Washington Commanders Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

The Commanders have agreed to a one-year deal with LB Cody Barton that NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports is fully guaranteed. We don't know how much money yet, and it's likely not a number that locks Barton into a starting role. But there's room for him to earn starter snaps in a defense that might lose LB Cole Holcomb in free agency. Jamin Davis should be the best current bet for full-time snaps among Washington LBs, heading into his third season. Barton didn't play very well in his first starting turn with Seattle in 2022, which is why the team is letting him walk.

The Commanders on Tuesday made DT Daron Payne the first player to get the franchise tag in 2023. Payne demolished his previous high with 11.5 sacks in 2022 -- 6.5 more than he tallied as a 2018 rookie. Payne suggested a bump was coming, though. His QB hits climbed from 8 in 2020 to 15 in 2021 before a career-high 20 this past season. Payne also delivered his two largest tackle totals the past two years, though he didn't crack the top 12 among D-lineman in solos either year. We'd bet on some regression from his DL13 fantasy finish in 2022. Don't prioritize Payne for 2023 IDP leagues or as a dynasty target.

Commanders DT Jonathan Allen left in the 1st half of Sunday's game against the Browns with a knee injury and has been ruled out for the day. We'll see about his status heading into Week 18.

Commanders S Kamren Curl (ankle) is inactive for today's game against the Browns. CB Benjamin St-Juste (ankle) is also out, leaving the secondary without 2 of its top 5 players.

Commanders S Kamren Curl (ankle) is questionable for Sunday's game against the Browns. He put in limited practices all week after missing last Saturday's game at San Francisco. Curl will make for a risky IDP play this week if active.

Browns RB Nick Chubb gets a tough matchup in Week 17. The Commanders come in 3rd-best in adjusted fantasy points allowed to RBs, trailing only San Francisco and New England. Washington has allowed just 2 RBs to reach 80 rushing yards all season: Saquon Barkley, who did so in 1 of 2 meetings; and Derrick Henry, who averaged a mere 3.6 yards per rush in their meeting. Washington's run D has softened lately, according to Football Outsiders DVOA, ranking 30th in that area in 2 games since the team's bye. But they also faced Barkley (2nd time) and the 49ers in those contests. Cleveland, meanwhile, ranks just 24th in total offensive DVOA since QB Deshaun Watson stepped in: 27th passing and just 22nd rushing. That struggling offense won't help draw attention away from Chubb, who has also gone from 5.6 yards per carry before the team's Week 9 bye to 3.96 per rush since.

Commanders S Kamren Curl (ankle) is inactive for today's game against the 49ers. CB Benjamin St-Juste (ankle) is active. EDGE Chase Young (ACL recovery) is also active for the 1st time this year. We wouldn't be putting him into IDP lineups though.

Commanders S Kamren Curl (ankle) is questionable for Saturday's game against the 49ers. We'll check his status that afternoon. CB Benjamin St-Juste (ankle) is also questionable.

Commanders EDGE Chase Young (ACL recovery) is officially questionable for Sunday's game against the Giants. HC Ron Rivera said Friday that Young will be a game-time decision. The 3rd-year player shouldn't be in your IDP plans either way.

Commanders EDGE Chase Young (ACL recovery) is inactive for today's game against the Falcons. We'll see if Young is ready for Week 13. A bye the following week might factor into whether he plays.

Commanders EDGE Chase Young is not expected to play Sunday against the Falcons, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. He's officially questionable and will participate in warmups. We'll need to see Young in game action before considering him for IDP lineups.

The Commanders have finally placed LB Cole Holcomb on IR. Holcomb hasn't played since Week 7 with what was called a sprained left foot. It clearly hasn't healed the way the team hoped, though. He'll now miss at least 4 more games. Mix in the Week 4 bye, and Holcomb can't return before Week 17. That makes him droppable in all redraft formats.

The Commanders have activated EDGE Chase Young from IR, HC Ron Rivera said Monday. That points to Young seeing his 1st game action in Week 12 since suffering his ACL tear last November. We'll see if the team reveals anything further about his role. We certainly wouldn't bet on an immediate return to his pre-injury playing-time level, though.

The Commanders are not returning EDGE Chase Young (ACL recovery) to the active roster ahead of Sunday's game against the Texans. HC Ron Rivera said Friday that they'll "most certainly" activate Young by Wednesday, according to ESPN's John Keim. We're still not betting on Young making a significant IDP impact this season.

The Commanders are expected to activate EDGE Chase Young from the PUP list ahead of Sunday's games against the Texans, according to multiple reports. We'd still bet on Washington bringing him along slowly in game action. Young has been out since mid-November last season with an ACL tear plus other damage. The team has been cautious with him to this point. We'll see what his playing time looks like before considering Young for IDP lineup use.

The Commanders have ruled LB Cole Holcomb (foot) out for Monday night's game against the Eagles. They also ruled out #3 LB David Mayo, leaving Jamin Davis as the clear #1 at the position.

Commanders LB Cole Holcomb missed Thursday's practice with the foot injury that has cost him the past 2 games. That doesn't bode well for Holcomb's chances of returning this week. Jamin Davis led the team's LBs at 85% playing time with Holcomb out Sunday, with Jonathan Bostic following at 65%.

The Commanders have ruled LB Cole Holcomb (foot) out for Sunday's game against the Vikings. Jamin Davis served as the only full-time LB with Holcomb out last week. Third S Darrick Forrest has seen his playing time increase the past 2 games but hasn't supplied usable fantasy football numbers for most IDP formats. Forrest has gone from playing roughly half the defensive snaps to about 70%. Davis has climbed inside the top 30 LBs in our Week 9 IDP rankings.

Commanders DE Chase Young is expected to join team drills in Wednesday's practice, HC Ron Rivera told reporters Monday. Young is still working back from last season's ACL tear (plus other damage). The team has opened the 21-day window for deciding whether to return him to the active roster, and it sounds like he's expected to be ready for game action soon. It's tough to know how long it will take Young to get back to normal playing time, and how he'll perform. He's stashable in deeper IDP leagues, but don't overrate his fantasy football outlook.

The Commanders have ruled LB Cole Holcomb (foot) out for Sunday's game against the Colts. We're assuming LB Jamin Davis will lead the corps in playing time in Holcomb's absence and have moved him up the Week 8 IDP rankings. Veteran reserve David Mayo should step into Holcomb's spot.