FILE: On Sunday, September 18, 2022, in Detroit, during the second half of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Detroit Lions, center Chase Roullier (73), is seen leaving the field on a cart due to an injury. A person with knowledge of the situation says that the Washington Commanders are releasing center Chase Roullier with a post-June 1 designation. The individual, who talked to The Associated Press on Friday, May 5, 2023, did so under the condition of anonymity because the team had not made the announcement. (File/AP Photo/Lon Horwedel)
After spending six years in Washington, where he signed a lucrative extension and established himself as the team’s starting center before suffering an injury that ended his career, Chase Roullier has left the franchise.
Roullier was freed by the Commanders on Friday, citing a post-June 1 designation.
According to the website Over The Cap, which records NFL pay, the team can save $8.37 million next season with $4 million in dead money if Roullier is released after June 1 due to salary cap considerations.
Given draft picks and free agency acquisitions, coach Ron Rivera stated last week that it was “too early” to talk about Roullier’s and other experienced players’ futures; yet, such additions hinted at Roullier’s demise for the 29-year-old in burgundy and gold.
In order to replace Roullier, the Commanders signed Nick Gates from the New York Giants, and they selected Arkansas’ Ricky Stromberg in the third round as a possible long-term middle offensive line option.
When Roullier was injured, he appeared to be a promising draft pick. The Wyoming native was selected in the sixth round of the 2017 NBA Draft and immediately established himself as Washington’s main center.
After agreeing to a four-year contract extension worth little more than $40 million in January 2021, he has only missed ten games due to injuries to his right knee and left fibula. After being placed on the physically unable to perform list at the beginning of training camp the previous season, Roullier returned to the field to start the first two games of the regular season before suffering another setback that forced the Commanders to use a rotating group of players at center.
Following a draft in which Washington added more depth to the secondary and offensive line, the 28-year-old cornerback Kendall Fuller’s status is the next concern. The team would save $8.5 million against the cap if Fuller were released in the same manner as Roullier, but it would come at the expense of losing a Super Bowl winner who has shown durable and participated in all 17 games this season.
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