The Washington Commanders were last season’s Cinderella story, storming their way to the NFC Championship Game with rookie sensation Jayden Daniels under center. But as the 2025 season ramps up, one of their more intriguing offseason subplots has taken a surprising twist — and it involves a familiar face to Dallas Cowboys fans.
When Dan Quinn took over in Washington, the roster quickly became a Cowboys reunion party. Dorance Armstrong, Tyler Biadasz, Michael Gallup, and Noah Igbinoghene all swapped the star for the burgundy and gold. But one former Cowboy just had the door slammed shut — hard.
Defensive lineman Viliami Fehoko, a 2023 fourth-round pick by Dallas, was waived/injured this week by the Commanders with an undisclosed injury. Clearing waivers means he now lands on Washington’s injured reserve list, effectively ending his 2025 season unless an injury settlement is reached.
It’s a familiar fate. Dallas executed the same maneuver last year with receiver Parris Campbell after a sprained MCL, placing him on IR before parting ways.
No team put in a waiver claim — a telling sign about Fehoko’s current standing in the league. In truth, his NFL résumé is paper-thin. As a rookie under Quinn in Dallas, he never appeared in a single game. Injuries and a lack of fit saw the Cowboys waive him with an injury designation last September, and even then, he wasn’t projected to have a role under defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.
The Commanders picked him up in November, stashed him on the practice squad, and signed him to a futures contract for 2025. But with Washington spending big on Javon Kinlaw and bringing in veteran Eddie Goldman (83 career starts), Fehoko’s path to the 53-man roster was always narrow.
At 6’4″, 267 pounds, Fehoko sits in a positional no man’s land — too big to be a prototypical edge rusher, too small to be a full-time defensive tackle. Without a defined role, he’s struggled to find a home, and Quinn has now cut ties with him twice in less than two years.