It’s not often an NFL front office guy looks in the mirror and owns the miss. When it happens, it tends to stand out.
John Elway once said his biggest mistake as Broncos general manager was passing on Josh Allen in the 2018 NFL Draft. Howie Roseman told Sports Illustrated that trading a late-round pick for Andy Dalton was a mistake.
Those are the kind of admissions that make you notice because they’re so rare. And then there was Vikings general manager Kwesi Adolfo-Mensah, who was fired by ownership less than 24 hours after publicly saying letting Sam Darnold walk because they had drafted J.J.
McCarthy was a mistake.
That kind of backdrop helps explain why Adam Peters has stayed so quiet about his own errors.
On Oct. 9, Commanders beat reporter Candi Waller posted a tweet that, on its face, didn’t look like much.
But she later followed it up with another message that included, in all caps, “USE YOUR CLUES.” She then repeated that same phrase as a reply to a number of people who quote-tweeted her original post.
That’s the part that has people asking what she knows.
The read here is simple: Peters wants his draft picks to work, and the only way that happens is if they get on the field. Coaches decide who plays.
Period. But Waller’s comments seem to hint at something more complicated inside the building - maybe friction between the general manager and the coaching staff over which players keep getting opportunities.
A lot of this appears tied to the release of Kaytron “Fatman” Allen from the active roster, though the picture has only gotten clearer with time. Mike Sainristil opened the season as a starter on the outside opposite Amik Robertson, then struggled badly and saw his snaps shrink week by week. Now he’s a reserve and a special teams player.
Tight end Ben Sinnott has gotten more snaps, but he still hasn’t been used in the passing game.
Brandon Coleman, meanwhile, remains a glaring issue at left tackle, and there’s a case to be made that he should have been benched already. The question is whether Peters is behind Coleman staying in the lineup because of Coleman’s status as a 2024 third-round pick.
The same kind of suspicion hangs over other decisions. Did Peters force Nick Allegretti on the staff? Did he push his draft pick Matt Gulbin on Dan Quinn at right guard after Sam Cosmi went out with a concussion, even though it was obvious to even the most casual fan that Gulbin was overmatched?
Every general manager gets things wrong. If you’re hitting on more than 60% of your draft picks and major free-agent signings, you’re doing something right. What separates the good from the bad is whether they can admit the mistake and pivot.
Right now, that’s not how Peters looks.
He’s still leaning on the aging-veteran approach he used in 2025: Stefon Diggs, Austin Ekeler, Craig Reynolds, Van Jefferson, Lucas Patrick after the Allegretti experiment, Rasul Douglas, Fabian Moreau and Isaac Yiadom.
The team has also watched two useful running backs disappear, including Robert Henry Jr., who was signed off the practice squad, and Fatman, who was cut with hopes of making it back to the practice squad but was claimed by the Dolphins.
The “wonder boy” experiment at center this offseason is another move that should be looked at by ownership.
And with the offensive line depth already thin, going into the season that way has been crushing this team.
Sainristil seems to be the first player the staff is finally moving away from, but it raises the obvious question of how hard Peters pushed before accepting that he wasn’t working. Are Newton, Sinnott, Coleman and McCaffrey next?
There’s no doubt here that Peters wants this to be his team. And if that means he views Dan Quinn as a dead man walking, then maybe Waller’s “USE YOUR CLUES” wasn’t so subtle after all.
In Other News...
Commanders Still Have A Few Young Reasons For Hope
A rough 1-4-1 start has left Washington looking for any signs that the early season might not be slipping away, and a few younger pieces have given the coaching staff at least a reason to keep watching. Sonny Styles has been one of the more noticeable standouts on defense, Jayden Daniels has kept competing through injuries and some mistakes, Antonio Williams has added value as a receiver, and Amik Robertson has brought a steadier presence to the secondary.
The defense, in particular, has found some energy from KLavon Chaisson, whose pressure has shown up in ways Washington badly needs as it tries to stop long drives and flip field position. For a team still sorting through a difficult opening stretch, those performances do not fix everything, but they do matter because they suggest the roster is not short on young players worth building around as the season moves forward. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Quinn Faces Pressure In A Game Washington Cannot Waste
The Commanders come out of their bye week into one of the most consequential games on their schedule, a Sunday night divisional matchup with the Eagles at home. Philadelphia is not the same group Washington has spent years chasing. The Eagles have been hit hard by injuries and roster turnover, and this trip comes with a chance for Washington to reset its season against a rival still trying to sort through major changes.
For Dan Quinn, though, the backdrop goes beyond the standings. Washingtons recent form has left little margin for error, and a home game like this is the kind that can shape how the rest of the season is viewed. In a division where every result seems to linger, the Commanders cannot afford to let this one slip away if they want to change the tone around the team. [Read more 🡒]
Jim Harbaugh Is Suddenly Facing Questions Chargers Fans Never Expected
The middle of the NFL season always starts to sharpen the focus on the people on the sideline, and Dan Quinn has found himself in that spotlight as the Commanders try to steady a choppy stretch. Washington has had enough issues on the field to make every decision feel bigger than it should, and the pressure around the coach is only getting louder as the team tries to keep pace in a season that has already delivered too many setbacks.
A recent loss only added to the unease, and the Commanders are now dealing with the kind of ripple effects that can change the tone around a locker room fast. For Quinn, the concerns are no longer just about results, but about how Washington is being managed through the most unforgiving part of the schedule, with every misstep inviting a fresh round of questions about where this team is headed next. [Read more 🡒]