The Washington Commanders made two surprising moves, cutting offensive lineman Ereck Flowers and defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis on Wednesday before the start of free agency.
By releasing the two, Washington saved an estimated $16.8 million with the salary cap.
Ioannidis signed a three-year, $21.7 million extension in 2019. He was a part of a stacked defensive tackle rotation with Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne and Tim Settle.
Settle agreed to a two-year deal with the Buffalo Bills during the first day of the NFL’s legal tampering period. Moving on from Ioannidis is surprising because they now have no established depth behind Allen and Payne.
It’s even more surprising to his agent, Alan Herman. Herman told the Associated Press, Washington executive Rob Rogers lied to him and fellow agent Jared Fox during a meeting at the scouting combine earlier this month by saying the team had no plans to release Ioannidis.
“We don’t particularly care to be lied to our face,” Herman said. “They took him out of the free agent market now for two days. That puts us now at a disadvantage because other teams have paid other defensive linemen contracts, and (Ioannidis) hasn’t been able to take advantage of that. That’s not the way you conduct business in the National Football League.”
Matt Ioannidis now hits the market the day of the start of free agency. He’s missed out on the legal tampering period. That’s where the big contracts are usually handed out.
Keep in mind, Washington’s meeting with Ioannidis’ agent occurred before the Commanders acquired quarterback Carson Wentz in a trade from the Indianapolis Colts. Wentz will account for a $28.3 million cap hit in 2022.
In fairness to Washington, the cuts in the pie changed after landing Wentz. Releasing some of their bigger salaries was expected from that point on. Paying out $8.3 million for a third defensive tackle was no longer feasible.
