Commanders hire 49ers assistant GM Adam Peters as new general manager

Washington’s new era will begin with the addition of a highly coveted executive.

The Commanders are working to hire 49ers assistant general manager Adam Peters as the team’s new GM, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Friday. The team announced Peters’ hiring on Monday. 

“The future is bright,” Commanders owner Josh Harris said in a statement. “We have a lot of cap space, we have a great ownership group, we’re very committed to winning for this city, and look forward to showing you, in addition to telling you, over the next series of years.”

Peters arrives in Washington with firsthand knowledge of how to build a winner gained from his time spent working under John Lynch in San Francisco, where Lynch constructed a roster that has contended for division and conference titles on a near-perennial basis. With three years with the Niners under his belt, Peters will head east to attempt to spark the same type of transformation with the Commanders.

Peters began his career in 2003 as a scout with the New England Patriots before moving onto the Broncos to fill a similar role in 2009, eventually earning a promotion to assistant director of college scouting in Denver in 2014. He joined San Francisco as VP of player personnel in 2017 and ascended to assistant GM in 2021, contributing to an executive group that guided the 49ers to three NFC Championship Game appearances, including one conference title and a berth in Super Bowl LIV.

Now, he’ll join a Commanders franchise looking to start a new era under new ownership. Washington fired head coach Ron Rivera after finishing 4-13 in 2023, but has yet to make a final decision on the fate of incumbent GM Martin Mayhew.

Peters’ hiring suggests Mayhew’s role will change, or he could be out of a job in Washington entirely. For now, though, Harris’ first big move has come in the front office, where Peters will take the top chair and begin working on hiring a new coach to replace Rivera.