According to Ben Standig, the Commanders quietly let other teams know weeks ago that DT Daron Payne could be had in a trade.
Standig says the team wasn’t aggressively trying to move Payne or looking to give him away. It sounds like they were exploring their options given they’re deep along the defensive line and Payne is entering a contract year.
He previously reported Washington is not expected to offer Payne a contract extension right now.
Payne is playing out the 2022 season in a contract year on his fifth-year option worth $8.53 million.
Payne, 24, is the former 13th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Alabama. He signed a four-year $14.418 million dollar rookie contract with the Washington Football Team that included an $8.566 million dollar signing bonus.
Washington exercised his fifth-year option for the 2021 season.
In 2021, Payne appeared in all 17 games for Washington and recorded 61 total tackles, six tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and one fumble recovery. Pro Football Focus had him rated as the No. 40 interior defender out of 109 qualifying players.
We’ll have more on the Commanders and Payne as the news is available.
Looking for the latest NFL Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow NFL Trade Rumors on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!
