Adam Peters came to Washington with much fanfare.
Fresh off an NFC Championship game appearance in 2024, Peters decided to go all-in on the 2025 roster, mistakenly thinking the team was in win-now mode versus a rebuild done the RIGHT way.
The results – a bottom 10 team in the league and sitting home for the playoffs.
Now, injuries played a big part in Washington’s overall record this year, but could some better offseason planning have prevented this complete collapse?
Below I take a look as some of Peters’ moves, and debate what went right and what could have been done differently.
What Went Right:
- Laremy Tunsil: Despite giving up draft picks to land him in a trade, Tunsil has been outstanding this season and is well-deserving of a new contract this offseason.
- Drafting Trey Amos: Peters spent the 61st overall pick in the draft on the Ole Miss corner. Before getting injured, Amos was BY FAR the best defensive back on the team. He has a bright future in the league.
- Deebo Samuel: Although this was a high-profile move at the time, Deebo didn’t exactly light the league on fire in 2025. Through 13 games, he has 604 receiving yards and five touchdowns while adding just 49 rushing yards and a score. I listed him under the “what went right” category, because Peters only gave up a 5th-round pick for him, and despite injuries all around him, he does lead the team in receptions, yards and receiving touchdowns.
- Marcus Mariota: Re-signing Mariota turned out to be a really smart move by Peters. To date, he’s started 7 games (playing in 10) and despite his 2-5 record as a starter, he’s played fairly well in Jayden Daniels’ absence.
- Re-signing John Bates: Bates is one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL and locking him up for the next three years on a reasonable deal was a great move by Peters. To date, the 28-year-old Bates has just nine receptions for 90 yards, but his impact in the run game is huge.
- Trading Brian Robinson: Although Peters got just a sixth-round pick from the 49ers in exchange for Robinson, it was clear the veteran running back was not going to be a part of the future in Washington. Getting ANYTHING for the pedestrian runner was a positive.
What Went Wrong:
- Terry McLaurin: Hindsight is 20/20 but looking back on how the offseason saga with McLaurin went down, it may have been better to trade the 30-year-old receiver (I’m saying this as one who wanted him extended). After holding in all of training camp, McLaurin finally got his deal. Most fans rejoiced, but Terry lasted just two-and-a-half games before injuring his quad. In those games, without the offseason and training camp to get on the same page with the offense and get himself into playing shape, he caught 10 passes for 149 yards and no touchdowns. Through seven games...
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