A 10-step Commanders plan: Tag and trade Daron Payne, beef up OL and add a vet QB -

Say this for the Washington Commanders’ offseasons under coach Ron Rivera: They are never, ever dull.

The 2020 season, Rivera’s first in Washington’s coach-centric model, was about laying a foundation while aiming for the spectacular by selecting edge rusher Chase Young No. 2 in that year’s NFL Draft. They swung — and missed — on quarterback Matthew Stafford in 2021. Last year, Rivera targeted many quarterbacks before making the polarizing trade for Carson Wentz.

Rivera’s big maneuver this year might be adding two-time Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. Don’t expect major QB drama, but there’s plenty of intrigue with Sam Howell poised to be QB1 this summer despite only one career start. Overall, the roster-construction conundrums run deeper for a coach with a 22-27-1 record in Washington.

🎙️Behind the scenes at Eric Bieniemy Day. The Commanders' new OC held his introductory presser. Why Washington? Play-calling dynamics. QBs. Also, ownership news. Jeff Bezos time?

Bonus: Hear from Bieniemy, Terry McLaurin, Sam Howell and Jason Wright. https://t.co/VCQ1S345Ko

— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) February 24, 2023

Here’s one blueprint for tackling free agency, the draft and various matters on both sides of the ball. The primary challenges are: First, not knowing if the football people face budget constraints because of owner Dan Snyder exploring a franchise sale; and second, whether Rivera will put more emphasis on the current season because of all that uncertainty.

1. Tag Daron Payne — then trade him

We’re coming out hot. The pros and cons of retaining the Pro Bowl defensive tackle are clear. So are the franchise tag options. Less apparent: Washington’s willingness to put the big picture ahead of, or at least alongside, immediate considerations.

The Commanders are expected to franchise-tag Payne, The Athletic reported this week, which will assign the 26-year-old a one-year tender of $18.9 million for 2023 and give the sides until July 17 to negotiate a long-term contract. Other teams may offer Payne a contract, but Washington could match any offer or receive two first-round picks in exchange. Teams could also discuss a trade package with the Commanders and negotiate their own deal with Payne upon acquiring him (the July 17 deadline would still apply).

The 2018 first-round pick wowed with a career-high 11.5 sacks last season. Letting him escape would mean breaking up his pairing with Jonathan Allen, also known as the strength of Washington’s top 10-rated defense. That’s hardly ideal for a head coach who needs to maximize his opportunities this season.

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The DT market may soar this year, meaning a Payne extension would likely exceed Allen’s four-year, $72 million ($35 million guaranteed) deal signed in 2021. Regardless, keeping Payne is the conservative play. He’s the known commodity and a dynamic interior presence.

Yet Washington would still have the making of a dominant front with Allen and defensive ends/extension candidates Montez Sweat and Young. DT Phidarian Mathis, a 2022 second-round pick, will return after suffering a season-ending meniscus injury in Week 1.

Teams often shy away from spending heavily on defensive tackles. The Mathis selection and the lack of extension discussions with Payne’s camp last year — and the team’s willingness to listen to trade offers before last year’s draft — strongly suggest Washington concurs with that roster-building approach. Or at least did before Payne’s breakthrough campaign.

Extensions for those four DL starters, who were all selected in the first round, would overweight the line within the team’s overall asset allocation. Unwise. Releasing quarterback Carson Wentz and his $26.2 million cap charge will open needed space to keep Payne — or address other spots.

Trading Payne for a 2023 second-round pick (Bears? Falcons?) would provide the front office with a valuable selection at a point when owner Dan Snyder might rein in spending as he explores selling the franchise. Payne eventually signing elsewhere could net the Commanders a compensatory pick, but not until the following calendar year and no higher than the third round.

2. Sign veteran center to help Sam Howell …

There’s more than just snapping the ball for those men in the middle of the line. They also call protections. Having a veteran seems ideal with an inexperienced QB. Chase Roullier is coming off a season-ending knee injury — he has missed 24 games over the past two seasons — and is a prime pay cut or release candidate with a $12.4 million cap hit.

Pro Football Focus projects three-year contracts for $21-22 million overall and $11-12 million guaranteed for top free-agent centers Ethan Pocic (Browns) and Connor McGovern (Jets). Cleveland’s already hefty OL spending might let Pocic, 27, test free agency. McGovern, who turns 30 in April, has missed only three games in his six-year career.

3. … but use two early picks on OL

One center signing won’t be enough for a line that struggled in 2022 and has interior linemen Trai Turner, Wes Schweitzer and Tyler Larsen hitting free agency.

Georgia’s Broderick Jones is one of three tackles projected in the 6-16 range. Ohio State’s Dawand Jones offers massive measurables in the second round. The Commanders need a tackle if Sam Cosmi moves to guard, or as a long-term answer on the left side.

Interior linemen projected in the top 50 include Florida OG O’Cyrus Torrence and Minnesota C John Michael Schmitz. Help is available in the third and fourth rounds.

4. Keep LB Cole Holcomb on 1-year deal

The Commanders deemphasized linebacker last season with their regular use of five defensive backs. Jamin Davis is the only viable starter on the books for 2023. Rather than find someone new — this is not a strong LB class in the early rounds — why not keep their 2021 leading tackler?

Holcomb missed the final 10 games with a foot injury that required surgery in December. A one-year deal for $3.5 million (he made $2.54 million last season) would give Holcomb a shot at rehabbing his market value and keep the defense’s signal-caller around.

Our collective jokes about Rivera bringing everyone with him from Carolina centered on volume, not the integrity of the approach. For new head coaches — or coordinators — having familiar faces can help spread the gospel at their new stop.

Wylie became a Chiefs starter at guard in 2018, the same year Bieniemy began OC duties, then transitioned to right tackle in 2021. After going undrafted in 2017, he started all 20 regular-season and playoff games for the Super Bowl champs in 2022 — on a $2.5 million salary — and has made 59 regular-season starts over the past five years. Spotrac’s market value for Wylie — three years, $14.1 million — feels light based on the championship affiliation, but the 310-pounder barely cracked the top 100 on The Athletic’s Top 150 free agents list.

Allegretti (27 in April), a starter on Kansas City’s Super Bowl team in 2021, could be the new Schweitzer with the ability to play guard and center.

Among skill players, Watson offers a size and speed element for a team with Cam Sims entering free agency. The 6-foot-2 target averaged 21.0 yards on 15 receptions in his lone season with the Chiefs.

(My list of non-K.C. free agents worth watching includes tight ends Mike Gesicki and Austin Hooper; guards Isaac Seumalo and Dalton Risner; linebackers Germaine Pratt and Drue Tranquill.)

Reminder: Rivera signaled Washington wouldn’t be big spenders on a quarterback with cash or picks.

“It’s hard for me to say that, yeah, we’re going to go ahead and spend all this capital,” Rivera told The Athletic before the Super Bowl. “Because if you spend this capital, that guy has to be your starter. … That’s where we have to be smart and careful. You have to have good sense and feeling.”

Considering Fields here would go against everything Rivers said, but Washington liked the former Ohio State star coming out of college, and he set the single-season QB rushing record in 2022. The Bears could trade the rising third-year QB if they use the No. 1 pick on another quarterback. They are also a presumed suitor for Payne. Would Fields, who turns 24 next week, for a package headlined by 16 and Payne work for both sides?

The tier with Dalton (and Jacoby Brissett) feels like the high-end if Washington isn’t doling out big bucks and ultimately pivots on Howell as its clear offseason QB leader. After a solid year with the Saints, the “Red Rocket” might zoom up the list of potential starters.

Evaluators often compared Howell pre-draft with Mayfield due to arm strength, mobility, grit and limited size. Beyond whether the Commanders see Mayfield as a roster and culture fit, the wonder is whether the first player selected in the 2018 draft could accept coming off the bench from the jump.

But if taking Rivera’s phrasing to heart, Taylor Heinicke makes sense, except for a critical factor: The decision-makers, unless Bieniemy disagrees, don’t see him as a starter. Therefore, I land on a Heinicke-esque player … Gardner Minshew.

There’s mustache mania potential for the fan base with this spunky quarterback who spent last season backing up Jalen Hurts. Like Heinicke, Minshew would bring energy if needed but wouldn’t balk as the backup. There’s also a better chance to play behind Howell than behind Hurts.

7. Pick a trustworthy third back

We know Rivera and general manager Martin Mayhew desire a run-heavy plan, though ideally, it’s a balanced attack with fourth-quarter leads allowing for more carries. This topic emerged during the year-end news conference because of how the principals explained their intentions entering last season.

“We wanted to play the first couple games as you guys saw (later in the season),” Mayhew said. “Didn’t have (Brian Robinson Jr.). We didn’t have the run game going the way we wanted it going.”

Nobody could plan for Robinson to miss the opening four games after being shot twice. But nobody stopped Washington from running the ball as desired. Antonio Gibson and J.D. McKissic took over — and the game planning catered to their perimeter skills.

Like Robinson, the other RB, Jonathan Williams, falls into that between-the-tackles style. But he received one carry through three games and six by Thanksgiving. Washington and Williams proactively agreed to a one-year extension Friday. Hopefully, the coaches don’t forget about him if the need for another banger arises — or they find someone who stays front of mind.

8. Get busy with extensions, restructures, releases

Releasing Wentz is easy. Other choices require delicacy and conviction. Roughly nine of the Commanders’ 13 most significant salary-cap hits for 2023 merit consideration as players to extend, restructure or release.

Extension: Cornerback Kendall Fuller’s four-year, $40 million contract ($23.5 guaranteed) signed in 2020 ends after this season. Keeping him is paramount. There’s room to maneuver with an $11.625 million cap hit that includes $3.125 dead money but no remaining guaranteed money.

Restructure: Situations for left tackle Charles Leno Jr. and wide receiver Curtis Samuel are more about creating cap space. Roullier’s situation reads like a pay cut or a release.

Release: The equation for tight end Logan Thomas: Does locker-room leadership, plus any hope for a bounce-back season 18 months removed from ACL surgery, outweigh cutting the unit’s one old head for $5.175 million cap savings ($3.5 million dead cap)?

This is where Bieniemy’s input on Thomas — and second-year players Armani Rogers and Cole Turner — will be fascinating since he coached the league’s best tight end in Kansas City.

McKissic’s history of neck injuries puts his future in doubt.

9. Start extension talks with Kamren Curl

The 2020 seventh-round pick heads into the final year of his rookie deal knowing he massively outperformed those terms. Washington’s worst defensive games last season came without the versatile safety, and Rivera declined to offer praise for fear Curl’s agent would use his words in negotiations. This is another example of where Snyder might close the wallet until he closes the sale. If so, the front office must let Curl’s team know their plans for when a new owner arrives and is willing to spend.

10. Pick up Chase Young’s fifth-year option

This call on the No. 2 selection in the 2020 draft is more about obligation than production and factors in the aforementioned Payne plan.

Rivera told reporters during Super Bowl week that Washington must consider Young’s health and development before agreeing to the $17.45 million salary in 2024. Young’s significant 2021 knee injury cost him 22 consecutive games before a Week 15 return. He’s also had only 1.5 sacks since his explosive rookie season.

Taking on the fifth year isn’t a reward but a way to keep options open — unless Washington extends Payne and shifts Young (or Sweat) into trade talks.

11. Snyder sells the team

Last but overwhelming not least. This matters more than everything on this list combined. As for why, no explanation is required.

(Photo of Daron Payne: Geoff Burke / USA Today)

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