The Washington Commanders are looking to find their way back to relevancy after suffering from mediocrity in recent years. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels is looking to help turn the team around along with a roster and staff turnover.
Changes aren’t finished being made, though. Previously a four-win team, the Commanders have plenty of areas to improve upon. One area they’ve been trying to address is the cornerbacks, which dates back to last season.
After adding rookie Mike Sainristil and Michael Davis while hoping returning talent can bounce back behind and improved roster, the Commanders can still make small tweaks to ensure they can get production out of the position group.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay broke down one trade every team should propose ahead of the regular season kicking off. Of course, teams are about to get underway for the season, though roster moves can still be made with it being early in the season.
For the Commanders, Kay suggested the team offer a trade to the Buffalo Bills to try and land third-year cornerback Kaiir Elam. The former first-round pick hasn’t quite panned out in Buffalo and opportunity might be waning for the defensive back.
“While Washington will be hoping the current crop of starters can step up and adequately fill this position, depth may still be an issue with Tariq Castro-Fields and Noah Igbinoghene as backups,” Kay wrote. “Adding a high-upside, potential-laden contributor like Kaiir Elam could both address depth woes and set the organization up for the future.”
As mentioned, Elam was a former first-round pick — and that was for good reason. He was incredible and proved to have high potential while playing at the college football level. A change of scenery in an opportunity to play meaningful snaps again could help the defensive back.
In the proposed trade, Washington would be moving on from a sixth-round pick to land the current Bills talent.
“Elam hasn’t had a great start to his NFL career by any stretch. After the Bills traded up to get him in the 2022 draft, he’s managed to appear in just 16 games while recording 55 tackles, four pass defenses and two interceptions,” Kay wrote. “He’s made some big plays in the contests he’s suited up for, but for each of those he’s been responsible for several more blown coverages and unsuccessful gambles.”
For both parties involved, Elam moving on from Buffalo could be beneficial. The defensive back gets to join a franchise with a fresh staff and roster, while the team gets a clean slate and the opportunity to move on at the position.
With two more years on his contract — with the opportunity for a team to pick up his fifth-year option — Elam is an intruiging low-risk trade candidate moving forward.
