Dan Quinn and the Commanders are cooking up something big, and it’s not just a one-course meal. With Dan Quinn at the helm and Jayden Daniels now leading the charge, the expectations aren’t just high, they’re sky-high. Add a mountain of cap space to play with, the Commanders are ready to build something that actually going to last. Cherry on the top? They just traded for the 49ers‘ wide receiver, Deebo Samuel.

The 29-year-old is all set to pair with Terry McLaurin in 2025 and let’s just say the second-year QB, Jayden Daniels just got a solid crew to lead in 2025. But let’s be real—one big signing doesn’t make a dynasty. After all, the Commanders stop at “good enough,” never making it to “great.” Long story short: this is just the first step for them and not the final step—at least that’s what ESPN Radio host Evan Cohen believes.

On Monday, Cohen talked about the 49ers trading Samuel to the Commanders. And with Washington’s point of view, he believes that with a hefty salary cap space in 2025, they can build a solid team for the next season. “Here’s the most amazing thing,” Cohen said. “Deebo has not been great per Deebo standards recently. But they (Commanders) acquired Deebo, take on the 17.5 ($17.5 million salary hit) give up a 5th.”

Well, if we see this from the Commanders’ POV, the team just had the best trade this offseason. As per Over The Cap, the Washington team has over $80M cap space in 2025. That said, the team will take just $17.5M salary hit and a firth-round pick in exchange for Deebo. However, Cohen kinda put a notice for Dan Quinn that “This is STEP ONE, not the final step for the Washington Commanders.” Translation?

Well, he believes that the team’s not perfect as yet. BUT! With an extravagant cap space available, they could make a solid roster this offseason. Cohen’s suggestions? “If they want to get in on Myles Garrett, they could still do that. If they want to get in on Tee Higgins, they can still do that.”

Now, let’s be real—the Commanders currently have a strong O-line considering Jayden Daniels is the reigning Rookie of the Year. Plus, the team just added Deebo Samuel to pair him with McLaurin. Now, Cohen thinks that if the Commanders want to sign Higgins, they can still do that given their whopping cap space. But! But!! That’s not probably gonna happen considering the Bengals are expected to franchise tag Higgins for the second consecutive year.

On the flip side, Myles Garrett has made it clear that he wants to win a Super Bowl and the Cleveland Browns are not the right place for this. That means the Commanders will never get a better option to make their D-line stronger than bringing in Garrett. After all, Dan Quinn and his crew also want to win the Lombardi in 2025.

All in all, the Commanders can be one of the strongest team that will enter the 2025 season. With Quinn as the head coach, Daniels coming with a year of experience, and now Samuel is joining the clan as well. However, to win a Lombardi, the Commanders still have a lot to cover this offseason. Meanwhile, the 49ers look like a complete mess at this point.

Is it a rebuild or reset for Kyle Shahahan’s 49ers?

At this point, it looks like the Niners ain’t tearing it down, they’re just giving the roster a fresh coat of paint. First, they traded Deebo Samuel, and now the rumors say they’re going to trade Brandon Aiyuk as well. But the big question still looms: why’re they trading their key starters? Well, Evan Cohen believes that Kyle Shahahan and the 49ers are trying to clear salary space to afford the QB, Brock Purdy’s contract. That sounds odd, isn’t it?

“How do we look at this relative to the direct response to maybe paying Brock Purdy, right? Is this what we think the Niners are doing,” Cohen asked his co-hosts. Cohen’s co-host Chris Canty joined him, who gave a straightforward and analytical breakdown of the situation. “To me, this is one of those moves that doesn’t signal a rebuild but it is a reset for the 49ers—at least on the offensive side of the ball, because off the heels of trading Deebo Samuel, we get the reports that the 49ers are listening to calls for Brandon Aiyuk as well, which is odd in itself,” Canty said.

Now, here’s the thing: Canty believes that the 49ers are trading their key players to clear the salary space for Purdy, there’s no denying that. However, the San Francisco team is also looking to sign young talents for Purdy. The reason? Well, according to Canty, Samuel and Aiyuk have seen better days with the 49ers and now the team probably wants to move on from them.

On top of that, it’s not just they have to take care of Purdy’s contract. The 49ers have a bunch of players who are eyeing contract extensions. “They got a lot of guys on the defensive side of the ball that need new contracts too,” Canty continued. “I mean, two starters in their secondary need new contracts. Dre Greenlaw is a free agent. They got a couple of offensive linemen at a free agent, so there is a lot of work that needs to be done just to retain their own before we start talking about them improving on the football team they had this past year.”

At the end of the day, it’s safe to say that trading Deebo Samuel brought two conclusions. On one side, Dan Quinn and Commanders are looking to build a strong roster in 2025. Then there’s 49ers who aren’t just rebuilding their roster, but completely resetting it. Let’s see if that works out for them.