Jahan Dotson's peculiar preseason with the Commanders has produced an answer in the form of a trade.
Dotson is headed from Washington to Philadelphia, joining the Eagles via a deal that sends the wide receiver and a fifth-round pick to Philly in exchange for a third-round pick and two seventh-round picks in the 2025 draft, the Eagles announced on Thursday.
Thursday's trade closes the book on Dotson's career in Washington, which began as the 16th-overall pick in 2022 and never quite took off amid plenty of changes at quarterback in Dotson's first two years. Dotson tallied 1,041 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns over 2022 and 2023 while running routes for Carson Wentz, Taylor Heinicke and Sam Howell, and seemed poised for a brighter future in Washington thanks to the addition of 2024 No. 2 pick Jayden Daniels.
Instead, the arrival of a new regime led by general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn spelled the end of Dotson's time in Washington, where he fell from an expected No. 2 role opposite star receiver Terry McLaurin to an expendable asset in one summer.
The likelihood of a trade increased over the course of the preseason, in which Daniels got his usual work as a rookie starting quarterback and then quickly exited while Dotson ended up playing deep into the second half of Washington's first preseason game. In a typical preseason, entrenched contributors see minimal on-field time for their teams, unless they need to prove themselves to a new staff. Dotson, though, ended up behind Dyami Brown in the Week 1 pecking order, and after playing a more normal 23 snaps in Week 2, Washington decided now was the time to part ways with the Penn State product.
At 5-foot-11 and 182 pounds, Dotson was seen as a candidate to spend more time in the slot in 2024 with Washington. In Philadelphia, the same can be expected in a receiving corps that boasts quite a top three in A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and potentially Dotson. He'll need to get up to speed rather quickly to earn a spot in Philadelphia's offense before Week 1, but the Eagles are clearly happy to add talent at a bargain rate -- especially from a division rival -- at this point in the preseason.
