Washington Commanders: Not too early to decide Da’Ron Payne’s future

The Washington Commanders are in the middle of a playoff race. So there are quite a few things more important than future contract negotiations at the moment. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t talk about them, especially when they concern defensive tackle Da’Ron Payne.

It really feels like one of the worst-kept secrets that the Commanders were planning for life beyond Payne when they selected defensive lineman Phidarian Mathis in the second round (47th overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Defensive tackle Da’Ron Payne’s future with the Washington Commanders should already be decided

That plan hit an immediate snag, as Mathis went down with a season-ending injury after just one game. Obviously, Mathis still has the potential to be a great player. We didn’t get a chance to see that though. He’s now down one year without any game experience or the chance to prove himself.

Meanwhile, Payne is in his contract year. And what’s he doing? Having the best year of his career. He’s set new career highs with 8.5 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, and five pass deflections. With four games left, it’s safe to assume those numbers are going to keep going up as well.

Payne has long been one of the better interior defensive linemen in the NFL. He’s been a solid pass rusher who is an absolute wall against the run. This year, he’s taken that leap into elite pass disrupter as well.

It already would’ve been a hard sell to fans, convincing them that Mathis was the replacement for Payne. Especially considering he’s not even a full year younger than the already-established superstar. The only real argument was that he would be on a much cheaper contract than Payne, saving the team money to spend elsewhere.

Now with Mathis not getting a chance to prove himself in his rookie campaign, and Payne doing this, the decision should already be made. Washington needs to find a way to keep the veteran on the roster. Keeping the core of Payne, Jonathan Allen, Montez Sweat, and Chase Young together should be the goal. With those four on the defensive line, the Commanders will always have a leg up defensively.

You could argue that this shouldn’t be a focus right now, as the team is locked in a playoff race. Answer this though, would the Washington Commanders even be in this position if it wasn’t for Da’Ron Payne? That was a quick “no”, wasn’t it? He needs to be a top priority.