HC Ron Rivera: Commanders want to extend WR Terry McLaurin, DT Daron Payne

A pair of notable Commanders are up for extensions, and it sounds like coach Ron Rivera wants to keep them around. In a conversation with Ben Standig of The Athletic, Rivera said he’s very interested in locking in wideout Terry McLaurin and defensive tackle Daron Payne for the foreseeable future.

“We have a tremendous amount of interest in making sure these guys are with us going forward,” Rivera said.

Despite being selected in the third round of the 2019 draft, it didn’t take McLaurin very long to make a name for himself. He finished that campaign with PFWA All-Rookie Team honors after compiling 919 receiving yards. The receiver kept it up during his sophomore and junior campaigns, combining for 164 receptions, 2,171 yards and nine touchdowns between the 2020 and 2021 seasons (despite some inconsistent play from the quarterback position).

Payne had a bit more fanfare heading into the NFL after being selected with the 13th overall pick in 2018. The 6-foot-3, 320-pound defensive lineman has started 58 of his 64 career games, including all 33 over the past two seasons. Payne finished the 2021 campaign with career-highs in tackles (61) and QB hits (15) to go along with 4.5 sacks.

Payne had his fifth-year option picked up last April, locking him in to a $8.529M salary for 2022. McLaurin, meanwhile, is heading into the final year of his rookie contract and has a cap number of $3.04M in 2022.