Overview
- The Commanders announced on Monday that they waived veteran kicker Jake Moody and will move forward with undrafted rookie Drew Stevens as their starter.
- Coaches and special-teams staff pointed to Moody’s late camp miscues and a near-miss in the preseason game as the key reasons they favored Stevens’ cleaner, more consistent work.
- The move is expected to free roughly $1.58 million in salary-cap space while creating a small dead‑money charge, and Moody will go on waivers and become a free agent if unclaimed.
- Stevens arrives with a strong college résumé from Iowa, where he made a school-record 76 field goals, hit 12 from 50+ yards and showed consistent distance and accuracy in camp.
- Washington hopes Stevens will end a long string of kickoff changes—he will be roughly the 12th player to handle kicking duties since 2021—and he will receive the remaining preseason reps to build confidence.