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The Washington Commanders’ signing of defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw early in free agency was met with plenty of ‘what the heck is Adam Peters doing’ jokes around the NFL. Some even wondered if NFL newsbreakers meant the Commanders had signed Kinlaw’s former San Francisco 49ers teammate, Javon Hargrave, instead of Kinlaw.
Several NFL analysts called Washington’s signing of Kinlaw the worst move early in free agency because the Commanders gave him a three-year, $45 million contract. A former first-round pick of the 49ers in the 2020 NFL draft, San Francisco didn’t pick up the fifth-year option on Kinlaw’s rookie contract, making him a free agent after the 2023 season. He spent the 2024 season with the New York Jets, where he started all 17 games, recording 40 tackles and 4.5 sacks.
It was Kinlaw’s best season of his young NFL career and the second consecutive year that he played in all 17 games.
What was Kinlaw’s connection to Washington? Peters, hired as Washington’s general manager before the 2024 season, helped draft Kinlaw in the first round out of South Carolina in 2020 when he was a high-ranking member of San Francisco’s front office. There’s also Darryl Tapp, Kinlaw’s former assistant defensive line coach with the 49ers.
“Adam Peters, bro,” Kinlaw told Bryan Colbert Jr. on “Next Man Up” in March. “He’s always believed in me, that energy he gives me, that’s what I wanna work for. Somebody that really believes in me. And Darryl Tapp, you know, he was my assistant D-Line coach in San Francisco. So, he knows me as well, so they know what I put into the game. They know that I’m always striving to be the best version of myself every day, no matter what. It’s just great to be around people that believes in you. It makes you work that much harder, versus you in a place where you don’t know if nobody really believe in you.”
Coming to Washington was also a homecoming of sorts for Kinlaw, who spent part of his childhood in northeast Washington, D.C, although it wasn’t the easiest time in his life.
For those who criticized the Kinlaw signing, maybe Peters, Dan Quinn and Tapp know more than you. Maybe, Peters and Tapp have watched Kinlaw’s progression over the past two seasons and feel like his best football is ahead of him. And maybe Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. have a better plan for how to employ Kinlaw.
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