Could Terry McLaurin’s team-friendly contract hint at Daron Payne extension?

The Washington Commanders gave fans a reason to smile for the rest of the summer when they signed Terry McLaurin to a three-year extension.

The contract locks up McLaurin through the 2025 season, when he’ll be able to negotiate another contract at age 30. Given his age, a short-term deal was always the expected outcome and it very much qualifies as a team-friendly contract despite the sizable signing bonus (highest-ever for a receiver) and guarantees.

It terms of potential domino effects, it’s been surmised that McLaurin’s extension confirms Daron Payne won’t receive a second contract from Washington. While the team has reportedly “rebuffed” any and all recent trade inquires for Payne, there’s been no evidence to suggest it has interest in extending the star defender.

However, could McLaurin’s contract lay the groundwork for a potential Payne extension? If you take a look at McLaurin’s cap hits over the next four seasons, it’s not crazy to think Washington can afford to pay Payne his dues.

Can the Commanders afford to extend Daron Payne after signing Terry McLaurin?

Extending Payne might not make much sense after Washington gave team captain and fellow defensive tackle Jonathan Allen a four-year, $72 million contract last offseason, but he’s a top-three most important player on the defense.

If the Commanders are hell-bent on keeping Payne for the 2022 season — as opposed to trading him — shouldn’t they at least consider re-upping his contract instead of losing him for nothing as a free agent next offseason?

Anything less would be franchise malpractice given they likely could’ve netted a second- or third-round pick for him before the draft.

McLaurin’s extension is proof that the front office knows how to negotiate a team-friendly deal while making players happy, so maybe Ron Rivera and Co. can hammer out a deal for Payne while maintaining the team’s cap flexibility.

Of course, extending Payne could throw a wrench into the futures of other soon-to-be extension-eligible players, including Chase Young, Montez Sweat, Cole Holcomb and Kam Curl. Re-signing Payne means one of Young or Sweat (likely the latter) is the odd man out among Washington’s four first-round DL.

The idea of extending an interior defender over an edge rusher, which is the more premium position, won’t resonate with some fans, but McLaurin’s contract certainly gives the Commanders the requisite wiggle room to get it done.

Who knows? Maybe Washington’s posturing and is secretly planning to offload Payne at this season’s trade deadline. That’s always a possibility, but the latest reports indicate the club is more concerned on winning games in 2022 than maximizing Payne’s as a trade asset and what he could go for as far as draft capital.

Whatever the case, rebuffing trade inquires for Payne buys the organization more time to determine his future and McLaurin’s manageable cap hits over the next few seasons doesn’t fully rule out a new contract for Payne.