The Washington Commanders have spent the offseason stacking up bodies on defense, and that’s created a brutal reality for one of their recent draft picks.
Javontae Jean-Baptiste, a seventh-round selection in 2024, once looked like the kind of long shot who could hang around. He made the roster as a rookie, appeared in 12 games, started one, and picked up his first career sack in Washington’s Week 3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football.
But Year 2 never really got off the ground. Injuries limited him to three appearances in 2025, and now his path to surviving the roster crunch looks almost nonexistent.
That’s especially true with Washington shifting into a new 3-4 look under Daronte Jones. In that setup, the Commanders’ defensive ends are expected to function more like linebackers, and the room is crowded.
Odafe Oweh and either Dorance Armstrong Jr. or K’Lavon Chaisson are expected to start, while Deatrich Wise Jr. remains in the mix and Charles Omenihu was added for depth. Drake Jackson, the former San Francisco 49ers second-round pick, is also back healthy after a long absence.
Then came another blow to Jean-Baptiste’s chances: Washington used a fifth-round pick on Tennessee pass-rusher Joshua Josephs. That pushes the number of players likely ahead of Jean-Baptiste to seven, and the Commanders probably won’t keep more than five.
That likely leaves Oweh, Armstrong, Chaisson, Omenihu and Josephs as the favorites. Jackson or Wise would already be a surprise to make it, and Jean-Baptiste making the cut would be a stunner.
The talent was there in flashes, but the opportunity never really opened up in Washington. At this point, Jean-Baptiste is left hoping another team is willing to give him a shot after what looks like an inevitable release.
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