Who were the most disappointing Washington Commanders players from this past season?
The Commanders completely turned their 12-5 2024 season upside down, finishing 5-12 this past season. When you lose that many games, there are going to be several candidates as to who disappointed the most. You can’t simply pick one person. That would be much too reductionistic. So here are ten candidates:
CB Marshon Lattimore
Hands down, the worst disappointment for GM Adam Peters. Lattimore was done. He was terrible; he was, in fact, a liability. Forget about the gun charges last week. Lattimore was never going to be brought back for 2026.
WR Terry McLaurin
He wasn’t in touch with reality, asked for entirely too much money, then called a press conference to make the Commanders look like the bad guys. He was holding out, then holding in, and as a result, he wasn’t ready for the season, finishing with only 38 receptions and three touchdowns.
DC Joe Whitt Jr.
Yes, there were too many injuries, but Whitt’s defense looked completely overmatched as early as Week 2 in their loss at Green Bay. They couldn’t cover anyone, especially a TE with Whitt leading the defense. The defense in 2024 was never “good” either. It was so bad this season that Dan Quinn had to cut loose his friend, Whitt.
S Quan Martin
Martin was repeatedly out of position, giving up big plays. Then he made things even worse with his tendency to lunge at ball carriers rather than wrap them up, leading to missed tackles. He may have played his last game for Washington.
GM Adam Peters
Peters had six draft choices in 2024 in the top 100. Excluding Jayden Daniels (2), how many do you know are going to be good pros? Jer’Zhan Newton (36), Mike Sainristil (50), Ben Sinnott (53), Brandon Coleman (67) and Luke McCaffrey (100) all did not meet expectations in their second season.
DT Daron Payne
Payne appears to take off plays, then plays hard some plays. He allows numerous runs up the middle, then will suddenly make a nice play. Has Payne even produced enough that another team would be willing to trade a draft pick to take on his contract?
LB Frankie Luvu
Such a drop off in performance from his 2024 season. When it seemed at times he was the only impactful defensive player. But not so in 2025, when his tackles for loss went from 12 to 5, and QB hits went from 14 to 6.
DT Javon Kinlaw
GM Adam Peters paid him $45M for 3 years, and in his first year, he played all 17 games yet produced only 5 TFLs, 3 QB hits, and 0 QB sacks.
CB Mike Sainristil
Sainristil visibly regressed in 2025. He was unable to cover receivers inside and outside and was being targeted as teams realized Sainristil couldn’t cover effectively.
HC Dan Quinn
The Commanders didn’t look intense in preseason. Might Quinn have relaxed, thinking the Commanders were much better than they were? They were undisciplined, having entirely too many penalties this season. Though Whitt was the DC, defense is Quinn’s expertise, and the Commanders’ defense gave up more yards than any team. Though they were eliminated early, Quinn didn’t play younger players, choosing instead to continue to play veterans.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Top 10 most disappointing players from 2025
