The Commanders’ Tuesday roster shuffle included plenty of familiar training-camp churn, but one move stood out from the rest: Washington cut veteran safety Will Harris.
It was a swift end to Harris’ lone season in Washington. The eighth-year safety played in nine games and started all nine in 2025, but a fractured fibula and the ensuing IR stint interrupted what turned into a brief stay with the Commanders.
The release itself wasn’t a shock. Mark Tyler left Harris out of his latest 53-man roster projection, and he wasn’t the only one seeing the same thing coming.
Harris had been on the field heavily during the preseason while other established veterans weren’t, and the results weren’t especially convincing. His outing against the Lions, in particular, stood out for the wrong reasons.
That mattered even more with other safeties making stronger cases. Quan Martin put together a standout preseason.
Jeremy Reaves is expected to have a bigger role on defense. Tyler Owens also turned heads in multiple spots during camp, including work in the slot and in the box.
On top of that, Owens and Percy Butler both bring real value on special teams.
Washington also made its own offseason message clear by signing Nick Cross, a safety projected to be an every-down piece in the defensive backfield. Put it all together, and Harris simply no longer looked necessary.
There was even a small sign of where things were headed. During Saturday’s game against Detroit, the Commanders had Stefon Diggs wear Harris’ No. 3 jersey, and Diggs kept it for Monday’s practice. Duplicate numbers happen, but teams usually don’t hand a veteran’s number to someone else unless they’re moving on.
So while the timing of the release was unexpected, the decision itself wasn’t. The Commanders had clearly made up their minds, and the move came quickly. It followed the same kind of clean break the team made when selecting Drew Stevens at kicker.
At that point, there was no reason to keep giving Harris practice reps. That’s a tough reality for him, but one he likely saw coming.
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Harris had one year left on his contract, which is what makes the decision feel like more than a routine roster churn move. The bigger question now is whether his time in Washington is simply over or whether he can land somewhere else and prove the Commanders moved on faster than they needed to, especially with the starting job conversation already looking shaky before the release. [Read more 🡒]
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