These Commanders can earn extra paycheck by participating in offseason workouts

The Washington Commanders‘ offseason workout program got underway on Monday and the expectation is that every player will be present. With four months remaining until the start of next season, all workouts at this stage of the offseason are voluntary, so it’s encouraging the team will have a perfect attendance.

That includes Terry McLaurin, who gave fans a scare Monday when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Deebo Samuel, AJ Brown and McLaurin, three star receivers from the 2019 draft class who are seeking new contracts, are not expected to participate in their team’s on-field offseason workouts.

Shortly thereafter, Schefter amended his McLaurin scoop, saying the Ohio State product will report to the program as a means of leadership. It’s unclear if McLaurin will workout with the team, but the fact he’s there is enough.

Since McLaurin is still on a rookie contract, he’s not forfeiting any extra money by sitting out of workouts. But what about his teammates? Which Commanders could cash an extra paycheck by doing the bare minimum that’s required of a professional athlete?

Per ESPN’s Field Yates, Chiefs edge rusher Frank Clark will earn the highest workout bonus in the NFL at a whopping $1.25 million. After looking at the numbers, no Washington player will sniff that outrageous sum.

Which Commanders could earn workout bonuses this offseason?

NFL workout bonuses are generally included in a player’s second contract and are implemented to entice players to report to the team for meetings, walk-through practices and weight-lifting sessions before mandatory minicamp.

According to OvertheCap, here are the Commanders players who can earn workout bonuses during the offseason.

• Jonathan Allen: $500,000
• Logan Thomas: $300,000
• William Jackson: $250,000
• Bobby McCain: $200,000
• Andrew Norwell: $200,000
• Cam Sims: $190,000
• Curtis Samuel: $100,000
• JD McKissic: $100,000
• Charles Leno: $65,000
• Cornelius Lucas: $50,000

There you have it, folks. As one of the faces of the franchise, you can expect Jonathan Allen to be on the front lines of team stretches and other drills. Surprise absences are possible, but reports indicate the rest of the players listed will be in attendance. Logan Thomas could be the one exception given he’s recovering from December ACL surgery, so stay tuned for news on the tight end’s whereabouts.

Last year, Commanders fans took careful note of the fact that Chase Young skipped voluntary offseason workouts to fulfill off-field endorsement obligations.

The former No. 2 overall pick went on to post underwhelming numbers before a torn ACL ended his season after nine games. While Young’s injury obviously isn’t attributed to him skipping OTAs, it just goes to show that nothing positive can be gained from a young player and team leader bypassing team workouts, as he received a ton of backlash from fans for being the only player to miss the start of the program.

From McLaurin’s perspective, though, it’s understandable. Seemingly close to signing a life-changing contract, it wouldn’t make sense for McLaurin to participate in on-field drills and risk injury. With the star WR presumably taking part in weight-lifts and team meetings, nobody should be offended by this news.

Let’s hope this time next year we’ll be talking about McLaurin having one of the highest workout bonuses on the team. That, of course, would imply that he and Washington eventually reached an agreement on an extension.

Our fingers are indeed crossed.