The Washington Commanders have been busy this offseason, as they have worked hard on rebuilding their team in an effort to find their way back to the playoffs after they missed them entirely last year. For the most part, their offseason work is done, but moves are still being made across the league, and that recently led to them losing veteran defensive lineman Jalyn Holmes.
A member of Washington’s free agent class, Holmes decided to take his time when making a decision on his future after hitting the open market this offseason. After several months, he finally made a decision on where he will play football next, as he opted to leave the Commanders and sign with the Tennessee Titans on Tuesday morning.
Jalyn Holmes Ditches Commanders, Signs with Titans in Free Agency
The eight-year veteran was with Washington in 2025, recording 21 tackles in 10 games.
Holmes was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft, which is where he spent the first three seasons of his career. While he enjoyed the best season of his career in 2020 (36 tackles and two pass breakups in 14 games, nine of which were starts), that wasn’t enough for him to stick with the team beyond that campaign.
Since then, Holmes has bounced around quite a bit, as he’s spent time with the New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, and New York Jets before finding his way to the Commanders. In 2025, Holmes was used as a secondary defensive lineman, finishing the year with 21 tackles over 10 games, five of which were starts.
During his eight years in the league, Holmes has struggled to live up to his potential, but he’s still a solid rotational lineman who can make plays when he finds his way on the field. While Washington never seemed truly interested in reuniting with him this offseason, Tennessee opted to take a flier on him, signing him to a new deal on Tuesday.
“The Titans are signing free agent defensive lineman Jalyn Holmes, per sources,” Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported in a post on X. “The eight-year veteran was with Washington in 2025, recording 21 tackles in 10 games.”
Do the Commanders Need More Defensive Line Help?
GettyFormer Commanders defensive lineman Jalyn Holmes has signed with the Titans in free agency
Losing Holmes hurts the Commanders’ depth along their defensive line, but truthfully, they are pretty well stocked at this spot. Javon Kinlaw and Tim Settle are currently penciled in as the starters, and the hope is that 2024 second-round pick Jer’Zhan Newton can carve out a bigger role for himself now that more snaps will be up for grabs.
Having a reliable depth option like Holmes at Washington’s disposal wouldn’t have hurt, but there simply wasn’t any room for him on the roster with training camp quickly drawing near. For now, the Commanders have a strong group along their defensive line, but that could change very quickly, so while losing Holmes may not register much on the radar of the team’s fans right now, his departure could present some problems for the front office down the line.
Commanders Lose Veteran Defensive Lineman to Titans in Free Agency