Commanders cut ties with Everett, Collins amid flurry of moves originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Commanders were the busiest team in the NFL on Wednesday with a flurry of moves just before the new league year began at 4 p.m.
Washington released defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis and guard Ereck Flowers — transactions reported earlier in the day — but early Wednesday afternoon the team also announced it has released safety Deshazor Everett. That is in addition to the previously-reported release of fellow safety Landon Collins becoming official at the deadline.
Everett was involved in a fatal car crash in December, which took the life of his passenger and girlfriend, 29-year-old Olivia S. Peters. Everett was hospitalized with serious but non-life threatening injuries. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter for his role in the crash on Feb. 8.
Washington’s release of Everett will save the team $2 million in salary cap space, according to the Washington Post. Overall, releasing Everett, Collins, Ioannidis and Flowers saves the Commanders roughly $30.88 million in cap space.
Collins’ release has been designated as a post-June 1 designation, though, so that money (about $12 million) will not be available to use until June 2.
So, after all the moves made on Wednesday, the Commanders find themselves without much depth at safety, guard, or interior defensive line. One good bit of news was that running back J.D. McKissic announced he was backtracking on his choice to depart for Buffalo and will instead return to Washington on a two-year, $7 million deal.
Losing Everett and Collins, who had been used as a hybrid linebacker-safety much of last season, means that Washington is left with Jeremy Reaves, Kam Curl, Bobby McCain, and Darrick Forest at safety.
The Commanders re-signed McCain to a two-year deal on Tuesday. He, like much of Washington’s secondary, saw a pleasant uptick in production in the latter half of 2021.
Since free agency started on Monday, the Commanders have lost six players, added one (QB Carson Wentz), and re-signed four with plenty more moves to come as NFL free agency officially opens.
