Commanders begin massive roster overhaul — and more

The Washington Commanders are overhauling their roster, much like they did entering the 2024 season.

Don't believe for a second that Adam Peters and Dan Quinn believe their 2025 season was derailed only by injuries. Of course, there were injuries. Moreover, there were many injuries. But Peters and Quinn know the team didn't look like the 2024 team in their home opener against the Giants, and then they were completely outplayed by the Packers in Week 2 on a Thursday Night.

Peters and Quinn also know their defense stunk in 2024 and again in 2025. They made the move to rid themselves of both coordinators, hiring two first-time NFL coordinators in David Blough and Daronte Jones.

The many reserves on the Commanders this season will be new reserves. When injuries hit, the backups were a huge drop off. Quinn and Peters aren't wasting any time. They aren't bringing back Michael Deiter, Robbie Chosen, DeMarcus Walker, Gee Scott Jr, Kevon Seymour, River Cracraft, among others. Last week, Tyler Biadasz was a surprise release. The starting center for 2024 and 2025 dropped off some in 2025, and DQ and AP are determined to raise the bar this season.

The Washington #Commanders released OL Michael Deiter today - with their season over

Did Adam Peters try to do #49ers GM John Lynch a playoff solid? 👀 pic.twitter.com/aRPJmORBfP

— 49ers & NFL News 24/7 (@49ersSportsTalk) January 7, 2026

Who have the Commanders signed thus far before free agency begins next week? Punter Tress Way, G/T Andrew Wylie, C/G Nick Allegretti, DE Deatrich Wise and DT Shy Tuttle. That's it, Commanders fans. Don't be surprised if 25 players who played last year do not return to the Commanders in 2025 — or more. Hey, even kicker Jake Moody was not tendered a contract. Now, the Commanders could still choose to sign Moody later, if they desire to sign him. But for now, isn't it more evidence that DQ and AP are moving toward cleaning out much of their current house?

We don't even know if Marcus Mariota is coming back for a third season to back up Jayden Daniels. We do know that at season's end, Mariota spoke very highly of Dan Quinn. However, he also spoke very highly of Kliff Kingsbury, who is no longer with the Commanders.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Massive roster overhaul begins for 2026

The stress of the scandal that engulfed cheating Olympic biathlete Sturla Holm Laegreid caused him to lose weight. It was one of the most remarkable moments of the Winter Olympics.

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia has been cleared by FIFA to select Rani Khedira, a former Germany youth international and brother of Sami Khedira, for the World Cup in North America.

The 32-year-old Union Berlin midfielder is the younger brother of Sami Khedira, who played on Germany’s 2014 World Cup-winning team. They are eligible for Germany and Tunisia through their parents.

The Tunisian soccer federation and FIFA announced late Wednesday that Khedira’s application to switch national eligibility was approved.

The federation posted a “Welcome Home” message on its Instagram account for Khedira to begin playing for the team known as the Eagles of Carthage.

Tunisia is in a World Cup group with the Netherlands, Japan and the winner of a European playoffs bracket this month that could be Ukraine. Tunisia's first two games are in Monterrey, Mexico, before playing the Dutch in Kansas City.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Barcelona have two priorities for the summer transfer window, and one of them is a central defender. Despite Director of Football Deco declaring that they had one too many at the position last summer, it seems they will look to make an addition at the position this summer to cover the loss of Inigo Martinez.

It seems Andreas Christensen will be offered a new deal to extend his contract for next season, despite having played just 23 matches in the last two seasons. Meanwhile Ronald Araujo has started just once since November following his mental health break, and Gerard Martin has been required to cover in central defence, leaving a very different picture to the one Barcelona started the season with.

Nathan Ake is preferred option for Deco

In the January transfer window, Barcelona were also linked with a move for a central defender, which was believed to be the priority before the arrival of Joao Cancelo. One the names that featured prominently in those links is Manchester City defender Nathan Ake. The Dutch international was in search of more game time, but after an injury crisis for Pep Guardiola, has started to feature more often. Catalunya Radio say that Deco is most keen on signing Ake in the summer though, as things stand.

Image via Fichajes

Motives behind Ake interest

With a centre-forward the other priority on the agenda, that is expected to absorb most of Barcelona’s resources in terms of what they can spend this summer. As such, preferred options such as Josko Gvardiol and Alessandro Bastoni are financially out of reach. Ake has one year remaining on his deal this summer, and could be available for a cheaper deal as a result.

The 31-year-old is experienced at the top level, and can also play at left-back, factors that make him Deco’s preferred option.

Arne Slot has insisted that he’s ‘happy’ with the transfer business that Liverpool completed last summer and that it was impossible to predict the extent of the injury problems which have affected his squad this season.

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Despite an outlay of almost £450m on new players in 2025, the Reds find themselves sixth in the Premier League table with only nine matches remaining to salvage Champions League qualification, falling woefully short of expectations at the outset of the campaign.

Between a spate of long-term injuries and some simultaneous absences in certain positions, the LFC head coach has felt compelled to deploy players in unfamiliar roles to try and plug the gaps, and it’s evident that a few core names have been badly missed in recent weeks and months.

Slot ‘happy’ with Liverpool’s summer transfer business

In his pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s FA Cup clash against Wolves, Slot was asked if he has any regrets over not ensuring that he’d had a deeper squad by the end of last summer’s transfer window.

The 47-year-old insisted (via Liverpool Echo): “I’m happy with what we did last summer. We signed so many great players but you can’t predict that so many would be injured. Adaptation you can predict.

“It’s the model we are having that we don’t have 25 players over here. It hurts even more if you have three or four long-term injuries. I knew when I came in this was the model and I’m happy with that.”

Bad luck has played a part, but lessons to be learned for Liverpool

Nobody could accuse Liverpool of not being ambitious in the transfer market last summer, and as Slot says, no-one could’ve legislated for the extent to which the Reds have been hampered by injuries this season.

Don Hutchison made the point that the Dutchman had vastly superior strength in depth last term compared to now, highlighting how the exits of several big-name players have contributed to the shortage of options in reserve during the current campaign.

Injury issues are an inevitability in football, especially in an era where such intense demands are placed on those at the highest level, but LFC have been unlucky to lose Giovanni Leoni, Conor Bradley, Wataru Endo and Alexander Isak to long-term setbacks.

That’s not to mention the likes of Jeremie Frimpong, Alisson Becker, Joe Gomez and Florian Wirtz being sidelined at times throughout the season, although Slot hinted that the German could make a brief substitute outing at Molineux tomorrow night.

Liverpool would undoubtedly be a different beast if they had a fully-fit squad, although the travails of this campaign must be taken into account in the composition of transfer policy for the upcoming summer so that we don’t find ourselves in the same unwelcome scenario in 2026/27.