Commanders' Next Three Games Could Put Daron Payne on the Trade Block

The NFL trade deadline is less than a month away, looming like a ticking timer counting down to the moment when middle-of-the-road teams are forced to pick a lane.

The Washington Commanders already look to be slipping down the path of the future seller following their tough start to the regular season, having slumped out to a disappointing 1-3-1 record with the help of injuries to most of their featured offensive staples and some glaringly poor late-game choices. It's time for Commanders executives to evaluate who's worth paying while key contributors waste away in an unworthy situation, and someone like Daron Payne will continue seeing his name come up in mock trades over the weeks to come.

The longest-tenured non-Tress Way Commander has remained one of the more dependable defensive players over a near-decade of fluctuating circumstances, and he's generally made good on backing up the four-year, $90 million contract he signed in early 2023.

Just last week, the defensive tackle notched his first sack of the season on the New York Giants' Jameis Winston, yet another instance of the stability he's helped provide during Daronte Jones' maiden voyage as his defensive coordinator.

Amidst the final year of his contract, though, he seems like a fitting name to dangle in front of teams looking for help along the defensive interior. If Washington decides the season is slipping away, Payne's expiring deal makes him one of the more logical veterans to shop while he still carries trade value, something ESPN's Jeremy Fowler noted this week.

Adding Context to Payne's New Timeline

Offensive linemen are rarely swapped in a league where otherwise unappreciated blockers will always be highly valued, and the Commanders probably learned their lesson in trading for veteran cornerbacks midseason following the Marshon Lattimore experience.

A fringe wide receiver isn't quite as necessary as, say, a voracious pass-rusher or a go-to tight end would be to the Commanders' present operation, but that hasn't stopped a few fans and analysts from putting together some intriguing package ideas. Brian Thomas Jr., an old friend of Jayden Daniels who's currently watching his promising career start to spiral on the Jacksonville Jaguars, will remain a name to watch as a buy-low reclamation project following Marvin Harrison Jr.'s own surprise deal last weekend.

As if the Commanders' one win through five matchups, a Week 3 upset victory over the defending champion Seattle Seahawks, wasn't enough to sink them into the NFC's dirt, they're in for a tough ride in looking ahead through the games scheduled between now and the deadline.

The undefeated 49ers are favored to make quick work of the uncoordinated Commanders on Monday Night Football in Week 6, and that isn't even Washington's only brush-up with the dominant NFC West; a date with the Los Angeles Rams awaits the underdogs in Week 9. The hurting Philadelphia Eagles, sandwiched between those uphill battles, hover as a wounded animal looking for an easy victory over the same team they'd already bested in this fall's season opener.

Barring another vintage Daniels fourth-quarter comeback or some rapid-fire turnarounds within Washington's coaching quarters, there's a real chance that this squad will limp into the deadline without a win in their previous five outings, assuming all of those playoff-hopefuls dispose of the hangers-on. Should the Commanders be as unimpressive as the fan base fears, add a potential shift in in-season focus to the reasons to trade Payne while they still have a chance to yield a semi-meaningful return.

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