The Washington Commanders have already made a glaring mistake in their ongoing contract situation with superstar wide receiver Terry McLaurin.
Washington Commanders superstar wide receiver Terry McLaurin has made it well-known that he would like a new contract. That’s absolutely fair play to him too, as McLaurin is one of the best wide receivers in football and deserves a shiny new contract as his rookie deal winds down.
Only a few months into the situation, the Commanders have made a glaring mistake. The sad part is, it was likely predictable for many Washington fans.
What did they do wrong? They waited.
McLaurin is one of the best wide receivers in football. And he has a lot of arguments to make for a monster contract. Such as the fact that he’s never had a good quarterback throwing him the football, but he’s still produced.
Oh, and he tends to be the only real weapon in the passing game – and once again still produces.
McLaurin constantly draws the top cornerbacks and plenty of double teams and over-the-top help. That doesn’t slow him down. Neither does having quarterbacks that can’t throw the ball downfield if their lives depended on it.
Washington decided to not aggressively pursue the new deal though. And on Draft Day, something bad happened for the Commanders. The Philadelphia Eagles traded for wide receiver A.J. Brown and promptly gave him a fat payday.
McLaurin and Brown were in the same draft class. And while Brown is undoubtedly a stud, I feel insanely confident in saying that McLaurin is better.
Okay, whatever though. Washington had an excuse ready-made. They were waiting for the Landon Collins money to free up. Then they would sign McLaurin, right?
Well, a couple of days ago that money was off the books. Nothing happened though. And then on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Rams made Cooper Kupp the highest-paid (guaranteed money) wide receiver of all time. (Side note, where are the Rams getting all this money?)
If you’re the Commanders … yikes.
Yes, Kupp is the better receiver right now. He just had a historic year in 2022. That being said, Kupp is also a couple of years older. And he is on a much better team.
Put McLaurin in that situation and what happens? Give him Matt Stafford at quarterback with other wide receivers like Odell Beckham Jr., Van Jefferson, and Robert Woods around him, and what happens?
McLaurin has proven since Day One that he is an elite receiver. He’s also done it with next to nothing around him. And McLaurin (and his agent) aren’t dumb. They’ll know the leverage that adds to contract negotiations.
Now, if you’re the Washington Commanders … you pay Terry McLaurin. Whatever it takes, you need to keep him on your team.
Imagine if this deal got done before the Brown one. Or even just a couple of days ago before the Kupp one.
Again, this isn’t an article saying that McLaurin is better than Kupp. But the thing is, the market is dictated by contracts already given. McLaurin is a top receiver in football and will want to be paid like one.
Kupp already has his contract. So now McLaurin can point to that and say “I want that much”, or even “I want more than that”. And guess what? If you won’t pay him that much, someone else will.
If the Washington Commanders treated this situation with the urgency it warranted, they could have Terry McLaurin under contract for the next five-plus years. And they could have him on a cheaper deal than A.J. Brown on the Eagles.
Is that still possible? Sure, absolutely.
But if feels a whole lot less likely now, doesn’t it?