FanPost

Should we try to trade Ioannidis or Allen since our D-Line is so stacked?

Let me preface this by saying I'm a big fan of Matt & Jonathan. Matt has been a steal out of Temple & we got him at a bargain in the 5th round of the 2016 NFL draft. Out of all the mistakes Bruce Allen has made during his painful tenure in Washington, locking Matt up to his 3 year, $21.75M contract was also a steal for the franchise. He is just now going into his first year of that new contract with an average annual salary of about $7.25M. Jon has also been a great contributor but it was more expected since he was a 1st round pick out of Alabama.

With the team transitioning to the 4-3 defense under Jack Del Rio, Matt & Jon are projecting to be our starting defensive tackles in between Chase Young and Montez Sweat. The issue, though, is that Da'Ron Payne (our 1st round pick just 2 years ago) will be on the sideline during at least half of the snaps in each game.

Now having depth along the defensive line is obviously a huge asset, and injuries are likely to occur throughout a season so I understand its important to have guys ready to get in at any point. However, Payne is a starting caliber talent & leaving him on the sideline just rubs me the wrong way. I can't come to grips with the idea of him splitting snaps & finishing a game with a lot still left in the tank because he just wasn't in the game enough to use it all.

So naturally I started wondering whether the team may be better off trading Matt or Jon for another piece since we are so well off along the d-line. The team just picked up Jon's 5th year option for next season so we have him locked up for 2 more years. Payne is entering his 3rd year of a likely 5-year rookie contract, so similar to Matt he still has 3 more years under contract.

If I had to choose between trading one of Matt or Jon I would trade the latter. Matt is only 1 year older than Jon & he is locked up for one more additional year than Jon. Plus, Jon's salary next year (2021-22 season) will skyrocket under his 5th-year option, which will be much more than Matt's salary of $7.25 million. The reason I'm not discussing the possibility of trading Payne out of these three is because he appears to be the most talented of the group & he's the youngest. He entered the league at 20 years old & in 3 years when his rookie contract expires he will only be 26.

Grabbing a starting CB, WR, OT, or 1st round pick may help this team more than having excessive depth along the defensive line. This may be a dumb idea & you may think I'm stupid for even considering this, or maybe you see my logic. Either way, let me know what you think.