Commanders Offensive Line Looking to Build on 2025 Success

With all the talk about how the Washington Commanders are adjusting to the changes on both sides of the ball, the offensive line is one unit that returns plenty of familiarity.

One of the expectations yet tasks on general manager Adam Peters’ to-do list was finalize a contract extension with veteran left tackle Laremy Tunsil, which materialized in the early days of free agency. Washington also managed to re-sign left guard Chris Paul, who started all 17 games in 2025, as he looks to hold off Brandon Coleman in 2026. Meanwhile, Sam Cosmi and Josh Conerly both return to anchor the right side of next season’s offensive line.

The one change came at center when the Commanders opted to release former starter Tyler Biadasz, a move that led to a swing at Tyler Linderbaum in free agency before falling short to the Las Vegas Raiders. The Commanders added depth at the position through the draft after adding former Wake Forest and Michigan State starter Matt Gulbin on day three, but the decision to re-sign Nick Allegretti likely gives the unit its final starter.

The former Chiefs draft pick who started all 17 games at left guard for Washington in 2024, Allegretti drew confidence as a candidate to become the full-time starter after tabbing him as a “really intelligent guy.”

“He’s a smart dude and you’ve got to be pretty smart to play center,” Sam Cosmi said of Allegretti. “I always say if you can play guard really well, you can play center so he was able to do it in the 2024 season the whole year. I have full and utter confidence in his ability to play center at a high level.”

As for Cosmi, he’s among the players transitioning to what he described as a “traditional style, NFL style offense” under first-year coordinator David Blough, but he’s also approaching the 2026 season looking to return to form.

Cosmi was limited to nine appearances in 2025 after missing the first six games as he recovered from a torn ACL suffered during the 2024 postseason, while he was placed on injured reserve late in the season after suffering a concussion. Yet in a season when Cosmi allowed just 11 pressures and two sacks on the season and closed the year with six consecutive games without allowing a pressure, there’s confidence in returning to that form as the starting right guard after admitting “I really, really like where I’m at right now.”

“I still was developing my leg the whole offseason but from a standpoint of developing everything else, I think this is the best I’ve felt in a very, very long time just overall. I’ve been able to improve everything in that aspect of physical, getting strong. I feel like the agility aspect of things. I went hard this offseason."

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