Commanders downgrade DT Daron Payne to out for NFC Championship game vs. Eagles

The Commanders will be without their best defensive player, star defensive tackle Daron Payne, who has been downgraded to out against the Eagles in the NFC Championship game.

Payne has been dealing with a knee and finger injury and will see his 88-game streak snapped.

Payne has started every game since the 2020 season, and 88 in a row, and his absence opens the door for Jer’Zhan Newton to start.

Newton, a rookie, started 11 games this year instead of Jonathan Allen, who missed more than two months before returning in late December.

As the NFL continues to try to reduce the number concussions throughout the league, one potential step towards that has been the introduction of Guardian Caps.

This year, for the first time, some players wore Guardian Caps during NFL games as a safety measure. Among those players is Damar Hamlin, who recently started wearing the Guardian Cap over his helmet in the Bills’ preseason games.