Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters is as cool and calm as they come. But underneath the smiles and the relaxed demeanor lies a hugely driven figure and ruthless negotiator.
That's become abundantly clear during the Commanders' ongoing contract standoff with Terry McLaurin. The wide receiver hasn't practiced for months as he looks for an extension. Peters hasn't budged from his original stance, and he's unlikely to do so based on the findings of one NFL insider.
Charles Robinson from Yahoo Sports reached out to an NFL executive who has known Peters for a long time. He lifted the lid on what a difficult proposition negotiating with Washington's front-office leader is. There is an edge to him that people don't see, and McLaurin's representatives have picked the wrong guy to take a stand against.
NFL executive reveals different side to Adam Peters that Commanders fans haven't seen
Robinson also laid out another caveat after speaking to people around the league. He doesn't think there is any team willing to pay McLaurin more than $30 million per season, which only strengthens the Commanders' position.
"I reached out to an executive who knows Adam Peters really well and said, 'What do you think of this situation?', and he said, I think people are going to find out a lot about Adam Peters right now, because I do not like negotiating with him. He has an edge to him that people, I think, don't necessarily understand, and they're going to see that now in this negotiation. And I think they have in some respects, because Adam Peters has been pretty clear that he's not going to budge. Part of the variables in this; no other team wants to pay Terry McLaurin 30-plus million dollars per season, either. They just don't."Charles Robinson
McLaurin has come this far. There have been holdouts throughout the offseason. He came back to the facility when those $50,000 per day fines at training camp started to rack up, but he's still on the physically unable to perform list with a supposed ankle issue. The former third-round pick out of Ohio State even handed in a trade request to force the issue.
It didn't work.
Peters is steadfast in his valuation of McLaurin. This new deal wouldn't start until he was 31 years old. The drop-off in production wth wideouts when they approach this stage of their careers is well documented. Even those on a Pro Football Hall of Fame trajectory tail off. Very few (if any) maintain high standards.
McLaurin might be the outlier, but he might not. And Peters won't be doing anything that jeopardizes the franchise's long-term plans under his leadership.
Just how long it takes for both sides to meet in the middle is anyone's guess. But they need to do it soon.
Otherwise, the consequences will be severe.