The Washington Commanders are entering a new era of football in 2024. Adam Peters is the new general manager and Dan Quinn is the new head coach. Washington moved off of some key defensive linemen a season ago by trading away Montez Sweat to the Chicago Bears and Chase Young to the San Francisco 49ers.
Washington has some talent on the roster this season, but should they move off of some key players to create more cap space? Time will tell if they make any more moves before the 2024 NFL regular season begins or not.
Bleacher Report Suggests the Washington Commanders Moving Off of Defensive Lineman Daron Payne Post June 1
The Bleacher Report scouting department thinks that the Commanders should trade Daron Payne after June 1 to create more cap space. Payne was the 13th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Alabama. A season ago with the Washington Commanders, he recorded 53 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and also had four pass deflections.
The reasoning why Bleacher Report gave the idea of trading Da’Ron Payne was as follows:
“Payne is signed through 2027, and Washington is unlikely to keep both min and Allen beyond next season. Newton could be primed to take over before the trade deadline, and one of the veterans would surely bring valuable compensation in a trade.
Trading Allen after June 1 would save $15.4 million in cap space. Trading Payne after June 1 would save $16 million in space.”
That is a lot of money in cap space that the Washington Commanders would be saving by trading away Daron Payne. One of the reasons why they can possibly afford this is because they drafted defensive tackle Johnny Newton, 36th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Illinois.
A lot of people thought that Newton was going to be a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but he slipped to the second round because of how many offensive players were selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He has a chance to be in the rotation for the Washington Commanders as a rookie.
In 12 games last season with the Illinois Fighting Illini, he had 7.5 sacks and 8,5 tackles for a loss. Newton also had 52 total tackles. This was a steal in the draft for the Washington Commanders and this is why trading Payne could be on the table despite being 26 years old and in the prime of his NFL career.
