Commanders' Kamren Curl Ranked Among Top Free Agents
During Divisional Round weekend, Washington Commanders safety Kamren Curl tweeted "tired of being a spectator," seemingly referring to his team missing the postseason for the third consecutive season.
While brighter days seem to be ahead in D.C., is it possible the that Curl moves on to greener pastures as he aims to play in the playoffs more than once every four years?
USA Today
Curl is set to become a free agent for the first time in his career this offseason, and Pro Football Focus recently ranked him as the 21st overall potential free agent in this year's class.
"Curl can line up anywhere and is as consistent as safeties come on a down-to-down basis, possessing good instincts and a clear understanding of how to manipulate leverage and angles in the open field," PFF wrote of Curl.
A seventh-round pick out of Arkansas in the 2020 NFL Draft, Kurl has racked up 385 combined tackles, 15 tackles for a loss, 11 quarterback hits and three interceptions in four seasons with the Washington franchise.
Washington actually won the NFC East in his rookie season, but did so with seven wins and was eventually defeated by Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Since then, the Commanders have gone 19-31-1, not sniffing the postseason.
New owner Josh Harris is in place, and has hired general manager Adam Peters to oversee personnel. Peters will soon pick a successor to coach Ron Rivera, perhaps Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Peters and whoever is the next coach will then have the No. 2 overall pick at their disposal, likely to take a quarterback prospect and try to put the Daniel Snyder Era fully in the rearview mirror. There are reasons for Curl to be optimistic about the future of the Commanders, if they are interested in re-signing him.
At the same time, while Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud was the exception this year, developing a young quarterback isn't usually an overnight process. The Commanders also have major holes along the offensive line, at edge rusher and at cornerback. This might be a team that's a couple years away from contending. And given how physical of a position safety is, the shelf life at the position isn't always very long. Curl may not have time to wait on the Commanders, even if they are finally headed in the right direction.
Of course, Washington retains the right to apply the franchise tag to him. A year ago, it cost $14.46 million to use the franchise tag on a safety. The Commanders have a league-high $73.6 million in cap space to work with, but as mentioned above, that could go quickly with how many needs they have. Fixing the offensive line will have to be the top priority in free agency if Washington does indeed expect to draft a quarterback.
And so, it will be interesting to see how the Commanders proceed with Curl if they aren't able to reach a long-term deal. He'll certainly have suitors elsewhere if Washington lets him hit the open market.
