Daron Payne injury: Commanders DT likely headed to injured reserve
Daron Payne suffered a significant foot injury in Friday's practice and is likely headed to injured reserve, with Washington awaiting more tests Saturday.
Why Daron Payne is trending
Daron Payne, the Commanders' veteran defensive tackle, suffered a significant foot injury during Friday's practice and is likely headed to injured reserve, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo. The injury happened during a team drill on what was considered a light practice day. Initial X-rays showed significant damage, a team source told ESPN.
What is not yet known is exactly how bad the damage is. Payne will undergo more tests Saturday, and depending on what those tests show, it is possible he is done for the season. Payne is in the final year of his contract.
A longtime starter for Washington
Payne has anchored Washington's defensive line since the team drafted him 13th overall in 2018, and he is the franchise's longest-tenured position player. He started every game from 2020 through 2024, missed only two games last season, and had started every game this season before Friday. His best season came in 2022, when he made the Pro Bowl and recorded a career-best 11.5 sacks. He has 11 combined sacks since then, with 2022 the only year he topped five. His value has always leaned more on run defense than sack totals.
Quinn on what Payne brings
Hours before the injury news broke Friday, coach Dan Quinn had already praised Payne's presence up front, crediting his "strength inside, his power" and saying that even when the work does not show up in a stat, "you can definitely feel it."
Washington's defensive line is already thin
The timing adds to a rough stretch for Washington's front. The Commanders will also be without their other starting defensive end, Javon Kinlaw, for Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles because of a knee injury. Washington does have depth at defensive end in Deatrich Wise Jr. and Charles Omenihu, and the team opened the 21-day practice window this week on Jer'Zhan Newton, who tore a pectoral muscle in a preseason game against Miami on Aug. 14. Newton is listed as questionable for Sunday.
The injuries stack up for a Commanders team that is 1-4-1 in Quinn's pivotal third season as head coach, with Washington set to face an Eagles team that is 2-5.
Facts per ESPN. Opinion is the taproom's.