Washington Commanders DT Daron Payne out for season with Jones fracture in left foot suffered in Friday practice

Washington · Sports · Nov. 1, 2026 · Washington Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne suffered a season-ending Jones fracture in his left foot during practice on Friday, Oct. 30. ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported the diagnosis on Saturday, and additional tests on Saturday confirmed the fracture; Payne is expected to be placed on injured reserve.

Questionable, then ruled out, then confirmed

Payne was first added to the injury report as questionable for Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles before being ruled out hours later; Saturday's testing then settled the season-ending outcome. A team source told ESPN the injury happened late in a light Friday practice, during a team drill, and called it a fluke injury, with nobody stepping on his foot. ESPN noted that a typical recovery from this type of fracture can run up to four months. Payne has 14 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble in six games, all starts, this season.

Thin up front, and the trade chip is gone

The loss compounds an already thin interior: Javon Kinlaw is already out for Sunday night's game with a knee injury, and Jer'Zhan Newton, who tore a pectoral muscle in an Aug. 14 preseason game, only returned to practice this week and is listed as questionable; veterans Charles Omenihu and Deatrich Wise Jr. are the depth options inside. Payne is in the final season of the four-year, $90 million extension he signed in March 2023 and turns 30 in May; Yahoo Sports had flagged him as a possible trade chip before the Nov. 10 deadline, and that option is now gone, with ESPN writing that his future in Washington is in question.

Next: Eagles at home on Sunday night

Washington, 1-4-1, hosts the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Nov. 1 at 8:20 p.m. ET at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, in the first test of the reshuffled defensive front. Compiled from ESPN reporting.