Daron Payne injury update: Commanders DT status revealed for NFC Championship vs. Eagles

The upstart Washington Commanders are hoping to reach the Super Bowl in one of the more surprising runs in recent memory, but the Philadelphia Eagles stand in their way ahead of the NFC Championship Game.

Unfortunately, they’re going to be down one of their top defensive players in the City of Brotherly Love. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, defensive lineman Daron Payne will miss Sunday’s highly-anticipated showdown due to a combination of a knee and finger injury.

“Commanders downgraded DT Daron Payne to out for Sunday’s NFC Championship game due to knee and finger injuries,” Schefter posted on X Saturday afternoon.

Since coming into the league via the 2018 NFL Draft, Payne has been a force to be reckoned with for Washington, through thick and thin. However, he’s dealt with some ailments over the course of the 2024 campaign, and it has to be demoralizing for him to have to miss Sunday’s NFC Championship Game.

Regardless of Payne’s absence, count the Commanders out at your own risk. The Detroit Lions certainly overlooked them a bit, and Washington made them pay. If the Eagles aren’t careful, Washington, led by Jayden Daniels, could reach the Super Bowl after Sunday’s game comes to an end.

Time will tell if Daron Payne’s teammates can come through, and give him a shot to play one more time in a little over two weeks, when the Super Bowl heads to New Orleans. It’ll all come to a head on Sunday afternoon, with kickoff scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on FOX for the 2025 iteration of the NFC Championship Game

More on the Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles, NFC Championship Game

On the flip side, Jalen Hurts had a good week dealing with his knee injury for the Philadelphia Eagles, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Hurts injured his knee during the team’s Divisional Playoff win over the Los Angeles Rams.

Well, he’ll be good to go against the Washington Commanders Sunday in the NFC Championship Game. It’s just a matter of how limited he’ll be in the running game, playing off star RB Saquon Barkley.

Fowler provided the latest Saturday morning: “Well, I checked with somebody with the team, they said he had a good week, that he was trying to feel out his knee issue early in the week, just to make sure he’s not put too much strain on it, but he got through it,” Fowler said on SportsCenter. “Feels like he can push off it and do everything he needs to help the team win, but they’re going to see how he feels on game day.

“Now, he has no injury designation. It’s really more about can he run the full game plan? Can they do the run-pass option stuff with him as a runner? (Commanders’) Defensive Coordinator Joe Witt said ‘look if they try to treat him like a running back we’re going to hit him like a running back’ so he could take a physical toll during this big game.”

Jalen Hurts finished the game against the Rams 15-of-20 passing for 128 yards, 70 rushing yards and one rushing score. If he can accomplish a win at home over a division rival Sunday, the Eagles would reach the fifth Super Bowl in franchise history.

— On3’s Nick Kosko contributed to this article.