The Lowdown on Nick Gates

It has been a busy few days for the Washington Commanders.

First out the bag was the well-received news that stud DT Daron Payne signed a four-year, $90 million contract with the team. There is now significant cap tied up in the interior DL in D.C, but it is refreshing to see the burgundy & gold draft, develop and retain such a great talent.

There then followed a wave of new FA additions.

Travelling the same path as new Assistant Coach Eric Bieniemy, RT/RG Andrew Wylie arrived from Kansas City. Wylie had a few problems in Kansas with pressures and sacks, but you’d like to think Bieniemy knows enough about the seven-year veteran to a three-year, $24m contract. I would be interested in the guaranteed money of that deal.

The LB unit was boosted by the signing of Cody Barton. The former Seattle Seahawk arrives on a one-year deal, and whilst there were no evident tears from the Seahawks faithful, there was an indication that he was a guy who might be trending up.

If nothing else, he doesn’t appear to run in quicksand like some of the veterans to have played the position for the Commanders since Rivera arrived.

And an intriguing acquisition was the pick-up of former New York Giant, Nick Gates, who can play both the Centre and Guard positions.

Here at UKHTTC, we welcomed back Giants aficionado Sunday Night Lights to answer a few questions about Gates.

An overall look at Giants Twitter seemed to indicate that Nick Gates was valued by the Big Blue faithful. Does that resonate with you too?

He had a good 2022 but Gates by name, Gates by nature.

Your OL is only as good as its weakest link and that was Gates once too often during his Meadowlands tenure. He’s been susceptible to penalties and most of that is due to inadequate strength. Maybe daily pancaking by Daron Payne will make him commit in the weight room.

Gates suffered a terrible injury in 2021, ironically against Washington. He did, however, suit up ten times in 2022. Was there any obvious post injury downside in his play?

I would say he outperformed expectations. The injury didn’t seem to play a huge role and, in many ways, he looked a lot better at times from past seasons.

He went fist to fist vs Aaron Donald! Not something you see every day?!

Brave or Stupid…I’ll let you decide.

In summary, what kind of OL guy have the Commanders landed in Nick Gates and were you sad to see him go?

A functional Lineman who has the versatility to play in multiple spots. He certainly seems more comfortable at Centre.

It’s 3 years and $18m which will look more like one year $6m on the breakdown and all-round it is a team friendly deal that probably works out well for all parties.

Am I sad to see him go? Not really. We have eleven picks in the 2023 draft and cheaper alternatives with higher upside will be available.