{"id":254791,"date":"2025-11-15T14:30:53","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T19:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=254791"},"modified":"2025-11-15T00:28:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T05:28:14","slug":"commanders-most-valuable-trade-chip-daron-payne-this-offseason-revealed-3-possible-future-destinations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/11\/15\/commanders-most-valuable-trade-chip-daron-payne-this-offseason-revealed-3-possible-future-destinations\/","title":{"rendered":"Commanders “Most Valuable” Trade Chip This Offseason Revealed – 3 Possible Future Destinations"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the Washington Commanders chances of postseason contention out the window, the offseason will come sooner than expected, and trade chip defensive playmaker Daron Payne could be on the move. According to Bleacher Report<\/a>, they believe the Commanders’ biggest trade asset this upcoming offseason is Payne. This makes a ton of sense, while they already dealt Jonathan Allen<\/a> and Chase Young in past moves, Payne remains as the lone veteran on this defensive line that could be on the trade block. Originally selected in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, the former Alabama product is entering the final year of his current deal next season.<\/p>\n

Commanders “Most Valuable” Trade Chip This Offseason Revealed as Daron Payne – 3 Possible Future Destinations<\/h2>\n

This means that the Commanders have a huge decision on their hands. With the team already signed veteran Javon Kinlaw through 2027 and former second-round pick Jer’Zhan Newton showing some promise, there might not be enough cap space to extend Payne. The veteran is aging, and that is something the Commanders will have to think about this upcoming offseason, especially since quarterback Jayden Daniels<\/a> is soon eligible for a new deal and would rather lock him up for several years as a Commander. While speculation will heat up after coming off that “punch” to Lions star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, these are issues that the Commanders will take into account for his future.<\/p>\n

Here are three teams that could acquire him in a potential trade this upcoming offseason.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Los Angeles Chargers<\/h3>\n

While Justin Herbert’s offense has found some life, the defensive trenches need some work for the long haul. After letting Poona Ford hit free agency<\/a> this past offseason, the Chargers never made a major addition to the defensive line other than signing Da’Shawn Hand. Since then, they lost a few linebackers like Denzel Perryman and Khalil Mack<\/a> for a few weeks, so they should feel motivated to at least look into trading for a major trenches guy. Payne is a good example of that, and his former teammate, Jonathan Allen, joining the Vikings this season is proof that a new scenery would suit him well.<\/p>\n

If the team brings back veteran Teair Tart, part of the Jesse Minter defense, the Chargers should trade for Payne to bring some ferocious capabilities to get after the quarterback.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Oct 5, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle Teair Tart (90) runs on to the field for the game against the Washington Commanders at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

2. Jacksonville Jaguars<\/h3>\n

After releasing Khalen Saunders<\/a> due to poor production down the middle, the Jaguars will likely be in the market for a defensive lineman. This means the team should consider the idea of trading for Payne if the Commanders are open to dealing him. The Jaguars probably have one of the most underrated defensive lines that already contains Arik Armstead and Josh Hines-Allen, so they’re one man away from having a blockbuster unit. Payne could serve as the starter for this team if he can stay out of on-field issues.<\/p>\n

\"arik
Main Photo: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

3. Carolina Panthers<\/h3>\n

The past offseason for the Carolina Panthers was secretly a solid one as far as defensive additions. After signing defensive lineman Tershawn Wharton and safety Tre’Von Moehrig, the Panthers are like 2-3 pieces away from having an explosive defense. Defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson could be the latest victim of a departure, and someone like Payne could be a massive trade overhaul to help Wharton and standout Derrick Brown<\/a> in the trenches.<\/p>\n

\"Derrick
Sep 8, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Carolina Panthers defensive end Derrick Brown (95) walks off the field before the game against the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Washington Commanders may consider the option of trading this veteran during the 2026 offseason and these teams should be interested. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4795,"featured_media":254792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,30,13,18,6431,8896],"tags":[7739,7642,3617,6122,7335,6029,33528,7429,7661,32746,8996],"class_list":["post-254791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-panthers","category-jaguars","category-chargers","category-nfl-teams","category-washington-commanders","tag-carolina-panthers-news","tag-chargers-featured","tag-daron-payne","tag-derrick-brown","tag-jacksonville-jaguars-news","tag-javon-kinlaw","tag-khalen-saunders","tag-los-angeles-chargers-news","tag-panthers-featured","tag-teair-tart","tag-washington-commanders-news"],"modified_by":"Anthony Palacios","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4795"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254791"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254791\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":254796,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254791\/revisions\/254796"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}