Payne has already set a career-high with 6.5 sacks and he’s one off tying his single-season high in quarterback hits. Payne also has 13 tackles for loss and he sees the numbers as a result of finally finishing the chances that are coming his way.
“I had a bunch of opportunities to have high-sack numbers before, but I missed them,” Payne said, via Ben Standig of TheAthletic.com. “Now I’m capitalizing on my opportunities getting the quarterback.”
Payne is in the final year of his rookie deal and the Commanders didn’t talk about a new deal this offseason, but a team official told Standig that they plan to “work to get something done” with him before free agency. Payne is one of many defensive tackles set for free agency or extensions — Quinnen Williams, Ed Oliver, Jeffery Simmons, Dexter Lawrence, and Fletcher Cox are some of the others — in what may wind up being a lucrative offseason for players at the position.
I thought this article was significant to the Jalen Carter discussion. If the Lions could add a Dexter Lawrence next to Alim McNeill or a Daron Payne, that would obviate the need for Carter and allow the Lions to focus elsewhere.
Holmes has seemed to finally get our cap into a good situation… I know his “big” FA haven’t worked out this far but they weren’t really big signings in that they weren’t long term contracts.
It will be interesting to see what he does now that he has some cap room to maneuver with. I would love to sign a guy like Payne and open up our draft for another edge or even another DT and just make that whole unit a strength.
In my humble non educated opinion, if you have a dominant DL where you can rotate guys in and out and just destroy quality NFL OL talent, you will have great success. Pair that with having some good cover corners and you are looking at a top 5 defense.
So Payne would be great but then also add someone like Carter, or Anderson, and then add a top flight corner?
They spent a 1st rond pick on DL in 4 straight drafts. Payne was the second one they took. They spent a 1st round pick the year before him, the year after him and the year after that. In the 2022 draft they used a 2nd round pick on another guy for the DL.
Just looked into daron Payne. It seems he’ll be highly courted. We may run into a Allen Robinson situation where we just won’t pay the premium even though he’s be hella worth it.
I like Payne a lot as a player - but is nobody else thinking what I’m thinking? Paying top of the market money to a big guy putting up career numbers in a contract year may end up back firing. Not saying it will, but I am saying that’s a risky formula
They lost me when they selected DL in the 1st round in 4 straight drafts. I don’t recall ever seeing that before. They have already given the 1st of the 4 a major contract extension (Jonathan Allen).
The guy who wrote the article was very misleading, but Lawrence is not a FA. The players he listed were either due for free agency this off-season or candidates to have their contracts extended. Lawrence is a FA in 2024.
