Kwity Paye
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Indianapolis Colts edge rusher Kwity Paye.
We will probably never know how close the Washington Commanders came to actually obtaining disgruntled Cincinnati Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson via a trade — or if they even made a serious offer at all before Hendrickson and the Bengals agreed to a 1-year, $30 million contract on August 25.
What we do know headed into the 2025 regular season is the Commanders leave a lot to be desired at edge rusher. Their most notable move this offseason was signing 36-year-old former Super Bowl MVP Von Miller to a 1-year, $6.1 million contract on July 17, which doesn’t inspire much confidence.
Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton put forth a trade proposal that would bring the Commanders immediate help in 6-foot-3, 265-pound Indianapolis Colts edge rusher Kwity Paye and a 2026 seventh round pick in exchange for a 2026 third round pick and 2027 fifth round pick.
“Paye isn’t a marquee player, but he’s consistent and still has room for growth,” Moton wrote on August 28. “The 26-year-old has logged at least eight sacks in back-to-back seasons and 10 tackles for loss in two of his four campaigns. Indianapolis may not be willing to give Paye a new contract before he tests free agency next offseason. If rookie second-rounder JT Tuimoloau shows flashes this year, the Colts may listen to offers for Paye. Washington has the cap space flexibility to acquire and sign him to an extension.”
Paye was a first round pick (No. 21 overall) in the 2021 NFL draft and is due $13.387 million in 2025 after the Colts exercised the fifth year option on his contract, bringing his career earnings to approximately $27 million.
Paye Durable, Consistent On Terrible Teams
The fact Paye didn’t receive a lucrative contract extension last year seems to be much more indicative of how bad the Colts have been than reflective of what he’s done on the field.
On a decent team, Paye would have probably already cashed in. Not only has he continued to evolve as a pass rusher, he’s also been durable. He’s only missed more than 2 games in a season once, in 2022, when he missed 5 games but still finished with 6.0 sacks.
The real problem has been with the Colts, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2020 and haven’t finished more than one game above .500 in Paye’s first 4 seasons.
Paye is also on his third head coach in 5 seasons with Shane Steichen, who could very well be fired after this year — if not before the end of the regular season.
Commanders Let Sacks Leader Leave in Free Agency
Miller would have been an exciting player to sign 5 years ago, but at this stage in his career he’s a situational pass rusher at best. He played 13 games with 6.0 sacks for the Buffalo Bills in 2024 but was only on the field for 33 percent of his team’s defensive snaps.
The Commanders let last seasons’s sacks leader, Dante Fowler, leave in free agency and return to their NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys on a 1-year, $6 million contract. Fowler, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft, led the Commanders with 11.0 sacks in 2024 as the franchise made the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991.