Commanders Officially a Retirement Home After Announcing Veteran Defender Signing

Preston Smith’s arrival raises a bigger question than his role: why do the Washington Commanders enter 2025 with the NFL’s oldest roster?

Their 53-man group averages 28.1 years — the first time since 2012 that any team has crossed that mark. The previous highs were the 2023 New Orleans Saints and 2018 Las Vegas Raiders at 27.4.

Washington now has 25 players aged 29 or older, with veterans like Smith, Chase Edmonds, Bobby Wagner, Von Miller, and Zach Ertz stacked onto a lineup already leaning gray.

Experience brings value: leadership, situational savvy, and locker room teaching. That showed in 2024, when they ranked top 10 on third-down defense and survived countless one-score battles.

At the center of this odd build sits 24-year-old Jayden Daniels. The reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year gives Washington both its youth and its window.

“Now he’s able to help develop others and help them fulfill what they can be,” head coach Dan Quinn said.

He gave the credit to Daniels for earning “street cred” through performance.

Daniels represents the franchise’s future, yet he’s surrounded on all sides by players closer to the end than the beginning. Last week’s matchup in Green Bay highlighted the contrast and the difference was visible to the naked eye.

Packers 27 – 18 Commanders.

The Packers boast the NFL’s youngest roster, while Washington hasn’t been this old since 2007 under Joe Gibbs. Daniels’ locker sits between 30-year-old Austin Ekeler and 35-year-old Wagner — a visual reminder of how differently careers are measured in the NFL.

As Wagner joked: “You’d almost think we’re like 200 years old or something.”

The approach isn’t without logic though. GM Adam Peters and Quinn believe veterans speed up culture-building.

Zach Ertz mentors second-year tight end Ben Sinnott, while Wagner models consistency for linebackers half his age. As Ertz explained:

“It’s just his intentionality as far as his routine, the way he works, the way he handles himself.”

The front office calls it calculated: whether 22 or 35, if they can help win, they’re in.

But the risks are obvious.

Older rosters wear down faster, depth evaporates with injuries, and the Commanders already lost Deatrich Wise Jr. for the season.

History offers caution — Washington tried this in 2007 with little payoff. The “oldest roster” tag brings stability if things hold. But collapse if multiple bodies break. Just like it did against the Packers, when their QB Jordan Love threw for 292 yards with 2 TDs, completing 19 out of 31 passes. He rushed for 12 yards as well.

That was enough against old legs in the defense. And now they have added yet another 30+ player to that defense.

Preston Smith might still have some energy left in the tank

In 2025, the Commanders’ gamble is clear: stack the roster with veterans and chase a title while Jayden Daniels is still on a rookie deal.

That approach took another step this week as Washington brought back Preston Smith, the 32-year-old edge rusher who began his career with the franchise in 2015. At 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds, Smith offers versatility across multiple fronts and arrives to fill the void left by Deatrich Wise Jr.’s season-ending torn quadriceps.

On losing Deatrich, Dan Quinn said:

“Yeah, we’ll have to adjust for sure. And the size and the strength that Deatrich plays with on the edge, that’s a real thing. And so, we’ll mix it around.”

Smith’s return comes full circle. Drafted by Washington in the second round a decade ago, he posted 24.5 sacks in four seasons before signing with the Packers.

There, he added 44 more and became a steady presence on the edge.

Last season, he split time with the Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Smith finished with two sacks in eight games.

Across his career, he has 70.5 sacks, 443 tackles, and 163 appearances — production Washington badly needs after losing key starters on defense.

Dan Quinn acknowledged the challenge of replacing Wise, praising his size and strength as “a real thing” on the edge. But Smith provides both production and cultural familiarity, having established himself as a reliable playmaker in Washington before adding consistency in Green Bay. On the NFL’s oldest roster, his leadership and adaptability fit the Commanders’ blueprint: veterans who can steady a defense built on situational awareness and timely pressure.