Rebuilding the roster with experienced players paid off handsomely for the Washington Commanders in 2024, with 30-plus-year-old middle linebacker Bobby Wagner the most notable success story. Sadly, the 35-year-old is starting to show his age at the quarter mark of his second campaign.
At a surface level, Wagner remains a highly respected veteran who fits the credible plan executed by Adam Peters. The latter deserves credit for offsetting the risk of signing ageing players by acknowledging the greater value of proven commodities.
That approach goes against the grain in most NFL circles. Washington fans will remember the days of Scot McCloughan running the front office, an era when 30-somethings were shunned and buzz phrases like "not signing other people's problems" were in vogue.