The Washington Commanders’ defensive front is running out of bodies with the 4-4 Los Angeles Rams up next. Defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw had knee surgery that ends his year, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. He hurt the MCL when Washington fell to the 49ers in San Francisco in Week 6.
Daron Payne went down first. The 29-year-old broke his foot in a light practice two days before Washington beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10 in Week 8. Labeled a “fluke injury,” the break was a Jones fracture, and it ends his season.
Both men were starting ends in Washington’s 3-4 base look and slid inside to tackle in nickel. Payne has played all nine of his seasons in Washington and projects to hit unrestricted free agency after this one. He’d been floated as a trade candidate before the fracture.
Losing Kinlaw hurts most against the run. He had started 23 straight games since joining on a three-year pact in 2025. His 5.2% rate of tackles at the line or in the backfield was a career best, and only six players at his position posted a higher figure.
He’d chipped in as a rusher, too, with one sack and three quarterback hits across six games, plus 13 tackles. Charles Omenihu and Deatrich Wise Jr. stepped in as starters against the Eagles, while Tim Settle and Shy Tuttle took on extra snaps. Third-year defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton, sidelined all season by a pectoral tear, was cleared to begin practicing last week and could debut against the Rams.
Injuries reach well past the trenches. Leading wideout Terry McLaurin suffered a left patellar tendon tear in Week 6, and left tackle Laremy Tunsil’s triceps tear dates to Aug. 8. Coach Dan Quinn said an exam in about two weeks would show whether Tunsil can return late in the year.
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