Donald Payne Thankful for the ‘Blessing’ That Is His Return to Jacksonville

The third-year linebacker is back with Jacksonville, the team he had spent the first two seasons of his NFL career with.

From Sept. 10 to Oct. 22, linebacker Donald Payne was at home, waiting on a phone call and a chance. He just wanted to play football again. It didn’t matter for who.

Luckily for Payne, the stars aligned just right. A call finally came in and on the other end of the line was the Jacksonville Jaguars, who Payne spent 2017-2018 with during his first two seasons in the league.

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“It is truly a blessing, to be honest,” Payne told JaguarMaven on Thursday.

“I have been sitting at home for the last three, three-and-a-half, four weeks, so to be able to get that call to come here for a workout, I put in a lot of work and effort to be able to stay in shape and get back right from my surgery I had this summer.”

The Jaguars had a massive need created at the linebacker position after four different linebackers went down with injuries against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7. Among those injuries was special teams standout D.J. Alexander, who was placed on the team’s reserve/injured list with a foot injury.

To take his place, the Jaguars scooped up Payne, who accumulated 15 tackles as a core special team player in Jacksonville from 2017-2018. Payne had been away from Jacksonville since the team waived him in May following foot surgery.

“It was truly a blessing when they called for a workout, and I just went out there and put my all in. I know the system, I know how to play on special teams,” Payne said. “I just want to keep putting in my hard work this week and you know, go ham on Sunday.”

While Jacksonville was the team Payne had spent the most time with, it was not the most recent team he had been on. He signed with the Baltimore Ravens in August before being released from their practice squad on Sept. 10.

After that, Payne had to sit at home and prepare himself, both physically and mentally. For the first time in years, he did not suit up for a team’s first game of the season, something he had to come to terms with.

“Since I have been in like sixth or seventh grade, during this time I have always been playing football,” he said. “I hadn’t missed an opening day game or anything until this year. So it was kind of hard being at home.”

Payne stayed in shape during this difficult period in his career, knowing that a call from any of the 32 teams could come at any time. He heard from the Jaguars early in the week and flew to Jacksonville on Tuesday to work out for them before eventually signing to the active roster.

“I was training in Atlanta and I just woke up that morning, got my stuff ready and said ‘hey, I am ready to put in work,’” Payne said. “And like I said, I had been putting in a lot of work these last three to four weeks to stay in shape.”

Payne told JaguarMaven he has been working at middle linebacker in practice while also being caught back up to speed on special teams under special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis. Having to sign to a team on Tuesday and be ready to play Sunday is no easy task, even for a player who has been in the special teams and defensive systems before.

“Coach Joe D has been busting my balls a little bit,” Payne laughed. “Just trying to get back in the film room. The defense has a little bit of new systems going on, so I am trying to get everything built back up and build my endurance back up because I have to play on Sunday.”

For Payne, Tuesday was a long time coming. He saw it as there are 32 teams out there looking for players, and all he needed was a shot. Luckily for him, his shot came at his old stomping grounds, but his confidence never wavered even before Tuesday.

“I knew I am able to play in this league. I played in this league for two years straight on an active roster,” Payne said. “So I knew I was going to get back out there sometime, just didn’t know what team it was going to be, and it happened to be the Jaguars so that is a blessing.”

Payne knows there are other players looking for new homes on Sundays that aren’t as lucky as him. He knows how it feels to be at home without a team while former teammates are playing in regular season games, something he hasn’t done in nearly a year.

“I know the system, I know how to play here. At the same time there is 31 other teams out there that are looking for people, and at the same time there are other people at home right now wishing they could be on any team,” Payne said.

“So I was in the same boat. I wanted to be on any team and go out there and put the work in. But for it to be Jacksonville, where I have been set in stone for the last two years, it was even more of a blessing.”