Terry McLaurin’s latest comments should effectively end Carson Wentz slander

The success of the Washington Commanders‘ offense this season is contingent on the chemistry between Carson Wentz and Terry McLaurin. While their respective talent goes without saying, training camp marked their first official practice together after McLaurin missed the spring program in search of a new contract.

Now $71 million richer, McLaurin is back at work for Washington. We aren’t in attendance, but it’s a safe bet to say the 26-year-old has set the tone for the entire offense. He and Wentz have even connected on a couple highlight-reel plays that have become a rarity (at best) for the Commanders over the years.

So what exactly convinced McLaurin to re-sign with Washington?

Objectively speaking, his quarterback play has been woeful and equally unpredictable, the franchise can get out of its own way off the field (cough cough Dan Snyder) and the team itself hasn’t made it past Wild Card Weekend since 2005.

Could anyone have really blamed McLaurin if he rebuffed contract offers from the Commanders and tested free agency? Probably not, right?

During a recent interview on ESPN’s “NFL Live,” however, McLaurin revealed Wentz’s arrival played a huge role in him signing the extension.

The Commanders’ trade for Carson Wentz helped influence Terry McLaurin to sign an extension.

That settles it. These comments should effectively end the Wentz slander, which has come in droves this offseason.

Wentz obviously isn’t the sole reason McLaurin signed his $71 million extension. The 2019 third-round pick has spoke at length about committing to the organization that drafted him. He’s grown fond of the community, respects the team’s decorated history and wants to add to it and the fans absolutely adore him.

At some point, though, the team was going to have to improve at quarterback so McLaurin could maximize his career earnings and output. While Wentz is far from perfect, he’s Washington’s most talented quarterback since Kirk Cousins and McLaurin never even got to share the field with the three-time Pro Bowler.

What if Taylor Heinicke was slated to run it back under center? What if the team gambled on a young draft prospect? What if it rolled the dice on Mitchell Trubisky or Marcus Mariota, who’ve started a combined 30 games since 2019? Would Terry have been as convinced to re-sign? These are all pertinent questions.

That’s not to imply Wentz is the long-term solution in DC, but McLaurin’s comments just underline the FACT that the trade was a sound move. It’s not crazy to think McLaurin would have second-guessed committing to the organization for the long haul had it not upgraded at quarterback in a big way.

The Commanders caught an avalanche of criticism for trading for Wentz after the Colts were reportedly set on releasing him if they couldn’t find a trade partner. Following McLaurin’s de facto sign of approval, however, the media should do the right thing and hold back and let Wentz’s play do the talking.

Even if Wentz is up and down, that doesn’t change the fact that McLaurin is signed with Washington through the 2025 season and the 29-year-old quarterback played a bigger part in that decision than anyone had previously thought.