The Washington Commanders entered the legal tampering period of free agency with a clear plan to improve in the trenches. That began on Sunday when Washington re-signed defensive tackle Daron Payne to a four-year, $90 million contract. Payne was slated to play the 2023 season on the franchise tag.
On Monday, Washington focused on the offensive line, adding Nick Gates [New York Giants] and Andrew Wylie [Kansas City Chiefs] to modest contracts to start in 2023.
The Commanders also signed linebacker Cody Barton, who will replace Cole Holcomb. Holcomb signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers after the Commanders agreed to terms with Barton on a one-year contract. While Washington watched quarterback Taylor Heinicke depart, it signed Jacoby Brissett to replace him.
Pro Football Focus recently weighed in on every team’s free-agent moves through one week. PFF likes Washington’s moves, giving the Commanders a “B” for their early moves.
Here’s what PFF had to say about three players specifically:
Brissett:
Last season with the Cleveland Browns, Brissett played exactly like any team hopes when they bring aboard a bridge quarterback. The journeyman averaged 7.1 yards per attempt on a 9.5-yard average depth of target, attacking downfield but still keeping his turnover-worthy play rate at just 3.1% on the season.
This is not a lateral move from Taylor Heinicke — it’s a marked upgrade at the position, so Washington doesn’t let a trio of wide receivers in Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and Curtis Samuel potentially go to waste.
Wylie:
Wylie is coming off another solid season for the Chiefs in which he produced a 61.6 PFF grade that ranked 63rd among all offensive tackles. Through five seasons in the NFL, Wylie has produced a PFF grade below 60.0 in just one season.
While you’re not going to confuse him for an All-Pro offensive tackle anytime soon, he is still a starting-caliber player on the right side of the line or a solid swing tackle at worst.
And re-signing Payne:
Payne’s career to date in the NFL has been interesting. He’s earned above-average PFF grades against the run but average at best pass-rushing grades in his first three seasons in the league. That flipped over the past two seasons, though, with Payne producing 70.0-plus PFF pass-rushing grades but sub-55.0 PFF run-defense grades.
The Alabama product just set the floor for the group of 2019 Draft interior defenders set to sign extensions this offseason: Quinnen Williams, Christian Wilkins, Dexter Lawrence and Jeffery Simmons. They should all be pretty happy with where this deal landed but should push closer to the $25 million per year range as more consistently productive players over their rookie contracts.
No one knows how these things work out. However, Washington should be applauded for getting a deal done with Payne before free agency. It accomplished two things: It kept the franchise tag out of play. Washington fans certainly know the end game with the tag. Once Payne played on the tag, it was unlikely the two sides would ever agree to a deal.
Secondly, getting Payne done before the next wave of defensive tackles sign mega-deals was critical. If Washington did not get this deal done, there was no way it was paying Payne $25 million per season or more. Kudos to the Commanders for getting ahead of this deal, unlike what happened with wide receiver Terry McLaurin last offseason.
