this right. Like, what do you really think about what's happening? And maybe. it's in some of these reasons. It's the roster's not good enough. It's this is the only way to save ourselves. you know, Adam Peters will say that he was making calls and they're always looking for the right thing. And, you know, maybe it is. Adam Peters just being analytical and saying, I'm gonna keep my draft picks, I'm gonna get a new coach next year. Like, you know, whatever it is, like do something. Just show us that you're gonna make some change. And again, it doesn't have to be people getting fired, but do something. Something could come in the form of a win on Thursday. 3-5-1. You got the Titans coming up. You got a team like the Texans who you think you may be able to beat. The Bengals are going to be tough, but the defense is playing. Feels like a little bit better. A win on Thursday could be doing something, and there's still time. I don't feel great about it, but there is still time for them to ultimately show us that this roster is the one that can do it. you look at the injuries, I you know, even if I tried to say there's still time to show us that they can do this, it just feels out of reach. But they're gonna keep playing, the season is still going and they still somehow have a chance despite all we've seen. We'll look ahead to the Giants tomorrow. Another primetime game on Thursday. Division game. Another shot at the Giants. We'll get you set for that game tomorrow. We'll talk to you then.