The Washington Commanders already had a particular former Arizona Cardinals player in mind when they released offensive tackle Foster Sarell on Tuesday afternoon.
Pro Bowler DJ Humphries was in Maryland, attending Wednesday’s joint practice with Ravens in place of Sarell, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The reason was simple, the Commanders general manager Adam Peters inked a quick, one-year deal, according to ESPN’s Ian Rapoport.
This could be Humphries next big break after his time with Arizona concluded in 2024.
DJ Humphries Turned Head With Arizona Cardinals
GettyFormer Cardinals LT DJ Humphries signs with Washington Commanders.
Humphries’ arc at Tempe is a roller coaster in one word. Selected as 24th overall by Bruce Arians; Cardinals in the 2015 NFL Draft out of Florida, Humphries was famously bench-ridden as a healthy scratch for all 16 games. He was also the only first-round pick that year not to play a single game.
Arians publicly branded him ‘Knee-Buster’ to call out his work ethic. Both the nickname and a whole, healthy year on bench hit him hard.
It was exactly the type of motivation he needed. He hit the weight room, fixed his diet, locked into his film work, and proved Arians wrong by earning the starting job in Year 2—eventually turning into a Pro Bowl left tackle in 2021.
That time was the peak of his career with the Cardinals.
Now with a Pro Bowl in his hand, Humphries made another exciting, yet rare, move. He became his own agent when it came to contract negotiations, something you only ever hear in the NFL.
No one knew what to expect, but the number Humphries landed via his contract talks was definitely not one. The left tackle successfully landed a three-year, $66.8M extension in 2022 by himself, that turned heads across the NFL.
His teammates instantly took note of that, and started respecting as a leader who locked down $34 million guaranteed on his own terms without an agent.
Humphries ACL Tear that Crushed it All
GettyFormer Cardinals LT DJ Humphries signs with Washington Commanders.
After a few years riding on the high came an imminent down. He tore his ACL in late 2023, forcing the Cardinals to bench him. That’s when the cold reality of veteran rehab hit him.
By 2024, the Cardinals cut him to clear his $22 million cap hit. He treied brief stints with Kansas City in 2024 and LA in 2025, but none of them really stuck around.
The one with the Commanders, though, is what puts him in the spotlight once again.
Washington signing him to a one year deal, meaning he has the entire season to stick around and prove his worth, maybe squeeze out another extension.
The Commanders had virtually zero depth behind Bandon Coleman, since Andrew Wylie is just coming off a massive role shift.
With Laremy Tunsil out indefinitely due to his tricep injury, they basically had zero rotational depth pieces behind Coleman. Humpheries comes in as a crucial veteran 101 career starts presense they need for the position to not fall apart in the middle of the season if Coleman gets injured.
Washington can either start Humphries outright at LT and kick Coleman back inside to left guard, or keep Coleman at LT while using Humphries as the ultimate backup.
Former $66.8M Cardinals Pro Bowler Signs With Commanders