Who should be saved and who should go – Defense edition

November 24, 2025

by Steve Thomas

Usually, during the annual bye week, I typically do some sort of season in review and predictions for the rest of the season.  There’s no real point in that this season though, because Washington has been out of the running for the playoffs for several weeks and is on its way to completing one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory.  The only point left for the 2025 season is to determine which players have shown themselves to be worthy of continued service in Washington.  There’s been plenty of chatter amongst the fans on this very topic, so therefore, I’m going to take a stab at that task here.  Today, we’ll cover the defense.  I’ll do the offense in a follow-up column.  Without further ado, let’s get started.

Defensive line

This is the current defensive line group, in alphabetical order:

Dorance Armstrong (starter)

Sheldon Day

Eddie Goldman

Jayln Holmes

Javontae Jean-Baptiste

Javon Kinlaw (starter)

Jacob Martin

Jer’Zhan Newton

Daron Payne (starter)

Preston Smith

Deatrich Wise (starter)

This group has obviously been a massive disappointment in most respects.  They have been very slightly better against the run than last yewar, with opposing teams averaging 4.7 yards per carry versus 4.8 in 2024.  Clearly, this discussion needs to start with Daron Payne, who’s the longest tenured player on the team not named Tress Way.  In my view, Payne’s time in DC is probably numbered.  The high-water mark of his career from a statistical perspective was 2022, in which he had 64 combined tackles and 11.5 sacks and made the Pro Bowl.  His production has dipped ever since, and this year is shaping up to be his worst yet – in 2025, Payne has so far posted only 30 tackles and 1 sack.  His most memorable moment this season was his pointless and silly suspension.  Generally, I think he’s way too expensive for his level of production.  His salary cap hit in 2026 is more than $28M.  Don’t be surprised if Washington moves on in the offseason, depending on how free agency goes.  My vote goes to release.

The other guy in the interior, Javon Kinlaw, has had some moments this season.  He hasn’t been great, but he’s been more or less worthwhile in some respects.  He’ll have a cap hit of more than $16M and a large dead cap hit, so expect Kinlaw to return – even if they wanted to get rid of him, it would be a tough thing to do.

Dorance Armstrong has one year left on his contract and has a cap hit of only $12M.  He was the team’s most productive defensive end, by far, so I expect him to return and play opposite a new, highly drafted defensive end.  Armstrong already had 5.5 sacks in 7 games this year before he went down for an injury.  Washington needs him; they just need someone to play on the other side who is even more dangerous to quarterbacks.

Johnny Newton will have two years left on his rookie deal, and as a second round pick, the team will most likely allow him to return for next season.  Newton is another player who’s had some decent moments here and there but for the most part hasn’t lived up to his draft status.  As a rookie, he got 11 starts and had 44 tackles and 2 sacks.  This season, Newton hasn’t yet started a game and has 23 tackles and 2 sacks.  Good, but not great and probably not worthy of a second round pick.  Regardless, I suspect that he’ll get another year and be back for 2026.

The rest of these players will all be free agents after this season, and while I’m sure some of them will be back, I don’t think any of them will play significant roles in Washington’s future.  The defensive line group will look dramatically different in two years.

What’s the summary?  Expect at least two new starters in 2026 for this disappointing position group.

Linebackers

Nick Bellore

Ale Kaho

Frankie Luvu (starter)

Jordan Magee

Kain Medrano

Von Miller

Bobby Wagner (starter)

I’ll say up front that my guess is that the starters in this group don’t change much for next season, even though it should.  Let’s start with Bobby Wagner.  He’s 35 years old and in his 14th NFL season.  Wagner is currently second in the NFL in combined tackles with 107 and has started every game at the team’s defensive signal caller.  On the surface, this seems outstanding, but we’ve all see Wagner look old and slow at times, especially in pass coverage.  His contract expires at the end of this season, so he’ll be a free agent.  I suspect that Washington will probably re-sign him for one more season, if for no other reason than the fact that they don’t have an adequate replacement.  It’s possible that they could spend a high draft pick on a linebacker, but that’s well after the start of free agency and the team has other needs in the draft.  Adam Peters and company could theoretically sign a different free agent, but a quick glance through the 2026 free agent list tells me that it may be difficult to find someone significantly younger and better.  So, while Wagner’s days in Washington are numbered, I suspect that we’ll see one more year of Wagner in Washington, whether the fans want him back or not.

Frankie Luvu is signed through 2026 and will have a cap hit of a little more than $11M next season.  Clearly, this season has not been nearly as productive as was 2024, either statistically or by the naked eye.  Regardless, he’s only 32 and I think there’s very little chance that the team moves on from Luvu in 2026.

Jordan Magee has slowly earned playing time and has two years left on his rookie contract, so the team can and should bring him back next season.  He’s started four games this season and has 28 tackles, which certainly isn’t Pro Bowl-worthy, but Magee is a guy who is developing and getting better.

Von Miller is old and has seen better days.  The team should move on.  The rest of the team’s linebackers are nothing special.

Therefore, as sad as it is to say, the linebacker starters will likely remain in tact for 2026.

Secondary

Trey Amos – corner (starter)

Percy Butler – safety

Antonio Hamilton Sr – corner

Noah Igbinoghene – corner

Jonathan Jones – corner

Marshon Lattimore – corner (starter)

Jartavius Martin – safety (starter)

Tyler Owens – safety

Jeremy Reaves – safety (starter)

Mike Sainristil – corner (starter)

Let’s address the elephant in the room first: Marshon Lattimore needs to go.  Of course, he’s on injured reserve with a serious knee injury, so the team won’t be able to cut him until he’s healthy unless they make a deal with him.  Regardless, he hasn’t come close to living up to his trade or his lofty contract, and the team needs to replace him.  The last year of Lattimore’s contract is 2026, and he’ll have a cap hit of $18.5M with no dead cap.  Again, though, the team isn’t allowed to simply cut him when he’s on injured reserve.  Either way, they need to move on.

Lattimore’s peer on injured reserve, Trey Amos, was clearly the team’s best corner this season and seems to have a bright future.  He’ll need to heal from his broken fibula, but expect him to start as the team’s #1 corner for the foreseeable future.

Mike Sainristil, the team’s second round pick last year, has also more or less been worthy and will have a future with the team.  The big question about Sainristil is whether the team will ultimately view him as a slot corner or an outside corner, because he’s played both.  My view is that his size dictates that he’ll ultimately land in the slot.  Sainristil hasn’t been perfect – we’ve seen him get burned a time or two this year, as have all of the team’s other corners.

None of the other corners are signed beyond 2025 or are anything special.  Therefore, look for the team to find one more starter to replace Lattimore either in free agency or the draft, then sign a few backups to fill out the roster.

The safety group also has some issues.  Jeremy Reaves has finally gotten the chance to start on defense for essentially the first time in his career, with 7 starts this season, and has produced, with 63 combined tackles and 1 sack.  I suspect that he’ll return next year, specially since he’s an important part of the team’s special teams unit.

Quan Martin, who was drafted in 2023 and therefore has 1 year left on his rookie contract, has been up and down.  This year, he’s started all 11 games and had 71 tackles, which is good statistical production.  In my view, however, his performance has been up and down this year.  While I’m sure that the team will bring him back for 2026, I’m not sure he has a future in DC as a starter beyond next year.

None of the rest of the safeties have shown starter potential.

Therefore, in the secondary, assuming that Trey Amos is ready for the start of next season, I expect that we’ll see one new starter at corner, with the rest of the starters more of less in tact.  That might not be a particularly good thing, but that’s the situation.

We’ll cover the offense in a follow-up column.  Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.