Washington Football Team exercises Daron Payne’s fifth-year option

The Washington Football Team’s greatest asset is its defensive front, and it seems as though they’re aiming to keep the group together as long as they can.

The Washington Football Team first started amassing building blocks on the defensive line back in 2016.

Unbeknownst to even themselves, they drafted a future standout in the fifth round that year, named Matt Ioannidis. The next year, the board fell their way in Round 1, and they managed to get top-rated defensive tackle Jonathan Allen at No. 17.

Even then, however, the work wasn’t done yet. The Washington Football Team came back in 2018 and doubled-up on Alabama defensive linemen, picking Crimson Tide stalwart Daron Payne at No. 13 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. Over the next two years, they completed their front by selecting Montez Sweat and Chase Young in the 2019 and 2020 NFL Drafts, respectively. They also got their top interior sack-getter in 2021 in Tim Settle, as a fifth-round pick in 2018.

The impact of Sweat and Young can’t be overstated, but the strong rotation on the interior is a big reason the group is so formidable. None of those interior linemen have earned much national recognition to this point, but it may be on the way. And Washington may want to get ahead of it. One lineman in particular — Payne — had an important contractual deadline approaching at May 3.

May 3 is the deadline for teams to exercise or decline fifth-year options for their 2018 first-round picks. Earlier today, it was reported, and confirmed by The Athletic reporter Ben Standig, that the Washington Football Team had chosen to accept Payne’s fifth-year option.

The option locks Payne in for the 2021 and 2022 seasons, and ups his salary to $8.529 million in 2022. It’s a fairly reasonable increase in price for one of the best young, up-and-coming defensive linemen in the league, and the elongated negotiation window gives the Washington Football Team more time to potentially work out a long-term deal for Payne, if he keeps trending up.

Payne, who turns just 24 years old in May, was one of Washington’s best defensive players in 2020. He’s always been a stellar run defender, and that was the case again in 2020. But Payne also progressed as a pass rusher. He earned 3.0 sacks and eight QB hits on the season, and also logged a career-high 18 pressures. On top of that, Payne also produced four three fumbles, and broke up four passes at the line of scrimmage.

Simply put, Payne is still ascending, and now, the Washington Football Team has some contract security as Payne continues to develop. This might not be the only decision Washington makes on the interior in the next twelve months, however. Settle is set to be a free agent in 2022. Ioannidis is under contract until 2023, but it remains to be seen if he can return to form after tearing his bicep in 2020.

Whatever the case, however, the Washington Football Team has to feel comfortable about extending Payne’s stay with the team. Payne is an incredibly talented, underrated player, and if he takes another step, he can start to earn more respect across the NFL.