Taking a look at the top 10 Washington Commanders under contract in 2026, NFL salary cap projections and the team’s highest-paid players.
After going all the way to the NFC Championship in the 2024-25 season, expectations were sky high for the Commanders heading into last season. Unfortunately, things did not go anything close to what was expected. Quarterback Jayden Daniels suffered some significant injuries that hampered him all year, the defense was atrocious, and it ended up in a regime change at the head coach position as well. With a ton of cap space this offseason, the Commanders will only have themselves to blame if they can’t turn themselves into a contender heading into next season.
Below, we will take a look at the 10 best players that the Washington Commanders still have under contract for next season. We will also look at NFL salary cap projections and the top cap hits on the team in 2026.
All Washington Commanders salary cap data below is accurate as of February 22nd, 2026.
10 Best Washington Commanders Under Contract in 2026
These are the 10 best players the Washington Commanders still have under contract for the 2026 season, in the order of their current salary cap hit. It’s important to remember that we are taking a look at the best players, not necessarily those with the biggest cap hit.
- Da’Ron Payne, DL ($30M)
- Laremy Tunsil, LT ($24.9M)
- Terry McLaurin, WR ($18.1M)
- Tyler Biadasz, C ($11M)
- Jayden Daniels, QB ($10.3M)
- Mike Sainristil, CB ($2.1M)
- Ben Sinnott, TE ($2M)
- Trey Amos, CB ($1.7M)
- Luke McCaffrey, WR ($1.5M)
- Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB ($1M)
Highest Washington Commanders Cap Hits in 2026
As things stand today, here is a list of the 10 highest player hits against the Washington Commanders’ salary cap in 2026. Obviously, contracts can be manipulated, and a player could be cut or traded as well. In the case a player would be released, we have listed a player’s dead cap, which indicates how much money they would count against the cap should they be cut.
- DL, Da’Ron Payne, $28M, ($11.2M dead cap)
- LT, Laremy Tunsil, $24.9M, ($14.4M)
- G, Samuel Cosmi, $20.3M, ($27.5M)
- CB, Marshon Lattimore, $18.5M, ($0M)
- WR, Terry McLaurin, $18.1M, ($42.5M)
- DL, Javon Kinlaw, $16.2M, ($23.2M)
- EDGE, Dorance Armstrong, $12.1M, ($9M)
- LB, Frankie Luvu, $11.3M, ($6.9M)
- C, Tyler Biadasz, $11M, ($8.1M)
- QB, Jayden Daniels, $10.3M, ($22.3M)
NFL Salary Cap Projections 2026
The league has informed teams that the 2026 NFL salary cap will be between $301.2 million and $305.7 million per team. Below, we will assume a salary cap of $303.45 million, using data from Spotrac.
| Rk | TM | Current Players | Cap Space | Dead Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TEN | 52 | $97,776,638 | $5,135,657 |
| 2 | LV | 49 | $87,821,212 | $35,238,302 |
| 3 | LAC | 52 | $82,100,325 | $478,183 |
| 4 | NYJ | 51 | $78,990,889 | $88,996,619 |
| 5 | WAS | 52 | $66,506,531 | $12,592,731 |
| 6 | SEA | 57 | $63,421,971 | $483,724 |
| 7 | CIN | 63 | $52,675,496 | $11,248,222 |
| 8 | PIT | 60 | $44,768,173 | $7,934,338 |
| 9 | LAR | 53 | $44,390,412 | $8,570,436 |
| 10 | IND | 60 | $34,952,488 | $2,093,644 |
| 11 | NE | 64 | $34,800,699 | $20,364,345 |
| 12 | ARI | 59 | $32,813,790 | $14,951,854 |
| 13 | ATL | 50 | $26,181,296 | $4,660,354 |
| 14 | DEN | 55 | $26,033,090 | $1,218,922 |
| 15 | BAL | 48 | $22,673,001 | $12,262,715 |
| 16 | SF | 59 | $22,453,414 | $36,327,740 |
| 17 | TB | 52 | $14,479,885 | $253,922 |
| 18 | CAR | 54 | $9,875,093 | $14,607,844 |
| 19 | NYG | 58 | $7,030,099 | $216,988 |
| 20 | PHI | 56 | $3,679,036 | $53,387,574 |
| 21 | MIA | 52 | -$3,699,267 | $73,949,385 |
| 22 | GB | 66 | -$4,344,831 | $17,171,715 |
| 23 | HOU | 54 | -$8,042,142 | $39,318,780 |
| 24 | DET | 49 | -$9,151,960 | $9,287,290 |
| 25 | CHI | 53 | -$9,503,349 | $917,995 |
| 26 | JAX | 61 | -$12,074,552 | $50,977,118 |
| 27 | KC | 54 | -$14,403,869 | $215,642 |
| 28 | BUF | 59 | -$15,187,073 | $30,093,166 |
| 29 | CLE | 55 | -$19,541,898 | $39,763,849 |
| 30 | DAL | 54 | -$25,890,723 | $24,344,178 |
| 31 | MIN | 54 | -$40,632,414 | $5,608,074 |
| 32 | NO | 66 | -$41,774,364 | $90,590,412 |
