The Washington Commanders have signed veteran defensive tackle Shy Tuttle, adding interior-line experience as they finalize the roster for the 2026 season.
The move was announced the same day Washington placed defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton and left tackle Laremy Tunsil on injured reserve.
Newton is dealing with a torn pectoral muscle and Tunsil with a torn triceps, both suffered in training camp and requiring surgery. Cornerback Fabian Moreau was signed in the same wave of transactions.
Tuttle’s return was expected. Washington released him a day earlier as part of initial 53-man roster cuts, a common veteran maneuver.
Because he was not subject to waivers, the Commanders could bring him back immediately. He had already been under contract after a one-year extension agreed to in March, a deal reported at about $1.4 million.
Tuttle has been in the NFL since 2019, when the New Orleans Saints signed him as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Tennessee. The 6-foot-3, 300-pound lineman from Midway, North Carolina, spent four seasons in New Orleans, then two with the Carolina Panthers.
In 2025, he opened the year with the Tennessee Titans, appearing in 10 games with one start and 11 tackles before being waived in December. Washington claimed him, and he played the final two regular-season games, recording four tackles.
Across 107 career games and 66 starts, Tuttle has 247 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 22 passes defensed, 11 tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hits, three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and one interception.
He is a run-first interior presence more than a high-volume pass rusher, the kind of veteran who can occupy blockers and give younger linemen a template for technique and preparation.
With Newton sidelined, Tuttle’s value is depth and reliability at nose tackle in a rotational front. Washington already has established pieces on the line; Tuttle’s job is to keep the group functional if injuries pile up and to provide leadership in the meeting room.
At 30 and entering his eighth season, he is not a long-term building block. He is a known quantity who knows the building, has played meaningful snaps late last year, and can step in without a long acclimation period.
For a team managing cap space and sudden injuries on the offensive and defensive lines, that combination of availability and experience is the point of the signing.
Tuttle’s path from undrafted rookie in 2019 to another one-year stay in Washington is the familiar NFL story of a productive interior lineman who keeps finding work. The Commanders are betting that story still has another useful chapter.
