This $2 Million RB Could Be Washington's Secret Weapon in 2026 - Here's Why
The Washington Commanders had an eventful offseason. General manager Adam Peters handed edge rusher Odafe Oweh a four-year, $100 million deal to fix the pass rush that ranked near the bottom of the league last year.
Linebacker Leo Chenal, safety Nick Cross, corner Amik Robertson, and defensive tackle Tim Settle Jr. all signed multi-year contracts as well, while Daronte Jones took over as the defensive coordinator.
On offense, David Blough got promoted to offensive coordinator, replacing Kliff Kingsbury, who is now the assistant head coach of the Rams, and tight end Chig Okonkwo got a three-year, $27 million deal. But Washington also said goodbye to a lot of familiar faces, including Deebo Samuel, Bobby Wagner, Marshon Lattimore, Jonathan Jones, and center Tyler Biadasz. The backfield also lost Austin Ekeler and Chris Rodriguez Jr., who both did not re-sign.
The Commanders used their seventh overall pick on Ohio State’s star linebacker Sonny Styles in the 2026 NFL draft, then grabbed Clemson receiver Antonio Williams in the third round, Tennessee edge rusher Joshua Josephs in the fifth, and Penn State running back Kaytron Allen in the sixth.
Yet, even with all of these new additions, the one player who could make the sneakiest impact in 2026 is running back Rachaad White, who signed a one-year, $2 million deal with Washington in March.
CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan notably flagged White as a sleeper bargain earlier this week after Dan Quinn praised the running back coming out of OTAs and minicamp.
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White spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after going No. 91 overall in 2022. He broke out in 2023 with 990 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns, along with 549 receiving yards and three receiving scores. Then, the franchise selected Bucky Irving in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft, who took over the lead role and hasn’t looked back since.
As the No. 2 back in Tampa last year, White rushed for just 572 yards and four touchdowns on 132 carries (4.3 yards per carry), along with 218 receiving yards on 40 catches (5.4 yards per catch). Though modest on the surface, he’s rushed for over 1,000 yards and racked up more than 500 receiving yards over the last two seasons as a backup. White also finished with an 80.9 overall PFF grade (12th among qualified backs) last year, with zero fumbles and zero drops.
He now arrives in Washington on a one-year prove-it deal where he could be the perfect complement to breakout rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt. The assumption is that JCM will take on a larger role after a strong rookie campaign in which he rushed for 805 yards and eight touchdowns on 175 carries, averaging 4.6 yards per carry. But there’s no guarantee, and Croskey-Merritt doesn’t offer much upside as a receiver, which is where White steps in.
Running back can be one of the hardest positions to predict, and White’s dual-threat ability as a pass catcher gives him arguably the most upside of anyone in Washington’s backfield. If JCM doesn’t take a step forward, or worse, regresses, White could easily steal the starting job. At worst, he’s the receiving back Croskey-Merritt isn’t. He’s got the connection to make it work, too, as White and Jayden Daniels played together for two seasons at Arizona State.
If White rediscovers his 2023 form, he plays his way into a real payday either in Washington or somewhere else, while giving the Commanders a run game reliable enough to make a real push atop the NFC East.
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This story was originally published June 19, 2026 at 6:59 PM.