Terry McLaurin and Carson Wentz building ‘personal relationship’ is great sign for Commanders

Washington Commanders fans have no shortage of captivating storylines to monitor over the course of training camp. With practices starting on Wednesday, though, the underlying narratives will take centerstage, including the play of Carson Wentz and emergence (or lack there of) of second-year linebacker Jamin Davis.

Wentz, of course, is the Matthew McConaughey (big Washington fan!) of this motion picture. It all starts with the quarterback and Wentz, though he’s on his third team in as many seasons, is the Commanders’ most talented player in the regard since Kirk Cousins, who left as a free agent after the 2017 season.

The good news is Wentz has already shown a strong rapport with Jahan Dotson, the team’s first-round pick out of Penn State. With no Terry McLaurin, who was holding out amid his contract negotiations, the No. 16 overall pick operated as Washington’s top receiver and looked the part of a future (current?) stud.

While we’re all high on Dotson’s future, McLaurin is the team’s most important offensive player and training camp will mark his first practices with Wentz. However, the two players worked out in California during summer break and continued building their “personal relationship,” as McLaurin told the Washington Post.

Terry McLaurin and Carson Wentz forming a close bond is great news for the Commanders.

"“I think the cool thing is him and I are starting to build [a] really, really good personal relationship, which I think is extremely important,” McLaurin told Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post. “And just being out there and being able to, you know, finally put the action to the words now. It’s not just what the connection could look like with this and that.”“I’m really glad I was able to go out there and spend that time with him,” McLaurin said of the California workout. “Him and I even got to have an hour lunch… and we got to talk about our families, our faith and how our careers have been up to this point and what we want going forward for ourselves and our team.”“Me personally, I’ve always given somebody the opportunity to show who they are to you in person. Because a lot of things in this league, through social media and things like that, can get misconstrued. But when you can talk to somebody and see who they are for yourself, I think that’s what goes a long way for me and that goes a long way for the guys in our locker room.”"

That has to have Commanders fans feeling confident ahead of the team’s first training camp practice on Wednesday. While Wentz and McLaurin haven’t operated together against an 11-man defense, it bodes extremely well for their on-field chemistry that they’re already forming a bond on a personal level.

How committed is Wentz to building a close relationship with his new teammates? According to McLaurin, the 29-year-old quarterback organized the three-day workout, including the hotel accommodations and post-practice dinners.

Wentz kept in contact with McLaurin during the receiver’s contract holdout, so they’ve been connecting for multiple months now.

Of course, how they perform on the gridiron is ultimately what matters, but the fact the newly-minted teammates have a mutual respect and fondness of each other off the field will only help their performance during camp.

Think about how much easier it’ll be to dissect miscues and explain what each other wants on specific routes than if they were just “teammates.”

This isn’t an overreaction to some run-of-the-mill quote. It’s a great sign for the Commanders’ outlook this upcoming season.