Eddie Goldman missed the 2022 and 2023 seasons before unretiring twice. But last season, the longtime Bears mainstay made a strong comeback and did enough to land a contract early in free agency. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets that the Commanders are bringing in the veteran nose tackle. Despite missing three of the previous four seasons going into the 2024 season, Goldman, who had previously been the beneficiary of a high-profile Chicago extension, was able to secure an extended opportunity from Atlanta. This Washington accord is remarkable for that reason alone.
Despite entering the league in 2015, Goldman is still just 31. That undoubtedly helped keep teams interested, but Goldman is coming off a 10-start season. The Falcons had signed him in 2022, only to see him retire. They allowed Goldman to come off the reserve/retired list in 2023; he re-retired. Last year, though, Goldman played in all 17 Falcons games and stuck around even as a new coaching staff arrived.
The general manager who had both extended Goldman in Chicago and selected him, Ryan Pace, stayed in Terry Fontenot’s front office despite the addition of a new coaching staff. Following 331 snaps played by the returning D-tackle, Goldman and Pace will now part ways. That came very close to matching his final Bears season total. Goldman was cut by the Bears early in Ryan Poles’ time as general manager, but he will move on and join a Commanders squad that has undergone changes at this position after Pace helped bring him to Atlanta.
Months after the team cut Phidarian Mathis, Washington cut Jonathan Allen after eight seasons. Although the Commanders offered former 49ers first-round pick Javon Kinlaw a three-year, $45 million contract, it appeared that a door had opened for Johnny Newton. If Goldman makes the Commanders’ 53-man roster for the upcoming season, Newton might be added as a backup. The former second-round pick, who started 83 games, will try to play in the NFL for the seventh time.
In preparation for the 2025 NFL season, the Commanders are still reassembling their defensive line. The team will sign defensive end Deatrich Wise to a one-year, $5 million contract, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. After Clelin Ferrell and Dante Fowler’s contracts expired and Jonathan Allen left for Minnesota in free agency, Washington would have to deal with a defensive line that lacked depth and experience even with the return of Daron Payne, Dorance Armstrong, and Jer’Zhan Newton. After adding defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, who had a significant impact, the team added Eddie Goldman and Wise as defensive tackles today.
Wise has resided in New England ever since the Patriots drafted him in the fourth round in 2017. Over an eight-year career in New England, Wise appeared in 126 of a possible 131 games and made 61 starts. He pretty consistently averaged just over 4.5 sacks per season while totaling 34 tackles for loss and 90 quarterback hits. Early in his career, as a rotational rusher, Wise consistently got after the quarterback, with 9.5 sacks and 35 quarterback hits in his first two seasons. It took him another three years to pass three sacks in a season after that.
With the addition of former Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams and former Cardinals defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga, the Patriots aren’t losing many defensive linemen in New England other from Wise. Although they are not exactly same, having those two on the defensive line should allow New England to align with their current staff in a number of ways.
Over his eight years in the NFL with the Patriots, Wise only spent two years (2022 & 2023) as a full-time starter. He took advantage of that first season, seeing career highs in sacks (7.5), total tackles (59), and tackles for loss (7) while adding 11 quarterback hits. In 2023, though, his time as a full-time starter was less effective, only resulting in 4.5 sacks, three tackles for loss, and six quarterback hits. He had a resurgent 2024 campaign, despite missing two games, totaling five sacks, five tackles for loss, and eight quarterback hits.
Due to a lack of depth and options, Wise projects to be a starter across from Armstrong at the moment in Washington. Additional free agent or draft additions could certainly change that outlook and put Wise back into position as a rotational rusher.
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