The Washington Commanders opened OTAs last week, and four players were absent. Terry McLaurin, Chase Young, Cam Sims and Montez Sweat missed the first day of OTAs. McLaurin is sitting out the on-field portion of the offseason as he seeks a new contract, while Sims missed the first day for the birth of his child, and Young was continuing his rehab from knee surgery.
Yet, Daron Payne created the biggest headline of the day. Payne seemingly walked off the practice field during practice, and Ben Standig of The Athletic reported it was due to unhappiness over his contract.
Payne responded to the report on Twitter.
If y’all think I walked outta practice you goofy we always working
#mosthated
— Daron Payne (@94yne) May 25, 2022
Later in the week, one Twitter user criticized head coach Ron Rivera, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and team president Jason Wright, blaming them for Payne’s alleged unhappiness. The Twitter user tagged all three.
Del Rio responded.
Bite deez https://t.co/4QYQi0ecVk
— Jack Del Rio (@coachdelrio) May 26, 2022
That’s, uh, an interesting response. Give Del Rio credit, he responded.
And he wasn’t finished.
BTW, Daron Payne. He is a stud, a great teammate and works his butt off. I love him and he knows it! #Commanders https://t.co/4QYQi0ecVk
— Jack Del Rio (@coachdelrio) May 27, 2022
Del Rio deserves credit for not only sticking up for himself, Rivera and Wright here but for not backing down from his initial response. Some have criticized Del Rio in the past for his Twitter usage, but it has caused no issues with the team or his players.
It’s not every day you get a “bite deez” response, much less from an NFL coach.