Stanford’s former five-star tackle Foster Sarell is a free agent again. The Washington Commanders released the 27-year-old offensive lineman on Tuesday, ending his second stint with the club before the final preseason game and the 53-man roster deadline.
Sarell signed with Washington in March after a 2025 season split between the Commanders’ camp and the Los Angeles Chargers. He had already been cut by Washington last August, then returned to the Chargers and appeared in six games with one start.
Across four seasons of regular-season action, all with Los Angeles, he has played 41 games and started four. The Ravens and Giants also had him briefly after he went undrafted in 2021.
For Cardinal fans, the path is familiar: elite recruit, Pac-12 starter, then the grind of NFL depth-chart life.
Sarell arrived on The Farm as one of Stanford’s highest-rated prospects ever.
Out of Graham-Kapowsin High School in Washington state, he was a consensus five-star, often ranked the nation’s top offensive tackle and among the top recruits overall. He chose Stanford over Washington, Notre Dame, Nebraska, and USC, joining a class that also included Davis Mills and Walker Little.
He played in 14 games as a true freshman in 2017. A knee injury limited him in 2018 and he redshirted. In 2019 he started all 11 games at right tackle, allowed two sacks according to PFF tracking cited at the time, and earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention.
In the COVID-shortened 2020 season he started all six games before turning pro. He was also named to the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society.
That résumé did not produce a draft pick. What followed was the typical undrafted lineman’s career: practice squads, elevations, short-term contracts, and swing-tackle work. Washington gave him two looks. Both ended the same way.
From a Stanford angle, Sarell still represents the program’s recent pipeline of large, athletic Washington-state linemen who chose The Farm—the same corridor that produced David DeCastro and Joshua Garnett.
He never became a cornerstone starter in the NFL, but he has lasted five years in the league and remains a candidate for another practice squad or late-camp add. Roster cuts this week often produce those second chances.
Sarell turns 28 on Friday. For now, the former Cardinal right tackle is available again.
