Washington Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne is back after serving his one-game suspension for punching the Lions’ WR Amon-Ra St. Brown. Now that he has returned, Payne admitted to having just one regret about that incident. And it is not what you think.

When asked about what he had learned from that incident, Payne had a simple answer.

“I just know, next time, just do it in the moment instead of wait after the play. Just do it in the moment,” Payne said.

That isn’t the lesson the league would have wanted Payne to learn from the incident. This incident took place during the second quarter of the Commanders’ game against the Detroit Lions in Week 10. After Detroit’s third touchdown, things got heated.

Payne and St. Brown exchanged words, and the Commanders’ DT ended up taking a swing. After the exchange, Payne took some time before he punched Brown, and that’s what he truly regrets.

Considering what actually happened during the incident, it’s understandable why he feels that way. Both Brown and Payne were involved in the incident, but the officials missed what the Lions player did due to this gap. Instead, they only flagged Payne with an unsportsmanlike penalty and ejected him.

It was the first ejection of his eight-year career. And a one-game suspension for the DT meant he wouldn’t be present for the Commanders in the game against the Miami Dolphins. This was a crucial game for them to break their five-game losing streak. Unfortunately, they took yet another disappointing 16-13 defeat in an overtime thriller in Madrid.

Payne had also appealed the suspension, but hearing officer Ramon Foster, who was appointed to hear the case, decided to uphold it. As for Amon-Ra St. Brown, the Lions’ receiver escaped with a fine.

Why did the league fine Amon-Ra St. Brown?

Brown played a bigger role in the incident. Videos showed that the Lions player had also hit Payne’s helmet. After the game, the Lions player shared that they had a “little scuffle” which led to the verbal argument. But he didn’t share the part of him striking the Commanders’ player.

“Then we end up scoring, and I go up to him,” Brown said. “I say a little something, nothing crazy, and then he decides to swing on me.”

Payne had shared those videos on his Instagram story. Commanders defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw even argued that St. Brown was the instigator, and that Payne had only reacted to what happened.

“Yeah for sure, and they (refs) (saw it), too,” Kinlaw shared. “It’s some bulls—. 100 percent.” “Daron retaliated. The refs literally saw the first punch. I don’t blame him for the way he reacted. Tempers got to flaring.”

Later, Brown was fined $12,172 for it. Some, such as Robert Griffin III, argued that Payne took the ejection as well as the suspension, while Brown was only fined. He urged the league to suspend the player for one game. But the league seems unlikely to do so. Moreover, Payne seems to have understood the lesson, although not the right one.