The Washington Commanders gave Daron Payne a four-year, $90 million extension in March 2023, according to Over the Cap, after an 11.5-sack 2022 season. This is the last year of that deal. He has not topped four sacks in a season since, and the defensive tackle has been floated as a trade candidate since July.
Payne, 29, carries a $27.95 million cap number, per Spotrac, and the contract ends after the season. That makes the Nov. 10 trade deadline Washington’s last chance to turn him into a draft pick. PFF’s Bradley Locker named him among 15 trade candidates and wrote the extension “has not aged well,” with Payne below a 63.0 overall PFF grade in four straight years. He has eight tackles, three quarterback hits and no sacks in four starts, though Locker noted his 62.1 PFF run-defense grade is in the 77th percentile.
Why Washington should trade Daron Payne
Washington is 1-3, and PFF gives it 11% playoff odds. The argument for waiting is at quarterback. Jayden Daniels has missed the last two games with a dislocated left elbow, and head coach Dan Quinn said in his Monday injury update, “The goal is for him to have a full week of practice, full week, and start on Sunday.” General manager Adam Peters has four games before the deadline to see whether Daniels changes that math.
The alternative is a compensatory pick, and that will be hard to project. Those picks go to teams that lose more or better free agents than they sign. The Commanders have a sense of what that will be based on internal strategy, and any decision they made with Payne will include that strategic thinking.
Washington is not projected to receive one in 2027, per NFL.com, and Over the Cap has the Commanders with $71.4 million in 2027 cap space, sixth most in the NFL. If Peters spends it in March, those signings would offset Payne in the formula , and any pick would not arrive until the 2028 draft.
Locker listed the 49ers, Bears, Patriots and Raiders as possible fits, which is his own projection. San Francisco’s defensive linemen rank last in PFF run-defense grade, and the unbeaten 49ers have six sacks through four games.
The closest comparison is Leonard Williams. In October 2023, the 2-6 Giants sent the 29-year-old lineman, also on an expiring deal, to Seattle for second- and fifth-round picks and took on a large portion of his salary to get them. Payne’s grades point to a smaller return. Athlon’s Ryan Lippe wrote in July that a fourth-round pick was the likely ceiling.
