Rams DT Aaron Donald OUT at Pro Bowl; Commanders' Daron Payne Replaces

Washington Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne is officially a Pro Bowler.

This comes after Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald opted out of this year's event.

In his fifth and final season under contract with the Commanders, Payne has made himself a lot of money.

Adding to the resume his first trip to the Pro Bowl will certainly help gain leverage in his contract talks to come, with Washington expected to make a push to re-sign the talented defender.

But, everyone is also aware that Payne's price has skyrocketed during the course of the season.

So much so, the Commanders may be regretting not inking the player to a deal in the preseason, like he'd hoped to.

The bottom line here is that the team obviously needs to keep him around, and he wants to stay in Washington.

What does the money look like?

According to Spotrac, Payne's value estimates to be around $19.4 million per year on a new deal.

With Jonathan Allen set to make $21.4 million next season, paying Payne that number would put the Commanders' investment at $41 million for defensive tackles alone.

If Washington and Payne were to agree to such a figure, and the team subsequently releases quarterback Carson Wentz, then they would be left with around $15 million in salary cap space before making any further moves.

The 2023 franchise tag value on defensive tackles is expected to be around the same figure, so while the team could go that route in hopes of striking a more balanced deal down the line, the initial cap hit and investment would be mostly the same.

Payne set career highs in sacks, tackles, and tackles for losses while also becoming a true menace at the line of scrimmage for opposing quarterbacks, defending a career-high five pass attempts.

He also played the full 17-game schedule for the second year in a row, and through five seasons has only missed one game.

All while many questioned whether or not he was giving his full effort to the game.

And now, Payne is a Pro Bowl defensive tackle, and he's going to get paid for the effort he did put in.

Whether Washington writes the check, or not.

Find David Harrison on Twitter @DHarrison82 and on the Locked On Commanders podcast.

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