The Washington Commanders need help in the secondary and are solid on the defensive line before an already-critical Week 2 game against the Dallas Cowboys.
That equals bad news for 2nd-year defensive tackle Ricky Barber.
“Washington has released DT Ricky Barber and signed CB Isaac Yiadom off the practice squad,” ESPN’s John Keim wrote on X on Thursday.
“The Commanders released DT Ricky Barber,” The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala wrote on her official X account.
“The Commanders have released DT Ricky Barber and signed CB Isaac Yiadom from the practice squad,” Commanders reporter Ben Standig wrote on his official X account.
Ricky Barber Made Commanders Roster as UDFA
Barber was a Freshman All-American and All-Conference USA selection in 2020 at Western Kentucky before transferring to UCF to finish out his career and was a 2-time All-American Athletic Conference selection.
After his college career, he had a solid outing at the Hula Bowl with 3 tackles, 2 QB pressures, and 1 sack.
Barber made the Commanders as an undrafted free agent and spent almost the entire season on the practice squad before being called up to the 53-man roster for the final 2 games.
Commanders Have Revamped Defensive Front
After a turgid 2025 in which the Commanders seemed almost incapable of pressuring the other team’s quarterback, the biggest takeaway from their 24-22 Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles was that they looked much, much different on the defensive front.
In fact, the defense seemd to be the catalyst in keeping the game close after a series of mental mistakes by the offense — most notably with 3.0 sacks, 5 QB hurries, and a whopping 10 TFLs.
“Commanders might beat the Cowboys in week two,” Chat Sports NFL reporter Chase Senior wrote on his official X account. “Their defense was fast, surprisingly physical and they did some exotic (expletive). Very worried about the Commanders CB play, though. That could be the difference, leading to a Cowboys victory.”
“We finally got our first look at the Commanders new defensive scheme under DC Daronte Jones,” NFL reporter Mark Bullock wrote on his official X account. “There’s some things to iron out, but it was largely a very encouraging start.”
Washington Commanders Part Ways With 6-foot-3, 295-Pound DT