Will Terry McLaurin follow Deebo Samuel’s lead and report to minicamp?

From an offensive perspective, the Washington Commanders‘ organized team activities have been a huge success. Carson Wentz is dealing, Jahan Dotson is dicing up the secondary with ease and the offensive line is already looks cohesive despite welcoming a pair of newcomers in guards Andrew Norwell and Trai Turner.

Of course, the hype has been deflated amid Terry McLaurin’s continued absence. As everyone’s aware of, McLaurin hasn’t been with the team since pre-draft workouts and sat out of OTAs as he awaits a new contract from Washington.

While McLaurin got a pass for skipping the voluntary workouts, the star wideout faces a big decision before the start of mandatory minicamp, which will get going on June 14 after the team breaks for five days following OTAs.

McLaurin not participating in minicamp would unsettle fans, who’ve collectively kept a cool head amid his contract holdout. However, there’s reason for optimism in that regard after Deebo Samuel reported to 49ers minicamp this week.

Why Deebo Samuel returning to the 49ers is an encouraging sign for Commanders star Terry McLaurin before minicamp.

If there’s been a constant theme of the offseason, it’s been comparing other extension-eligible wideouts and their contract situations to McLaurin. From Samuel, Mike Williams, Christian Kirk, DJ Moore and most recently AJ Brown, Commanders fans have seen no shortage of blueprints for McLaurin’s future deal.

This Samuel development is no different, as the 49ers star reportedly requested a trade out of San Francisco before the draft. After pushback from the front office and removing all tracings of the team from his social media account, Samuel cast further doubts over his future by skipping voluntary workouts.

While his future with the 49ers is far from certain, it’s definitely encouraging he appeared at minicamp. Now, it’s fair to assume his relationship with the franchise is on sturdy ground and he’s open about negotiating an extension. Would he really report to camp if he had any intention of strong-arming a trade?

Better still? Per head coach Ron Rivera, the expectation is McLaurin (and Daron Payne) will be in attendance for camp this time next week.

We’d take Rivera’s comments with a grain of salt, as he hasn’t put any unnecessary pressure on McLaurin amid his holdout.

The main takeaway here is Samuel’s surprise return to the 49ers has set the stage for McLaurin to report to Ashburn. Even if McLaurin (like Samuel) doesn’t participate in on-field practices, the 26-year-old would do himself and the franchise a lot of favors by just showing up, taking a physical and supporting his teammates.

Deebo has showed his hand. Your move, Terry.