Coming off his first Pro Bowl season, Washington Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne is the first player to receive a franchise tag in the 2023 NFL offseason.

On Tuesday, the Commanders announced they had applied their franchise tag to Payne to keep the former Alabama standout from becoming a free agent on March 15.

By tagging Payne, Washington guarantees him a salary of $18.937 million for the 2023 season. But the Commanders also extend until July 15 their window to get a long-term deal done with the defensive tackle.

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During his fifth NFL season, Payne reached career highs with 64 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 18 tackles for loss and 20 quarterback hits while playing 87 percent of the Commanders’ defensive snaps. Payne led NFL defensive interior linemen in tackles for loss and NFC defensive interior linemen in sacks this season. Among NFL interior linemen, the former Shades Valley High School standout also played the highest percentage of his team’s defensive snaps in 2022.

As the 13th player picked in the 2018 NFL Draft, Payne signed a four-year contract worth $14.418 million. In 2021, Washington picked up its option for a fifth season, which paid Payne $8.529 million for the 2022 campaign.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.