Daron

Payne

Rodriguez was a late add to the injury report with an illness and is now officially inactive for the Commanders’ Christmas afternoon game against the Cowboys. Jacory Croskey-Merrit is an RB3 with Rodriguez out. The Commanders also declared QB Jayden Daniels, QB Marcus Mariota, QB Sam Hartman, LT Laremy Tunsil, LB Nick Bellore, and DT Daron Payne out against the Cowboys. Payne did not practice all week with a back issue. Jeff Driskel is Josh Johnson’s backup while Sam Hartman is the emergency third quarterback for Week 17.

Payne could appeal this, but the tape doesn’t exactly work in his favor. Payne took a blatant, cheap shot at St. Brown during the second quarter of Sunday’s game and was immediately ejected for his actions. Assuming this holds up, which it should, Payne will miss Week 11’s game against the Dolphins in Spain and will be eligible to return in Week 13 after the Commanders’ bye week.

Payne was flagged after a hard-fought 13-yard touchdown run made by Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs. Payne can be clearly seen punching Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown on the left side of his facemask. Astonishingly, Commanders DT Javon Kinlaw was not ejected after striking a referee in the forehead, though he was penalized, after Payne was ejected. The Commanders also may have lost CB Trey Amos, who entered the game with a hip injury, and required two trainers’ assistance to leave the field after injuring his ankle on the play. Amos is currently questionable to return.

Payne came into the weekend listed as questionable but will ultimately miss the team’s NFC Championship game against the Eagles. The Commanders have struggled mightily against the run and will now be without one of their top run defenders on the interior of their defensive line. That could spell trouble against Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts after the two ran wild in both of these teams’ previous meetings this season.

Linebacker Bobby Wagner was removed from the report and will play. Payne did not practice at all this week, putting him on the wrong side of questionable heading into the weekend. However, with a Super Bowl berth on the line, he will be doing everything in his power to get on the field. Payne has four sacks and five TFLs this year.

Payne suffered his finger injury in the team’s wild card win over the Buccaneers. He was limited in two of three practices last week but appears to have picked up a knee injury in the divisional round win over the Lions. Back-to-back DNPs to open the week is a concerning sign for Payne’s availability, but the team could be exercising caution for their star tackle. We’ll see where things stand come Friday when the Commanders release their final injury report before the weekend.

This is a big blow for the Commanders. The 320-pound defensive tackle has 42 tackles, four sacks, and five tackles for a loss on the season while soaking up attention from blockers in the middle of the defensive line. Payne injured his finger early in the second quarter of the game and seemed to be in immense pain on the sideline. It would be a huge boost for the Tampa Bay running game if Payne can’t come back in.

Reportedly Payne will walk away with $60 million in guarantees. He was franchise-tagged before the deadline in February, and the Commanders and Payne have created a deal that will likely be the framework for Quinnen Williams and Jeffrey Simmons among other major interior linemen. Payne made his first Pro Bowl in 2022 and had 11.5 sacks for the Commanders.

It was widely expected that Washington would hang on to Payne -- a 2018 first round draft pick -- with the franchise tag. Payne, 25, posted career-best numbers in 2022 as an interior force for a Commanders defensive line graded by Pro Football Focus as the NFL’s 21st best run-defending unit. Payne in 2022 had 11.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss en route to his first career Pro Bowl nod.

A first-round pick in 2018, Payne had been a solid defensive tackle since being drafted, but the Commanders did not reach an agreement on an extension. Instead, they let him play out his fifth-year option only for the 25-year-old to post career numbers across the board. He tallied 11.5 sacks and 18 TFLs en route to his first Pro Bowl nod. The franchise tag for Payne will cost Washington $18.9 million.