2026 Position Group Breakdown: Interior Defensive Line
May 27, 2026
By Noonefromtampa
Background
With Washington’s new defensive coordinator, Daronte Jones likely implementing some form of Brian Flores’ aggressive 3-4 defense, the interior defensive line position will consist of nose tackles and 3-4 defensive ends. The new concept drove the signing of Tim Settle to play nose tackle. Much to the surprise of some fans, Daron Payne was not traded or released for cap savings.
Washington did not draft any interior defensive linemen this year.
Returning Players
Javon Kinlaw, 2025 free agent
Johnny Newton, 2024 2nd round pick
Daron Payne, 2018 1st round pick
Re-signed Shy Tuttle, 2025 waiver claim, 1 year contract, $1.4 million
Ricky Barber [reserve/futures contract]
Players Lost
DT Eddie Goldman, free agent
DT Sheldon Day, free agent
Free Agents Signed
DT D.J. Davidson, 1 year for $1,325,000
DT Tim Settle, 3 years for $23,490,000
Draft Picks
None
Undrafted Free Agents
DT Jeffrey M’ba, SMU
Roster Details
| Player | # | HT | WT | Age | Exp | College |
| Ricky Barber | 50 | 6-3 | 295 | 25 | 1 | UCF |
| D.J. Davidson | 6-5 | 320 | 26 | 5 | Arizona State | |
| Javon Kinlaw | 99 | 6-5 | 319 | 28 | 7 | South Carolina |
| Jeffrey M’ba | 60 | 6-5 | 310 | 26 | R | SMU |
| Jer’Zhan Newton | 95 | 6-2 | 295 | 23 | 3 | Illinois |
| Daron Payne | 94 | 6-3 | 320 | 28 | 9 | Alabama |
| Tim Settle | 97 | 6-3 | 315 | 28 | 9 | Virginia Tech |
| Shy Tuttle | 79 | 6-3 | 300 | 30 | 8 | Tennessee |
Thoughts
Payne has the highest salary cap number on the team at $27.95 million and is on the last year of his contract with Washington. Which Payne will the Commanders see this year? The force of nature seeking his next deal or the player who disappears during some part of the game?
Kinlaw is basically on a 2-year contract with a potential out after 2026 season with a $6.6 million dead cap number. Kinlaw played the most snaps last season, but his stats were not all that impressive. That may have been because he took on more of a space-eater roles which Settle will have this year. He’ll need to produce this year to avoid becoming a cap casualty.
After this season, Newton has one year remaining on his cap friendly, rookie deal with a 2027 dead cap of $1.8 million. So far Newton has not lived up to his second-round draft position. While he played better the second half of last season, and with the Settle signing it remains to be seen how many snaps he will get on game day.
Settle returns to Washington, where played for four years from 2018 to 2021. He was signed to play the nose tackle position in the new 3-4 scheme. He played for 2 years each with the Bills and Texans before coming back to the Commanders.
The last several seasons Washington kept five IDL on the 53-man roster, but this may change with the new scheme. Payne, Newton, Kinlaw and Settle figure to be the top four interior defensive linemen on the roster. The question will be whether Washington keeps one or two more interior defensive linemen on the roster, giving Barber or Tuttle a better chance of making the roster. Also, factor in that someone like Deatrich Wise could move inside to fill a spot.
2025 Stats
| Player | Snaps | Tackles | Sacks | QB Hits | TFL | PD | FF/FR |
| Kinlaw | 725 (64%) | 43 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1/0 |
| Payne | 607 (53%) | 46 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 1/0 |
| Newton | 432 (38%) | 21 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1/0 |
| Settle | 383 (53%) | 24 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0/0 |
| Davidson | 256 (26%) | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0/0 |
| Tuttle | 25 (2%) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 |
| Barber | 32 (3%) | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 |
Projection
Starters: Kinlaw, Payne, Settle
Reserves: Newton, Davidson
Practice Squad or Released: Barber, Tuttle, M’ba
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