Ron Rivera strongly suggests Commanders will re-sign Daron Payne

The Washington Commanders’ defensive line is playing as good as it has since the 2020 season when they won the NFC East and nearly upset the eventual champion Buccaneers in the playoffs. A huge reason for that is the play of DTs Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, who should both be in the Pro Bowl this year.

Fans in Washington are enjoying every last second Allen, Payne and Montez Sweat, who’s putting together the best season of his career in Year 4, share the field together because 2022 could be their last year together as teammates.

But should it be? Given the defensive line is the nucleus of tis team, shouldn’t the Commanders bend over backwards to keep the unit intact?

In the final year of his rookie contract, re-signing Payne would spark some uncomfortable conversations about Chase Young, but shouldn’t the team reward players who are vital to winning and suiting up every Sunday?

The Commanders have teetered back and forth on Payne’s contract dilemma, but Ron Rivera set the record straight on the 25-year-old’s future. The head coach didn’t guarantee Payne will be back for the long-term, but he came pretty darn close to putting it in stone appearing on the Washington Football Talk podcast this week.

Ron Rivera believes the Commanders will re-sign star Daron Payne

"“You look at the defensive line and you’ve got these two tackles that we want to keep together,” Rivera told NBC Sports Washington’s Jp Finlay. “We want to do everything we can to keep them together. We know it’s going to be hard but we’re going to do it.”"

Washington doesn’t currently have the cap space to re-sign Payne, even with the NFL salary cap skyrocketing to $225 million once the new league year hits.

However, releasing Carson Wentz would add $26 million to the proverbial pot since the front office (smartly) didn’t restructure Wentz’s deal. That looked like a questionable move at the time, but perhaps they chose to suffer — in terms of cap flexibility in 2022 — with an eye on the future so they could spend big in 2023.

And they’re going to have to spend big to keep Payne.

The baseline for negotiations will likely start at the franchise tag price, which is projected to be just north of $18 million. The idea of paying Payne more annually than Allen, who’s arguably the more complete player and the superior pass rusher, might not resonate with fans, but that’s just the nature of the NFL.

Look at the quarterback position. Would anyone argue Kyler Murray is worth $46 million annually? I certainly hope not, but Murray was lucky to be extension-eligible after several stars inked deals north of $40 million. After looking like an overpay, Dak Prescott’s $40 million baseline is now 10th-highest among QBs.

It’s not going to be easy for the Commanders to keep Payne, but Rivera’s comments certainly make it seem like it’s high on the priority list … and admitting the Wentz experiment was a mistake would increase the probability tenfold.