Say what you will about the disastrous 2025 season for the Washington Commanders, wide receiver Deebo Samuel showed up to play ball.
Coming off a 2024 season in which he appeared to be playing about 20 pounds overweight with the San Francisco 49ers, Samuel came to the Commanders in exchange for a 5th round pick, with Washington hoping he could be a viable WR2 option behind Terry McLaurin.
Samuel was up to the task with 802 yards of total offense and 6 touchdowns. No one else was — and no one else was really available in a nightmare season that saw the Commanders go 5-12.
Now, after cashing in with a reworked 1-year, $17 million contract in his 1 year with the Commanders, Samuel is 30 years old and looking for a new home.
Pro Football Focus’s Bradley Locker singled out the Minnesota Vikings as the “Ideal Landing Spot” for Samuel on a list of the best free agents still available.
“Samuel’s effectiveness has taken a step back over the last two campaigns, but he still finished 2025 with a 70.3 PFF receiving grade and 1.66 yards per route run,” Locker wrote. “Further, Samuel’s 6.5 yards after the catch per reception was fourth among wideouts with 95 or more targets. Next to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, Samuel could help fill Nailor’s void in the slot while infusing more juice after the catch and overall creativity for Kevin O’Connell.”
Samuel Likely Backup Plan for Vikings
Samuel is a likely backup plan for the Vikings if they can’t land free agent wide receiver Jauan Jennings, who is viewed as the No. 1 overall free agent still available.
Jennings recently had a visit with the Vikings, who seem set to have a new starting quarterback in 2026 with former No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray.
“That visit was always kind of an exploratory type of feel,“ Lewis said on the April 30 edition of “The Alec Lewis Show.” “It was never billed as ‘Jauan Jennings is coming here, it’s signing, done deal, over with and done for. ‘ It was always more of a, ‘Hey, you come meet us. We’re going to spend time with you, see where you’re at, talk through everything, fit, role, what we’re about, what this building is about, and then, obviously, some of the financial ideas with where both sides stand.’ “
Commanders Poised to Struggle at WR in 2026
Barring some unforeseen move, the Commanders seem on a path to having 1 of the NFL’s worst groups of wide receivers in 2026.
That’s unfortunate because the franchise broke off a staggering 3-year, $97 million contract extension for NFL All-Pro wide receiver Terry McLaurin after he held out for the entire offseason and most of training camp in 2025, then watched him proceed to have the worst season of his career.
Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon put McLaurin, who will turn 31 years old in September, at the top of his list of the NFL’s “Most Overpaid Players” following peak free agency.
“The seventh-highest-paid receiver in the NFL has never hit 1,200 yards, has scored eight-plus touchdowns just once, and never caught 90 passes in a season,” Gagnon wrote. “Now durability could be a concern for a good-not-great player on the wrong side of 30.”
Commanders WR Deebo Samuel Called ‘Ideal Fit’ in NFC North