NFL analyst names Washington Commanders' most important free agent in 2024

The 2024 NFL offseason has already been a busy one for the Washington Commanders. Under new ownership, the team revamped its front office and coaching staff to start a new era post-Dan Snyder for the franchise.

With the new brain trust and regime in place, it is time to get to work on the roster. There will likely be a lot of turnover here too, as Washington began the rebuilding process during the 2023 season. They traded two of their best players, defensive ends Montez Sweat and Chase Young, to acquire more draft capital.

It will be interesting to see what kind of players the new regime looks to target. The Commanders will assuredly be looking for help outside the organization and new hires always like to bring in players they are comfortable with. You can expect a few players from the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys to end up in Washington, following Peters and Quinn.

Like the front office and coaching staff, the entire roster will be evaluated. Whenever a new regime comes in, every player could be considered expendable as people will want to bring in their own guys.

But, there is one player that makes a strong case to be part of the Commanders’ long-term plans. That player is safety Kamren Curl, who has been selected as the most important free-agent decision for the team, according to John Keim of ESPN.

“The Commanders have 20 unrestricted free agents, including receiver Curtis Samuel and cornerback Kendall Fuller. But one member of the previous staff said Washington must re-sign Curl because of his versatility. With only one career interception, he’s not a playmaker, but he’s a smart, steady player who plays well in the box and can also rotate deep. It’s hard to know what the team will do, however, with a new coach still to be named — and a new defense to come with him,” wrote Keim.

Curl burst onto the scene as a seventh-round rookie in 2020, quickly becoming an integral part of the Commanders’ defensive game plan. While the scheme is going to look different with Quinn coming into town, Curl is a talented enough player to adapt to whatever changes are made.

There are a lot of players hitting free agency, and an argument could be made about how important they are. But for a team looking to build a foundation moving forward, Curl, who is turning only 25 in March, is someone who should be retained.