After lengthy, contentious negotiations, Terry McLaurin has made it clear he no longer wants to be a part of the Washington Commanders.
McLaurin reportedly requested a trade from Washington yesterday amid a prolonged battle with the team over a contract extension. However, the Commanders, according to The Athletic's Nicki Jhabvala and Dianna Russini, don't want to or have plans to trade the All-Pro wide receiver.
“All indications to this point have been that the Commanders are not interested in trading McLaurin; several teams that called Washington about the receiver before his trade request on Thursday were told the team will not trade him, per multiple league sources.
“But McLaurin’s age is a sticking point in negotiations. He will turn 30 on Sept. 15, which means a new deal would kick in the season he turns 31. A multi-year deal would take him into his mid-30s, an age when receivers have historically faced a sharp decline in their production and availability.”
McLaurin's contract situation appears to be the classic case of balancing past production and future production. If it were solely based on what McLaurin has done over the first six seasons of his NFL career, signing McLaurin would be a no-brainer; he has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards every season except as a rookie, when he fell 81 yards short. He has also played all 17 games for each of the past four years, and this past season, he instantly became rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels' favorite option and, as a result, caught a career-high 13 touchdown passes.
However, teams are increasingly hesitant to commit money to players in their 30s, particularly at skill positions. And while McLaurin has played all but a handful of games in his career, the Commanders surely are worried that the wear and tear of being the team's go-to wideout for six or more years will eventually be too much for the Ohio State product.
McLaurin carries a $25.5 million cap hit this season and would be an unrestricted free agent next spring if he cannot come to an agreement on an extension. If the Commanders were to trade McLaurin, he would carry an $8.4 million dead cap this season and $5.6 million next year, the latter of which the Commanders will have on the books regardless as a void year.
