Take your pick of the most intriguing contract storyline in the NFL right now. Between Micah Parsons, Trey Hendrickson, and Terry McLaurin, there’s no shortage of strife to go around.
The furthest down the track appears to be McLaurin, who has requested a trade from the Washington Commanders following a summer of seemingly extremely little progress on a long-term deal.
That’s devastating news for both the franchise and Jayden Daniels, who were looking to build on last year’s NFC Championship run.
NFL Analysis has already looked at potential destinations for McLaurin, but one NFL analyst can’t believe it’s even getting this far.
Rich Eisen rips ‘mindboggling’ Commanders, accuses them of malpractice
Speaking on his own show (called, oddly enough, The Rich Eisen Show) Eisen answered a question regarding which of the major holdouts was most likely to play in Week 1 by answering McLaurin with some very blunt reasoning.
“If they don’t get him on the field, it’s…malpractice…is the only way to put it,” Eisen said. “Mindboggling, that you’re not gonna get the big target, BFF, for the unicorn in your team. ‘Jayden, you gotta make do, while we handle business’…they gotta just find a number and get it done,”
‘Big target’ might be underselling it — with Daniels, McLaurin doubled his highest touchdown total from its previous best, hauling in thirteen touchdowns in a huge year. That sent McLaurin to yet another Pro Bowl and saw him named an All-Pro for the first time, while Daniels walked away as a Pro Bowler and the NFL’s Offensive Rookie Of The Year. A mutual benefit, one might say.
What happens to McLaurin may define Washington’s championship window
We’ve discussed this elsewhere, but Washington not signing McLaurin long-term would probably amount to…well, malpractice. The class of Daniels has opened the team’s Super Bowl window, and luckily for the team’s roster builders, he’s on a cheap contract for the time being, as he’s only just about to enter his second year in the league. Washington ought to maximize this by getting as many key veterans around him for as long as possible.
It seems odd they’ve not done it already, given they had no hesitation in moving for Laremy Tunsil this offseason to fortify their offensive line, as well as picking up potential veteran difference-makers like Von Miller. Okay, so the money for McLaurin would be significantly more, but he’s shown durability, class, and incredible play during his time in Washington, and that would seem to minimize the risk of putting a big number in his contract.
If they don’t pay him and he does move on, the Commanders have relatively little else at wide receiver, too. All signs point to a deal being worked out at some point before Week 1, as Eisen suggests, but it looks as though there’ll be a lot more hurt feelings and rhetoric before then.
Stay tuned…
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