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When Terry McLaurin requested a trade from the Washington Commanders several weeks ago, the football world was preparing for a resolution that the star wide receiver would end up elsewhere before the start of the season. While the rumors around the Commanders and McLaurin will continue, the latest reporting suggests that may not be the case.
In the latest column by Ben Solak of ESPN, he touched on the intel he got from each team that he visited and had one on the expectations for Washington this season, coming off an NFC championship appearance. Speaking about the situation of McLaurin, he proclaimed he heard nothing on the front of the player being traded and “strongly” believes a compromise will be made.
“Not only can I not find anyone who believes wide receiver Terry McLaurin will play for another team in 2025, I can't find anyone who has a remotely plausible hypothetical in which McLaurin actually plays for another team in 2025,” Solak wrote. “This section might better be called one thing I didn't hear: a way McLaurin gets out of Washington. I strongly believe this standoff will end with a compromise extension before Week 1.”
Despite Solak's thoughts, it doesn't negate the fact that both sides have disputed about the contract situation, with ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reporting a few days ago that McLaurin “remains frustrated.”
“From what I'm hearing, there's still a pretty sizable gap in how they see the wide receiver market,” Fowler said. “Washington is down here, Terry McLaurin is pretty high up here, I'm told the players dug in, remains frustrated, not a lot of traction on a trade right now, even though I do know there are some teams that are interested, or have at least called.”
Commanders' Terry McLaurin “remains frustrated” at contract dispute
With the move that the Commanders took McLaurin off the PUP list, there's no doubt that McLaurin is ready to showcase his skills this upcoming season and record a sixth straight 1,000-yard season. Still, McLaurin has the motivation of not playing on his current contract as Fowler reports, though Washington “remains optimistic” that the situation will be resolved.
“Right now I'm told Washington does remains optimistic in this, despite some of the smoke around all the issues and him still out of practice, they feel like when push comes to shove, closer to week one, they can reach some sort of compromise,” Fowler said.
“It's probably not going to be a situation where he plays up the year in his contract and plays the franchise tag next year, like he needs some sort of contract,” Fowler continued. “They're hoping they can find a sweet spot here. But they're sort of waiting each other out. Meanwhile, this could get ugly.”
At any rate, it remains to be seen if the Commanders and McLaurin will come to a deal as the regular season for the team opens on Sunday, Sept. 7, against the New York Giants.
