The Washington Commanders filled a massive need during Monday’s NFL legal tampering period, agreeing to terms with Los Angeles Chargers EDGE rusher Odafe Oweh. It’s a deal worth $100 million over four years, and Washington believes Oweh is just hitting his prime.
In 2024, Oweh played for the Baltimore Ravens, recording a career-high 10 sacks. After a slow start in 2025, Baltimore traded the impending free agent to the Chargers, and Oweh’s play took off. In 12 games for Los Angeles, Oweh had 28 tackles, including eight for loss, 7.5 sacks and 13 QB hits. Oweh added three more sacks and two forced fumbles in the Chargers’ playoff loss to New England.
Oweh’s pressure rate was among the best in the NFL during the second half of last season. GM Adam Peters said his goal was to get “younger and faster.” Oweh helps in that area, as the 6-foot-5, 261-pounder ran a sub-4.40-second 40-yard dash at his pro day in 2021.
We handed out our grades for all of Washington’s Day 1 moves. Let’s see how others graded the Commanders‘ addition of Odafe Oweh.
ESPN: B
The Commanders needed to add pass rush juice at edge. And they ideally needed to do it with a player in his prime, rather than an aging veteran like Von Miller a year ago. Oweh checks both boxes. The former Ravens and Chargers edge rusher was one of the top free agents in this year’s class — and he got paid like it.
Oweh failed to record a sack while he was with Baltimore last season, then notched 7.5 after being traded to the Chargers. That split is mostly noise because his underlying numbers were good all year. He ranked in the 80th percentile in pass rush win rate among edge rushers and in the 82nd percentile in pressure rate. Plus, he recorded 10 sacks with the Ravens the year before. He’s good — he just took time to develop.
This price ($25 million per year) seems right in line with where Oweh’s market should be. If we translate past contracts for edge rushers to the 2026 cap environment, it’s comparable in average per year to Harold Landry III’s deal with the Titans in 2022 ($25.3 million in 2026 dollars) or Carl Lawson’s 2021 deal with the Jets ($24.8 million), per OverTheCap.com. It’s cheaper than Bud Dupree’s 2021 contract with the Titans ($27.3 million) or Nik Bonitto’s 2025 extension with the Broncos ($28.6 million).
CBS Sports: B
Washington coach Dan Quinn and GM Adam Peters both emphasized getting younger, faster and more athletic after fielding the oldest roster in the NFL in 2025. Consider Odafe Oweh, 27, a major step in that regard. After an up-and-down stint in Baltimore, Oweh erupted for 7.5 sacks in 12 games with the Chargers this season (plus three sacks and two forced fumbles in a wild-card loss to the Patriots). Oweh has tremendous length and burst, and he holds up decently against the run. Still, it will be interesting to see if Oweh’s massive upturn in production is the rule or the exception; he had a 12.4% career pressure rate in Baltimore before a 15.9% rate in Los Angeles.
Bleacher Report: B+
Improving a pass rush that struggled off the edge was a priority for the Commanders this offseason, and they had the cap space to pursue the bigger names available. Washington did just that—and spent big doing it.
Including the playoffs, sixth-year edge-rusher Odafe Oweh topped 10 sacks in each of the past two seasons. He will now play for his third team in as many seasons, but he’ll have a far fatter bank account doing it. He got $68 million in guaranteed money on his four-year, $100 million deal with Washington.
Oweh has spent most of his career as a stand-up outside linebacker. It will be interesting to see how Commanders head coach Dan Quinn deploys him given his penchant for four-man fronts.
But Oweh is in the prime of his career and was one of the best available options at a premium position. Guys like that don’t come cheap.
The Athletic: D+
The Ravens traded Oweh to the Chargers after Week 5 this past season. At that point, Oweh had zero sacks. By the end of the year, Oweh had 10.5 sacks in 13 games, including a three-sack performance in the playoffs against the Patriots. Oweh is a solid rusher. But this feels like a cardinal sin of free agency: paying a good player like a great player. Oweh benefited from playing in packages with Khalil Mack and Tuli Tuipulotu. He can be a capable No. 2 rusher. He is at his best as a high-quality third rusher, as evidenced from this past season. He is not a No. 1 rusher. The Commanders are paying him to be that player. Oweh has to ascend further as a player to make good on this deal.
Pro Football Focus: Good
Oweh is coming off a career-high 81.0 PFF pass-rush grade in 2025, a season during which he was traded from the Baltimore Ravens to the Los Angeles Chargers. He has grown more consistent at converting pressure into sacks in recent years, and he had his best game of the year in the playoffs against the New England Patriots, registering three sacks.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Experts grade Odafe Oweh signing
