The Washington Commanders have just added a veteran wide receiver to the mix — and not Brandon Aiyuk.
The Commanders announced they were bringing back veteran wide receiver River Cracraft on Wednesday morning.
Washington also signed punter Matt Haack after NFL All-Pro punter Tress Way opened the season on the sideline with a pectoral injury.
“Wide receiver River Cracraft is back with the Commanders,” Pro Football Talk’s Josh Alper wrote on Wednesday. “Cracraft played two games for the team last season and the Commanders announced his signing on Wednesday morning. They also confirmed the signing of punter Matt Haack. Cracraft returned a pair of punts during last year’s stint in Washington. He had 32 catches for 374 yards and three touchdowns in 53 games for the Dolphins, 49ers and Broncos before landing with the Commanders.”
From Undrafted to Decade-Long NFL Career
Cracraft has crafted a decade-long NFL career after going undrafted in 2017 out of Washington State, where he was an All-Pac-12 pick but tore his ACL in the 10th game of his final season.
Cracraft made the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2017 and played 3 seasons there before spending time with the Philadelphia Eagles, 2 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, 3 seasons with the Miami Dolphins, and part of 2025 with the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks before landing with the Commanders.
The Commanders open the preseason against the Miami Dolphins on August 14.
“First pre-season game is the River Cracraft revenge game,” River Cracraft Fan Club wrote on its official X account. “This is about to be biblical.”
Bigger Concern: Getting Tress Way Healthy
The Commanders need a punter to run practices — enter Haack.
The focus now is on getting Way healthy after he enters his 13th season as their starter and is firmly established as 1 of the NFL’s elite punters.
At 36, Way is a 3-time Pro Bowler and NFL All-Pro who has seen his career extend way, way beyond anyone’s wildest expectations.
That’s why the Commanders need Way right, physically, by the regular season opener on September 13 against the Philadelphia Eagles. That might take a little more time this year.
“Commanders Pro Bowl P Tress Way will be sidelined to start training camp with a pectoral injury, per GM Adam Peters,” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo wrote on his official X account on July 28. “Not expected to be a long-term absence.
He’s playing on a 1-year, $3 million contract and has never missed a game due to injury — an incredible 196 consecutive regular-season games. Current head coach Dan Quinn is the 4th head coach Way has played for, following Jay Gruden, Bill Callahan, and Ron Rivera. He’s also played for 3 different mascots — the Washington Redskins, the infamous Washington Football Team era, and the Commanders.
Way, a Tulsa native, was an All-American at the University of Oklahoma before signing with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He spent most of 2 seasons on the practice squad in Chicago before he caught on with the Commanders as their full-time punter in 2014, taking Robert Malone’s job and leading the NFL in punting (47.5 yards) in his 1st season.
Way earned NFL All-Pro honors for the 1st time in 2019. He also made the Pro Bowl, leading the NFL in punting again (49.6 yards). Way also registered the NFL’s longest punt at 79 yards.
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