Terry McLaurin's contract frustration with Commanders is too familiar for comfort

USA Today

2 days ago

2024 was the season the Washington Commanders turned a corner. In one postseason, the franchise won as many playoff games under team owner Josh Harris as it had in 24 years under reviled former boss Dan Snyder.
This should have created a foundation of optimism for a once glorious, then laughable franchise. But all is not well in the nation's capital.
That's where Terry McLaurin comes in. He played the first four seasons of his NFL career as a flower rising from Snyder's toxic swamp. He was vital to the team's rise in 2024, earning his first All-Pro honor thanks to a fifth-straight season with at least 1,000 receiving yards. If anyone had cause to be hopeful, it was the young veteran who churned through the muck and escaped to sunshine for a team capable of making it to the NFC Conference Championship.
McLaurin, however, is not happy.
Per reporter Jordan Schultz, McLaurin left Commanders' voluntary team activities this week as he angles toward a new contract. His prior deal, a three-year, $68.4 million extension of his rookie contract, expires after 2025. With his age 30 season approaching and one more big payday coming, McLaurin wants to cash in the sweat equity he's poured into a franchise that's risen from also-ran to legitimate contender.
Washington isn't biting yet. There's logic to not paying future money for past success and reason for concern when it comes to an aging wideout. The Commanders have purposefully built one of the oldest rosters in the league. They just traded for Deebo Samuel, a player roughly the same age as McLaurin with more mileage under his belt despite playing fewer games (634 NFL touches to McLaurin's 556). With Samuel's contract similarly set to expire next spring, the team is creating a scenario where it can walk away from its aging playmakers and aim for a soft reset around reigning offensive rookie of the year Jayden Daniels.
McLaurin, however, has shown few signs of slowing down. Pairing him with an above average quarterback for the first time in his NFL career pushed him to a career-best 70.4 percent catch rate despite the second-longest average target depth (13.4 yards downfield) of his career. His yards per route run (YPRR) went from 1.65 in 2023 with Sam Howell slinging him passes to 2.38 in 2014 -- 12th-best in the NFL. Daniels' passer rating when targeting him, crucially, was a sterling 133.0.
Letting McLaurin twist in the wind would make sense if he showed any signs of decline. But even as his 30th birthday approaches he's remained great. Vitally, he's played all 17 regular season games each of the last four seasons and has only missed three games in his NFL career. He's also incredibly important inside the 20; 106 NFL wideouts ran at least 25 routes inside the red zone last season. McLaurin's 1.72 YPRR ranks eighth. His 10 red zone receiving touchdowns were the most in the league.
This is not a man the Commanders should be antagonizing after briefly scraping the face of competence. Yet, here we are, with a reportedly disgruntled All-Pro leaving offseason workouts and potentially considering a hold-in. This isn't what we expected from Josh Harris', playoff-game-winning Washington team. It's what we expected from Dan Snyder's.
And you never want to be compared to Dan Snyder unless it's an argument about yacht size.