Around the NFL, the reaction to Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin’s trade request amounted to a yawn. It may have placed a cloud over a season of unrestrained hope in Washington, but rival executives and agents expect the Commanders and McLaurin will ultimately bridge what remains a significant gulf.
“Lot of drama that will ultimately get resolved,” said one high-ranking NFL team executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss another franchise openly. McLaurin’s “ask is probably absurd, but there is a premium for having been the face of the franchise through hard times. Not sure why you throw money at Von Miller and others before solving this. He has no leverage, but you have to see a little past that in this situation if you’re the Commanders.”
End of carousel
Those within and around the league believe McLaurin and the Commanders will ultimately resolve their acrimony and reach a contract extension that places him solidly among the 10 highest-paid wideouts in the NFL, if shy of the top of the market. But the acrimony is there. McLaurin declared his preference to stay in Washington. The Commanders have made clear their admiration for McLaurin as a player and person and do not want to trade him. Friction has still formed.
The Commanders and McLaurin went more than a month without negotiating, McLaurin said in mid-July. McLaurin held out of training camp, then reported without practicing and has now requested a trade. General Manager Adams Peters vowed to “do everything we can in order to get a deal done,” but it so far hasn’t been enough to thaw, let alone solve, differences.
McLaurin seems frustrated the Commanders have not appropriately compensated him, in his view, for years of excellence and reliability through dismal seasons while showing no signs of regression. The Commanders appear surprised at the demands of McLaurin and agent Buddy Baker and, so far, are unwilling to risk future financial flexibility to meet them.
The Commanders respect McLaurin’s long-standing contributions on and off the field and have appeared willing to reward him, but they seem increasingly frustrated by the impasse and believe they must protect their long-term, team-building interests in the negotiation. McLaurin views himself not only a team leader, but an elite player at a premium position who deserves to be paid as such.
“I don’t want to get that mistaken,” McLaurin said last month. “I feel like I’m one of the best receivers in this league. It’s not because of me just feeling that way. I feel like I’ve proven it.”
The Commanders may be wary of paying McLaurin, who turns 30 in September, at the same level of highly-paid wideouts in their mid-20s, wanting to stay disciplined for the future. McLaurin could point to his durability — he hasn’t missed a game in four seasons — and steadfast conditioning that has allowed him to retain top-echelon speed. “Best believe I don’t feel like I’ve played my best ball yet,” McLaurin said last month.
Where could the Commanders and McLaurin meet? The NFL team executive pegged a potential deal at $30 million per season, plus incentives. That would pay McLaurin on par with San Francisco 49ers wideout Brandon Aiyuk, who signed a four-year, $120 million contract ($76 million guaranteed) last summer.
One high-profile NFL player agent suggested McLaurin could expect a deal in the range of Cincinnati Bengals wideout Tee Higgins, who signed a four-year, $115 million deal ($40.9 guaranteed) this offseason. Higgins is three years younger than McLaurin, but he has missed 10 games the past two seasons.
A former NFL team executive viewed a trade as “highly unlikely” given the fit between player and team. “He wants to get paid and he should,” the former executive said. “I also think he’s smart enough to realize being Jayden Daniels’s teammate and playing for Dan Quinn is on his side as well. Washington doesn’t want to start over with someone new when they’ve got a proven talent.”
The former executive valued McLaurin more highly than the 27-year-old Aiyuk, even considering their age gap. And McLaurin is worth more to the Commanders given how well they know his character and the risks that would come with replacing him with an unknown commodity.
“He’s a Boy Scout at a position where there aren’t even a lot of Cub Scouts,” the former executive said.
Marc Ross, a former NFL personnel executive with the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles, cited Detroit Lions star Amon-Ra St. Brown as a comparison, even though St. Brown is 25 and has played two fewer seasons. Last year, St. Brown signed a four-year, $120.01 million extension with $77 million guaranteed. Ross prescribed a deal with similar terms but structured in a way that would allow the Commanders to extricate themselves after two years as a concession to McLaurin’s age.
In Ross’s view, McLaurin fits into the tier of receivers underneath Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb, the NFL’s three highest-paid.
“He’s not them. He needs to get in the reality business if he thinks he is,” Ross said. “But he’s in that next group, and certainly better than a DK Metcalf. I think he’s better than Amon-Ra St. Brown. When you look at the comparables and what he means to the team, he’s just as important as all those guys.”
In March, after the Seattle Seahawks traded him to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Metcalf signed a four-year, $132 million extension that is worth examining as a data point. The deal made Metcalf the fourth-highest paid wideout by average annual salary but included a relatively light $60 million guaranteed.
McLaurin and Metcalf both entered the NFL in the 2019 draft class and have remarkably similar career statistics — 438 catches, 6,324 receiving yards and 48 touchdowns for Metcalf compared with 460, 6,379 and 38 for McLaurin, who before last year was saddled with inconsistent-at-best quarterback play.
Metcalf is two years younger, but they’ve played the same number of regular season games. It probably wasn’t lost on McLaurin that the Steelers gave Metcalf his deal after the team that drafted him parted ways with him primarily for a second-round draft pick.
Despite the current disagreement, a trade of McLaurin is perceived in league circles as highly unlikely. The Commanders have no reasonable replacement for him. Coming off an NFC championship game appearance, they have been constructed for an immediate Super Bowl. The Commanders have surrounded Daniels with the NFL’s oldest roster, adding established stars Deebo Samuel, Laremy Tunsil and Miller to a locker room that already featured Zach Ertz, Bobby Wagner and a slew of other veterans.
“What are you doing? ‘We’re all-in, but actually we’re going to get rid of our second-best player?’ It just would make no sense at all,” Ross said. “All the other moves they’ve made to win now. They didn’t do all this stuff they’re doing to say, ‘Maybe next year.’ They can’t do it without him. You can’t trot out Deebo Samuel as your No. 1 wideout and beat the Eagles.”
