The Washington Commanders have not stopped making moves to sharpen up their 53-man roster ahead of the 2024 season opener at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 8.
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The latest of those moves came just 48 hours ahead of kickoff, when they released veteran wide receiver and former Super Bowl champion Byron Pringle on Sept. 6.
“On Friday, the Commanders, conducting their final practice before flying to Tampa, released the wide receiver, who came into the league undrafted in 2018,” wrote USA Today’s Evan Lambert. “The majority of those following the Commanders closely believed that Pringle had made the 53-man roster to provide a veteran receiver who would also return kickoffs.”
Pringle, who is in his seventh season, played in all 17 games for the Commanders in 2023 and had 14 receptions for 161 yards and no touchdowns. He signed with Washington on a 1-year, $1.08 million contract in March 2023.
From Undrafted to Super Bowl Champion
Pringle starred at Butler (Kan.) Community College before transferring to Kansas State, where he was a 3-time All-Big 12 selection as a wide receiver and return specialist.
Pringle went undrafted in 2018 and signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as a free agent but was injured and spent his first season on injured reserve. He made the team’s 53-man roster in 2019 and won a Super Bowl that season. Pringle returned in 2020 and began to make his name as a return specialist, returning a kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown in a Week 7 win over the Denver Broncos. Pringle also played in a 30-9 loss to the Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV, where he had 1 reception for 3 yards.
In 2021, Pringle had a career season. He finished with a career high of 1,189 all-purpose yards and 5 touchdowns, with 60 receptions for 568 yards and an additional 621 yards on kickoff returns.
Pringle played the last two seasons on 1-yer contracts with the Chicago Bears in 2022 and the Commanders in 2023.
Recently-Signed WR in Starting Lineup for Opener
The Commanders signed veteran wide receiver Noah Brown on Aug. 28 and had him listed as one of the starting wide receivers alongside Terry McLaurin and Olamide Zaccheaus headed into the opener against the Buccaneers.
On paper, Brown seems like he could be a much better option than Pringle.
Brown, who is in his eighth season, has over 500 receiving yards in each of the last two seasons. He had a career-high 74 receptions for 555 yards and 3 touchdowns with the Dallas Cowboys in 2022 and had 33 receptions for a career-high 567 yards and 2 touchdowns in just 10 games for the Houston Texans in 2023. Brown also averaged a career-high 17.2 yards per reception.
The Commanders are starting a new era in 2024 with rookie starting quarterback Jayden Daniels and a new head coach in Dan Quinn, who spent the last 3 seasons as defensive coordinator for the Cowboys and was head coach for the Atlanta Falcons from 2015 to 2020.
Washington also added a wide receiver in the 2024 draft with third-round pick (No. 100 overall) Luke McCaffrey, who had career highs of 71 receptions, 992 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior at Rice in 2023. McCaffrey switched from quarterback to wide receiver for his final 2 college seasons.
