'Very surreal' for Commanders DT Eddie Goldman to be coming home

New Washington Commanders defensive tackle Eddie Goldman, like new teammate Javon Kinlaw, is coming home.

Signing a new free agent deal with the Commanders not only gives Goldman a chance to come back to where it all began to continue his NFL career, but it could also help him reach heights he never did with the Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons in the past.

After departing the D.C. area to head to Florida State, it took until just after his 31st birthday to come back home, and while Goldman is acutely aware of that fact, he's also focused on the task at hand to make sure he gets to stay home for a while.

"It means a lot. It's very exciting. It's very surreal," Goldman says about playing for the Commanders. "But my thing, I don't try to get too high on that. I just kind of keep it level and just play it out, see how it goes."

Goldman's specialty is run defense. Maybe not filling up the stat sheet with tackles, tackles for losses, and stops, but by being a massive human being who is good at staying that way no matter how opposing offenses try to minimize him.

That is something Washington is in dire need of after coming in near dead last in run defense last season.

While Goldman hopes to turn his homecoming into production, he's also coming to Washington because of what it offers. Something he observed while playing for the Falcons, against the Commanders, in 2024.

"The team seemed like a tight-knit group and to be a part of that is special. You can't find that at a lot of organizations," Goldman says.

After spending some time out of football handling what he describes as an off-field personal matter, Goldman says that part of things is handled now and he's looking forward to building off his first year back in 2024 while the Commanders are hoping to get the best version of him now that he's had some time to knock the rust off.