Commanders insider lays out timeline for potential Terry McLaurin extension

While a change in ownership is tops on everyone’s priority list, fans have set one realistic objective for the Washington Commanders this offseason: extend Terry McLaurin by any means necessary, even it means overpaying for him.

Seems reasonable enough, right?

Between being a star player at what has become a premier position, representing the franchise with class off the field (he won the Washington Media Good Guy award for the second year in a row) and being universally beloved by fans, McLaurin is the type of player you extend without thinking twice about it.

The only snags? The wide receiver market has exploded this offseason and the Commanders are no longer flush with cap space after trading for Carson Wentz.

When you take Wentz’s remaining contract into account with the fact that other players will be extension eligible down the road, the Commanders needs to have an eye on the future cap while negotiating with McLaurin.

So, when should Washington fans expect a potential agreement? More importantly, where do both parties stand on the negotiation front? In his latest article, insider Ben Standig of The Athletic, did his best to answer these questions.

Are the Commanders and Terry McLaurin nearing an agreement on a contract extension?

Fans won’t like hearing that Ron Rivera is still preaching patience, but Standig understands McLaurin isn’t rushing to put pen to paper, either. That’s both good and bad news. On one hand, it’s reassuring there’s mutual interest in meeting in the middle and McLaurin isn’t threatening a potential holdout.

On the other, the longer the two sides negotiate, the higher McLaurin’s price tag will increase. Since the offseason started, Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill each set the record for most guaranteed money and annual average salary among WRs.

In addition, Christian Kirk inked a four-year, $72 million deal with Jacksonville, and Mike Williams and Chris Godwin re-signed with the Chargers and Buccaneers, respectively, at $60 million over three years and $40 mil guaranteed.

While all lucrative contracts, Standig was told at the owners’ meetings that the agents of DK Metcalf, Deebo Samuel and AJ Brown — each of whom hail from the 2019 draft — are “aiming for financial terms in the Adam and Hill range.”

Though alarming, that isn’t forcing Washington into panic mode. In fact, we wouldn’t expect any real traction until mandatory minicamp.

"“While the second wave of free agency is here, sources on both sides anticipate intensified extension talks for McLaurin starting around or after the NFL Draft (April 28-30) while pointing toward a June or July resolution.”"

Last week, insider Adam Caplan speculated that McLaurin should demand a salary $22 or $23 million on his next contract. If one of Metcalf, Samuel or Brown gets extended beforehand, though, could that baseline take another jump?

It’s certainly possible, but a potential uptick in demands likely won’t result in the Commanders fielding trade offers for McLaurin. While teams have explored the possibility of a trade for McLaurin, Ron Rivera told The Athletic no club has reached out and rival executives don’t see the star WR hitting the block.

Our main takeaway? Time isn’t of the essence.

Like the Commanders, we aren’t panicking, but that will change in a heartbeat if we get through OTAs, which start in late-May and conclude in the second week of June, and there’s still no clearcut update on how negotiations are going.

After all, if Week 1 of next season rolls around and McLaurin is still on his rookie contract the offseason can only be regarded as a failure. All of a sudden, he’d be eligible for the franchise tag and nobody wants to go down that rabbit hole again.

Patience is a virtue, and it better pay off for Washington in this case.