Jonathan Allen brings needed perspective to Terry McLaurin’s holdout

Football is back! Well, sort of. That depends how high you value organized team activities, as the Washington Commanders reported back to their practice facility in Ashburn for their first set of OTA practices this week.

At the surface, there’s a lot to feel good about. Carson Wentz is wowing his teammates with his arm talent, Curtis Samuel looks fully healthy and ready to contribute, and JD McKissic is already snatching ankles out of the backfield.

On the flip side, though, there’s some concerning storylines. Daron Payne worried fans when he walked off the field at Wednesday’s practice and didn’t report on Thursday, though his latest tweets downplayed any potential controversy.

There’s also been a fuss made over Chase Young and Montez Sweat’s absence, but we’re not going to get into that. Young is still rehabbing his surgically-repaired ACL in Colorado and Ron Rivera says Sweat has an excused absence.

The real story, however, is Terry McLaurin’s holdout, as the star receiver reportedly hasn’t been with the team since before the draft. We’re hard-pressed not to understand where McLaurin is coming from, but we also understand fans who are envisioning a doomsday scenario where negotiations go awry.

Our advice? Listen to Jonathan Allen, who was in McLaurin’s shoes this time last offseason and offered needed perspective on the story.

Commanders captain Jonathan Allen brought needed perspective to Terry McLaurin’s contract holdout from OTAs.

Here’s what Allen told reporters when he was asked if he’s talked to McLaurin since the receiver’s holdout started.

"“One-hundred percent. Like, it’s tough. You know, everyone says don’t take it personal, but your whole life is about to change, so it’s a very personal experience. From both sides; the organizational side and the player’s side. I’m always gonna side with the player, cuz I’m a player, but I’m sure they’re going to handle it the right way. Terry’s a guy you want to build a team around and he represents everything we want to build around here, so I’m confident we’ll get something done.”“At the end of the day, he’s got to handle his business and I understand that” Allen said if it was weird not having McLaurin, a fellow captain, at OTAs. “We’re trying to build a lot of great things here and he has to do what’s best for him first and foremost, so we get that . . . We all know what kind of guy Terry is. There’s going to be some tough negotiations. It is what it is. It’s just the business.”"

Hang that quote in the louvre. Seriously, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves, further proving that Allen is THE voice of the locker room.

As one of the team’s most adored players, McLaurin seemingly has the fan base in his corner as he remains absent from OTAs. The way we see it, all eyes are on the Commanders. If negotiations fall by the wayside and McLaurin plays out the final year of his contract (putting him in line for the dreaded franchise tag next offseason), the finger is going to be pointed at the front office and the front office only.

Multiple teams have opted to cash in on their star receivers instead of giving in to the position’s skyrocketed value. Davante Adams and Tyreek Hill started the trend early on before AJ Brown joined the party during the draft and signed a contract with the Eagles that in all likelihood escalated McLaurin’s demands.

The good news is the Commanders, as Allen implied, recognize the player and professional McLaurin is and want him around for the long haul.

It’s not ideal McLaurin isn’t at OTAs, but it’s not overly surprising, either. Like Allen said, it’s a life-changing time for the 26-year-old star and he has every right to look out for his best interests, even if it means missing a few weeks of practice.