Commanders Defensive Line Collapses as Javon Kinlaw Joins Daron Payne on Season-Ending IR

The Washington Commanders' defensive interior just went from a brick wall to a beaded curtain. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Tuesday that Javon Kinlaw underwent season-ending MCL surgery, officially joining Daron Payne on the shelf for the rest of the year.

Losing one starting defensive tackle is a headache. Losing two franchise cornerstones in the span of a few weeks is the kind of structural collapse that keeps defensive coordinators awake at night.

"Adam Schefter reported that Kinlaw underwent season-ending surgery Tuesday on his MCL."

Washington just handed Kinlaw a three-year, $45 million deal to reunite with GM Adam Peters and anchor this front alongside Payne. Instead, Payne recently went down with a season-ending Jones fracture, and now Kinlaw's knee has officially tapped out.

You can scheme around a bad secondary or a mediocre linebacker room, but you cannot fake having 600 pounds of elite run-stopping beef in the middle of the trenches. Opposing offensive lines are going to look at the Washington depth chart like it is an all-you-can-eat buffet.

The Commanders managed to bully the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10 this past weekend even with the injuries piling up, but surviving one divisional game is very different from surviving a winter schedule. If you are looking at Washington's upcoming opponents, expect to see a heavy dose of inside zone runs and rushing props ticking upward until the Commanders prove they can plug the massive hole in the middle of their defense.