There is a short list of dream free agents for the Pittsburgh Steelers. We already talked about our wishlist but the one guy we omitted by design was Washington Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne. He was far and away the best player the Steelers could have signed.
But that dream has died, for now at least. The Commanders announced on Tuesday that they were placing the franchise tag on Payne, presumably while the two sides try to work out a long-term contract. Payne had a career year in 2022 with 11.5 sacks.
Payne will earn $18.93 million on the tag in 2023. It was wishful thinking that Payne would be an option for the Steelers but it doesn’t mean the Steelers cannot still pursue a free-agent defensive tackle to improve the team’s defensive front.
