The Washington Commanders made a modest investment in free agent edge rusher Dorance Armstrong in March 2024 when they signed him to a 3-year, $33 million contract after he spent his first 6 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys.
Just 4 games into his tenure with the Commanders, you can make an argument Armstrong is already one of great free-agent steals of the offseason, with Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox singling him out as one of 32 “Hidden Gems” on every NFL roster.
Armstrong’s strong start even drew a wild comparison from Knox — on an analytical level — to one of the NFL’s elite defensive players in Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt, a 5-time NFL All-Pro and the 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
“The 27-year-old has started all four games and has already racked up two sacks and an impressive 10 quarterback pressures. For context, that’s three more pressures than Steelers superstar T.J. Watt has notched through four games — though we’re certainly not suggesting that Armstrong is on Watt’s level,” Knox wrote. “After the Commanders traded both Chase Young and Montez Sweat in 2023, it was fair to wonder who would emerge as the team’s new difference-maker on the edge. The answer is Armstrong.”
Commanders Criticized for ’24 FA Signings
The preseason buzz on Armstrong and the Commanders’ free-agent signings wasn’t great.
The Landry Hat’s Jerry Trotta critiqued Washingtons free-agent signings by the franchise and new head coach Dan Quinn.
Those signings were Armstrong, center Tyler Biadasz (3 years, $30 million), tight end Zach Ertz (1 year, $3 million) and running back Austin Ekeler (2 years, $8.4 million) — contracts totaling $76.4 million of the $190 million the Commanders spent on new contracts in the offseason.
Quinn was the defensive coordinator on the Cowboys the last 3 seasons, where he got to know every aspect of Armstrong’s game.
“Of course, splurging in free agency doesn’t always equate to winning,” Trotta wrote. “Quinn overpaid a pair of Cowboys free agents in Dorance Armstrong and Tyler Biadasz and signed a 33-year-old tight end in Zach Ertz who’s played only 17 games the last two seasons. Any of those moves could blow up in Quinn’s face …”
Armstrong’s Miserable College Experience
You will find few NFL players who had a college football experience akin to what Armstrong went through in terms of losing like what Armstrong endured in 3 seasons playing for head coach David Beaty at the University of Kansas.
In Armstrong’s 3 seasons at Kansas from 2015 to 2017, the Jayhawks went 3-33. They were 0-12 in 2015, 2-10 in 2016 and 1-11 in 2017, which was Armstrong’s final season before he left school with one year of eligibility remaining.
The Cowboys selected Armstrong in the fourth round (No. 116 overall) of the 2018 NFL draft and he thrived despite never becoming a full-time starter. In 6 seasons, Armstrong played in 93 games with just 14 starts. He left Dallas with 23.5 career sacks, with 21.0 sacks in his final 3 seasons, including a career-high 8.5 sacks in 2022.
“We believe our team goes as far as our D-line goes and that’s our motto,” Armstrong told Washington, D.C., TV station WUSA in Aug. 2024. “With that being said, we’ve got to come out here hard, fast strong, and just lead the team.”
