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Washington Commanders cap space after Carson Wentz release

By Hunter Noll

LANDOVER, MD - JANUARY 01: Carson Wentz #11 of the Washington Commanders attempts a pass against the Cleveland Browns during the first half of the game at FedExField on January 1, 2023 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - JANUARY 01: Carson Wentz #11 of the Washington Commanders attempts a pass against the Cleveland Browns during the first half of the game at FedExField on January 1, 2023 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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On Monday, the Washington Commanders cut quarterback Carson Wentz. The move came an hour after the team released defensive back, Bobby McCain.

Moving on from McCain freed up over $4 million. Meanwhile, dropping Wentz saved Washington $26 million. For those that don’t want to do the math, that means Washington saved over $30 million in less than two hours.

McCain had his moments with the Commanders, but you can’t blame the team for trying to save some money to use elsewhere. Wentz, if we’re being honest, was a bust of a move from the very beginning.

Washington has made it clear they want to move in a new direction at quarterback. Sam Howell had a good showing in his first career start at the end of last season. It appears they want to give him a fair shot. Outside of that, they can draft another rookie or sign a veteran quarterback for much cheaper than they were giving Wentz.

They can use that freed-up money (over $17M in available cap space) to help build the offensive line or fix the issues in the secondary and at linebacker. Possibly even used to give Daron Payne that new contract he deserves.

It was clear since Week 6 that Washington would be parting ways with Carson Wentz this offseason. His overall numbers were ugly (11 touchdowns to nine interceptions), and the Commanders weren’t winning with him (2-5 as a starter).

Still, this is the Washington Commanders. Would it really have surprised you if they made the wrong move and kept him on the roster?

Now Washington has a chance at a fresh start. They can use the money saved to help build the roster around Howell. Hopefully, Wentz can find a new home and get his career back on track. But this was the only right move for the Commanders.

The Washington Commanders still have a lot of question marks heading into the offseason. What’s going on with ownership? How will they spend money in free agency? Who’s going to be the quarterback?

It’s hard to complain about the start to the offseason they’ve had, though.

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