While it might not register on the NFL richter scale in terms of trash talk, one slip of the tongue from an NFL executive might be fodder for motivating one of the league’s best young quarterbacks.
Speaking anonymously with The Athletic’s Mike Sando, one NFL executive predicted a major step back for Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels in his second season.
“I’m afraid that is the team that is going to have the quarterback hit the sophomore slump, and now you have invested in all these older guys and you are not really building a team anymore, you are just adding pieces,” the anonymous executive told Sando. “At some point, you get diminishing returns with all those old guys.”
The Commanders have been building a roster of proven veterans (aka old guys) around Daniels, including major offseason moves on offense with trades for Pro Bowl left offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
In 2024, the Commanders went 12-5 and made the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991 and Daniels was a Pro Bowler as a rookie.
Looking at Stroud as ‘Sophomore Slump’ Comparison
The name that has continued to come up when trying to project how Daniels might do in his second season has been Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, who took a noticeable step back in 2024.
Like Daniels, Stroud was the No. 2 overall pick in the draft and was NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Like Daniels, Stroud shocked the NFL by leading his team to the playoffs as a rookie.
That’s probably where the comparisons should end.
In 2024, Stroud led the Texans back into the playoffs and won an AFC Wild Card Round playoff game for the second consecutive season but looked generally lost the entire season as he threw for less yards, less touchdowns and more interceptions during the regular season despite playing in one more game. Stroud also didn’t have a rushing touchdown after scoring 3 rushing touchdowns in 2023.
Daniels accounted for more total touchdowns (31) than Stroud (26) as a rookie while setting the NFL rookie rushing record with 891 yards and 6 touchdowns and averaging 6.0 yards per carry.
Vegas Oddsmakers Betting on Commanders to Regress
The anonymous NFL exec who spoke with Sando isn’t the only one who thinks the Commanders will take a big step back in 2025.
Vegas oddsmakers have the Commanders projected at 9.5 victories on their over/under win totals that debuted on March 27. ESPN Bet has slightly more faith in Washington but still predicts they’ll make a move backwards at a projected 10.5 wins.
From ESPN: “The Commanders had a projected win total of 6.5 last season, a number they cleared in Week 9 … Washington’s last winning season before last year’s 12-5 campaign came in 2015.”
When it comes to Super Bowl odds, the Commanders are also in a much different world. Before the 2024 season, Washington had 150-to-1 odds to win the Super Bowl and came within one game of making it to the final game.
According to ESPN Bet, the Commanders have 16-to-1 odds of winning the Super Bowl in 2025 — at FanDuel that leaps up to 22-to-1 odds.
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