The Washington Commanders might come to regret letting running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. go in free agency.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell singled out Rodriguez’s 2-year, $10 million free-agent contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars to replace Travis Etienne as 1 of the NFL’s best free-agent signings. Rodriguez’s deal includes just $6.2 million in guaranteed money.
Etienne left the Jaguars for a 4-year, $48 million contract with the New Orleans Saints.
“In a situational role over the past three years, Rodriguez has topped Etienne in explosive play rate (12.3%),” Barnwell wrote. “He has been more successful near the goal line, scoring on 37% of his attempts to Etienne’s 29%. Rodriguez offers nothing as a receiver, having caught only six passes over the past three years, but he’s a more physical runner than Etienne. Given that he’ll be playing on early downs before Allen comes onto the field on third down, Rodriguez is a much more logical fit for this offense at a fraction of the cost.”
Jags Contract Represents Massive Payday
After playing the 1st 4 seasons of his career with the Commanders on a 4-year, $4.01 million rookie contract, Rodriguez’s deal with the Jaguars represents a massive payday, in relative terms.
Rodriguez’s contract could be worth up to $12 million with incentives.
Jaguars’ 2nd-year head coach Liam Coen was the offensive coordinator at the University of Kentucky in 2021 — the only year Rodriguez earned All-SEC honors for the Wildcats.
“Sources: The Jaguars are signing former #Commanders RB Chris Rodriguez Jr. Rodriguez had 920 yards rushing and 10 TDs during his time in Washington,” NFL insider Jordan Schultz wrote on his official X account on March 11. “Source: It’s a two-year deal worth up to $12M for Chris Rodriguez Jr. and the Jaguars. CRod reunites with his college OC Liam Coen.”
Rodriguez Coming Off Career Year in 2025
Rodriguez, 5-foot-11 and 224 pounds, had the best season of his pro career in 2025 while serving as a change-of-pace back to rookie Jacorey Croskey-Merritt.
While the Commanders had a nightmare season, going 5-12, Rodriguez posted career highs in games (13), starts (7), carries (112), rushing yards (500), and touchdowns (6).
It’s no surprise he’s going back to play for Coen. In their 1 season together at Kentucky, Rodriguez had career highs of 1,378 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns while also scoring 3 receiving touchdowns — the 1st 3 receiving touchdowns of his college career.
The Commanders went out and made their own moves at running back in free agency, signing a pair of veterans who will start the season as backups behind Croskey-Merritt with Rachaad White (1 year, $2 million) and Jerome Ford (1-year, $1.4 million).
They also added a running back in the 2026 NFL draft with Penn State’s Kaytron Allen in the 6th round (No. 187 overall).
White could end up being the key to that group in terms of a perfect pairing with Croskey-Merritt — he averaged 1,042 yards of total offense and 6 touchdowns over his 1st 4 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“In White, the Commanders get a back who had 1,539 yards from scrimmage in 2023 but whose touches diminished with the emergence of Bucky Irving the past two seasons,” ESPN’s John Keim wrote. “Still, White fills a needed role in Washington. With 205 catches, he’s been a consistent performer in the pass game — an area Croskey-Merritt needs to continue developing. The Commanders still need more at this position, but this move helps.”
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