The NFL Wasted No Time Suspending Washington Commanders Superstar Daron Payne For His Actions On Sunday

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Oct 1, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Washington Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne (94) on the field against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL wasted no time dealing with what Daron Payne did on Sunday against the Detroit Lions.

Payne was ejected from the Washington Commanders’ blowout 44-22 loss to Detroit after he punched Lions wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown suddenly in the facemask.

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The punch came just after St. Brown pointed to Donald Trump and then did his infamous dance.

That wasn’t the worst of Payne’s punishment.

The league announced the defensive tackle would be suspended one game for his actions.


After the game, Commanders defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw accused St. Brown of punching Payne first, which led to Payne retaliating, as the referees and everyone else observed.

Kinlaw, who was exposed for allegedly punching a ref, called Payne’s ejection “some bulls—.”

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Losing Daron Payne Makes The Commanders’ 2025 Season That Much Worse

Jun 10, 2025; Ashburn, VA, USA; Washington Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne (94) participates in a drill on day one of minicamp at Commanders Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Washington Commanders are inching closer to the realization that this team will not return to the playoffs this year, following a promising 2024 season.

The Marcus Mariota experience will last at least a few more weeks after second-year Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was sidelined with an elbow injury suffered late in a Week 9 “Sunday Night Football” blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Daniels’ elbow injury is not as serious as anticipated, and he will not be placed on injured reserve, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Daniels reportedly will be re-evaluated during the Commanders’ bye in Week 12. However, by that time, their season might be over.

Now that they have lost Daron Payne for a game, it might end up resulting in another lost game, which means it wouldn’t make sense to bring Daniels back into the fold and possibly risk another injury that could affect him in 2026.