Have things really gotten this bad between the Washington Commanders and NFL All-Pro wide receiver Terry McLaurin?
We all know McLaurin wants — and deserves — a new contract extension. Why he doesn’t have one yet is only known to the higher ups in the Commanders organization.
Now, with McLaurin no longer participating in voluntary offseason workouts and expressing his frustration with the organization publicly, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox put forward a series of trade proposals involving McLaurin, including one that sends him to the Los Angeles Chargers and turns the AFC West franchise into an instant Super Bowl contender.
While some of Knox’s trade pitches didn’t make sense — like going to the Pittsburgh Steelers or Arizona Cardinals — landing with the Chargers and a dynamic, young quarterback like Justin Herbert does.
The Chargers are also a team where there’s no clear cut WR1 and in Knox’s trade proposal, they wind up with a haul. In the McLaurin-to-Hollywood scenario, the Commanders get a 2026 second round pick, 2026 fourth round pick and wide receiver Quentin Johnston, a 2023 first round pick, in exchange for McLaurin.
“While L.A. did bring back Mike Williams and use a second-round pick on Tre Harris, receiver depth was one of the team’s biggest issues in 2024,” Knox wrote on June 7. “Ladd McConkey was great as a rookie, but 2023 first-round pick Quentin Johnston has yet to become a dependable target for Justin Herbert. Josh Palmer finished third on the team with 584 receiving yards but is now a member of the Buffalo Bills. Williams missed most of 2023 with a torn ACL and had just 298 yards with the Steelers and New York Jets last season.”
McLaurin Could Help Chargers Elevate in AFC West
One thing Herbert has been missing through the first 5 seasons of his career is a bona fide superstar at wide receiver. McLaurin fits the bill. He also seems like the type of player who would thrive playing for head coach Jim Harbaugh, who has a similar ethos to Commanders head coach Dan Quinn.
The real rub in any deal for McLaurin would be making sure whatever team he goes to is willing to pay him. Spotrac projects McLaurin’s next contract extension in the range of a 3 years, $89.7 million, but even that might a bit low.
Considering the way the market for the NFL’s best wide receivers has skyrocketed the last 2 years, his path might be more in line with a contract that either makes McLaurin one of the NFL’s Top 5 highest paid wide receivers or at least brings his annual salary to $30 million.
Commanders Should Break the Bank for McLaurin
To be clear, the smart thing for the Commanders to do would be to pay up for McLaurin or make him a Godfather-type offer — something along the lines of a 4-year, $120 million extension with $80 million guaranteed might do the trick at this point.
There’s even an argument to be made if the Commanders were to deal McLaurin in exchange for anything less than another WR1, we can’t really consider them Super Bowl contenders after that. He’s just that important to the team.
Washington Commanders posted about the NBA Finals on Instagram and nearly every comment is a demand to pay WR Terry McLaurin:
