Washington Commanders guard Nick Allegretti is now the starting center after Tyler Linderbaum signed with the Raiders. Allegretti, who has limited NFL experience at center, faces the challenge of stepping into a crucial offensive line position previously held by Tyler Biadasz.
Sep 8, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Washington Commanders guard Nick Allegretti calls a play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth quarter at Raymond James Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images, everyone was scratching their heads. Most believed it meant Washington would be in the Tyler Linderbaum sweepstakes a few weeks away, when free agency began. Linderbaumon a three-year, $81 million deal, including $60 million in guarantees. It's unclear whether he chose the Raiders over the Commanders or whether Peters didn't offer enough.
In the end, the job now belongs to interior lineman Nick Allegretti. This is where this conversation starts, as I wasn't sure where, if at all, to rank him on this list. His position is one of the most important in football, yet nobody really talks about it.
The guy literally touches the ball every play and is in control of a lot of the pre-snap processing on the line, so whoever is in the position should rank in the top 25 on every team. The specific issue I have with Allegretti is that his NFL experience is primarily at guard, although he did take over at the position for an injured Biadasz against Dallas on Christmas and Philadelphia to close out the season last year.
In comparison, Allegretti has logged 2553 snaps in the NFL; only 191 of those have been at center . Allegretti played center at the University of Illinois after being highly recruited out of high school for the position. Allegretti's PFF grades above paint a somewhat inconsistent picture of last season, though he did improve in the final game of the year against the Eagles. His Week 2 pass-blocking grade against the Green Bay Packers was hideous.
, giving him a two-year, $7.5 million extension/restructure that lowered his scheduled $7.18 million cap hit to a much more manageable $3.844 million for 2026. , in 2026, Allegretti will earn a base salary of $1.5 million, a signing bonus of $2 million, and a workout bonus of $160,000, while carrying a cap hit of $3,844,666 and a dead cap value of $8,334,000. The reality? Peters didn't overpay for the position and didn't pay Allegretti like an every-down center either.
He paid him like an insurance policy on the interior line and gave him some performance-incentive money to offset a $2 million pay cut. There's no doubt that if Allegretti locks down the center position and plays well all 17 games, Peters comes out of this smelling like roses. If rookie Matt Gulbin or someone else pushes for snaps, Allegretti is still getting paid like depth.
This season, the scheme shifts away from Kliff Kingsbury's shotgun-heavy, up-tempo look toward a more balanced approach under new offensive coordinator David Blough, favoring heavy sets under center and lots of play action. The center position is incredibly important in Blough's offense; hence, the 22nd ranking here, no matter who the starter is, as he is the first line of protection for the franchise quarterback on every snap.
One thing Allegretti brings to the table as a three-time Super Bowl Champion who played through Super Bowl LVIII with a torn UCL is leadership grounded in mental toughness. The position actually calls for a higher spot on this list, but since there is no career game film to go on at center, we have to project his overall importance.
Philip Hughes covers the Washington Commanders with a focus on daily news, film analysis, roster construction, player development, and the fan culture surrounding one of the NFL’s most scrutinized teams. A longtime sports writer and content creator, Hughes has spent more than 20 years building football audiences across the interwebs and following the daily beat of the NFC East. email: hailbng+si@gmail.com
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