“If it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have no luck at all.” How many times have you heard that statement over the years? That saying sort of fits the Washington Commanders.

On Friday, 11 days after seeing star wide receiver Terry McLaurin tear his patellar tendon and be lost for the season, defensive tackle Daron Payne fractured his foot in Friday’s practice, also knocking him out for the season. Payne, Washington’s 2018 first-round pick, had been considered a potential trade candidate ahead of the November 10 NFL trade deadline.

Now, Washington’s best trade chip isn’t going anywhere. At 1-4-1, the Commanders are in a weird position. While some consider them already out of contention, they play in the suddenly weak NFC East and trail the New York Giants by only three games. General manager Adam Peters may have surveyed the NFC East landscape and thought the same thing. Why trade Payne if the Commanders remain in the NFC playoff race?

Here’s where we come back to Washington’s bad luck. Now, Peters doesn’t even have a decision to make. The Commanders aren’t getting a draft pick for Payne if they keep losing. Nor will they have him on the field, potentially helping them string together several wins and get back into the playoff hunt.

One day after Payne injured his foot, Mike Florio of NBC Sports' Pro Football Talk said that the Commanders were talking to multiple teams about Payne.

The Commanders, we’re told, were talking to one or more teams about the terms of a potential trade for veteran defensive tackle Daron Payne. After he suffered a season-ending foot injury during practice on Friday, there will be no trade.

Washington was talking to multiple teams. Do you know what that means? When you have more than one team bidding for a player, the better the compensation you receive. We’ll never know now.

The Commanders just can’t catch a break.