No Washington Commanders fan is entertaining the thought of general manager Adam Peters trading wide receiver Terry McLaurin. A respected NFL insider confirmed this notion, but that doesn't mean the player's contract standoff is any closer to being resolved.
McLaurin felt disrespected enough to go in front of the media to voice his displeasure about how his extension is being handled by the Commanders. This was extremely out of character for the ultra-professional wideout, which also raised more panic among the fan base for good measure.
We are just a few short days away from the start of training camp. One would expect McLaurin's holdout to continue unless the matter is resolved. But the fact that there haven't been discussions regarding the issue for more than a month increases the alarm bells.
Most are expecting some middle ground to be reached. Just when that'll be is debatable, but the sooner this ongoing distraction goes away, the better Washington's chances will be.
Commanders won't trade Terry McLaurin, but a new deal still seems far away
Jeremy Fowler from ESPN provided some useful clarity on the subject. The insider declared emphatically that the Commanders won't be trading McLaurin. Even so, there is reportedly reluctance from the team to pay the going rate of around $30 million per season.
"Terry McLaurin, so he's frustrated. You heard him this week talking about how there's no deal, he would like progress being made, there hasn't been. I'm told that's only scratching the surface of the issue here, because the wide receiver market has jumped into that $30 million range. My sense is, McLaurin feels Washington hasn't really been willing to acknowledge that. So if they're not, it's almost like he's taken a pay decrease because he's a year from free agency. So, something's gonna have to give here; cooler heads should prevail. They want McLaurin there. They're not trading McLaurin. That was made clear to me from a source of the team."Jeremy Fowler via Bleacher Report
This is a new layer, and it's a concerning one.
It indicates the Commanders are pretty dug in regarding their stance, which explains why McLaurin feels undervalued. He'll be 30 years old in September, which is the primary concern from the franchise's perspective. At the same time, the former third-round pick out of Ohio State showed no signs of slowing down last season en route to second-team All-Pro honors.
The situation is dragging on much longer than fans envisaged. They thought McLaurin's overall influence across the franchise would have made things pretty simple to work out. That wasn't the case, but a new deal will arrive at some stage. This will allow everyone to refocus on the main goal.
That is to make sure preparations are effective enough for the Commanders to make another deep playoff run in 2025. To accomplish this feat, they need McLaurin to be happy, financially secure, and ready to inspire his teammates to bigger things.
Nothing else will suffice.