Football is nearly back, and when the NFL gets rolling on September 9th with a rematch of Super Bowl LX between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, the Maryland football pipeline will already have plenty of familiar names to watch.
Right now, 25 former Maryland Terrapins are active in the NFL during the 2026 offseason, with 15 in the NFC and 10 in the AFC. No team has more Terps on its roster than the Washington Commanders, who currently have four.
Two of those additions came through free agency in Okonkwo and Cross, both brought in as part of Washington’s push to get younger in 2026 after carrying the oldest roster in the league a season ago. General manager Adam Peters made that goal clear, and the pair fits the plan.
Cross is expected to add a physical edge on defense, with the ability to line up outside, play deep, and work in the box. Okonkwo brings a different kind of problem for defenses: speed, size, and a vertical element that Washington lacked beyond Terry McLaurin.
Diggs was another name many around the team had been circling for months after his release from the Patriots. His arrival gives Washington two receivers who can function like true No. 1 options, with enough big-play juice to win one-on-one matchups. He also brings veteran presence to a young receiving group, and it puts him back in the DMV, where he first made his name as a teen.
Cowart is the newest of the four, signing with Washington just two days ago. He gives the Commanders depth on the interior defensive line after the retirement of DJ Davidson. In 15 games last season with the Chicago Bears, Cowart recorded 26 tackles, including 14 solo stops, and 2.5 sacks.
In Other News...
Maryland Defense Just Took A Hit It May Struggle To Replace
Marylands defensive front got a tough blow in fall camp when sophomore edge rusher Zahir Mathis went down with a lower leg injury. After a freshman season that made him one of the Terps most important pass-rush pieces, Mathis had become a central part of the rotation, giving Maryland a proven edge threat as it tried to build off last years production.
Now the Terps have to recalibrate without him for the foreseeable future, and the timing makes the loss even more painful. Maryland will lean more heavily on Zion Elee and Sidney Stewart to help absorb the snaps and pressure off the edge, but replacing a player with Mathis impact is never simple, especially when camp is already shaping the depth chart. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois Faces A Dangerous Big Ten Test Between Two Huge Games
Illinois is heading into late October with a road trip to Maryland tucked between two of its biggest home dates of the season, and that setup has the feel of a classic Big Ten danger spot. Brad Crawford pointed out the matchup as one to watch, noting that the Terps have enough around quarterback Malik Washington and along the defensive front to make life difficult even if Illinois arrives as the favorite.
For Maryland, the opportunity is obvious: catch an opponent looking ahead to Oregon and Nebraska while still trying to keep its conference momentum intact. Those are the kinds of games that can turn on focus and discipline as much as talent, and the Terps have the pieces to make Illinois earn every bit of progress it has made in the Big Ten. [Read more 🡒]