With training camp set to begin next week, the Washington Commanders still have off-field business to attend to before they can fully focus on the 2025 campaign. After weeks of negotiating, wide receiver Terry McLaurin is still holding out in hopes of securing a new contract.
McLuarin is entering the final year of his deal, and has made it clear it wants a long-term commitment from the Commanders. However, with the wide receiver market starting to skyrocket, the two sides have been able to come to terms. This ordeal has dragged on so long that it could now potentially impact camp as well. McLaurin’s holdout began during minicamp when he decided to distance himself from the team while he underwent talks with the front office.
Throughout McLaurin’s holdout, there has been speculation about Washington having to move on from their star wide receiver. Even though the front office has been unable to rectify things, NFL insider Jeremy Fowler reported that the Commanders have no plans on making McLaurin available via trade.
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“Terry McLaurin, so he’s frustrated. You heard him this week talking about how there’s no deal, he would like progress being made, there hasn’t been,” Fowler said on SportsCenter Saturday. “I’m told that’s only scratching the surface of the issue here, because the wide receiver market has jumped into that $30 million range. My sense is, McLaurin feels Washington hasn’t really been willing to acknowledge that. So if they’re not, it’s almost like he’s taken a pay decrease because he’s a year from free agency. So, something’s gonna have to give here, cooler head should prevail. They want McLaurin there. They’re not trading McLaurin. That was made clear to me from a source of the team.”
As one of the league’s most consistently productive wideouts, McLaurin’s desire to be compensated similarly to his counterparts is justified. The 29-year-old is coming off a 2024 campaign where he notched his fifth straight 1,000-yard season and caught a career-high 13 touchdowns.
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Still without a new contract, McLaurin has stated he is unsure if he’ll report for camp when Commanders’ veterans arrive next week. That said, seeing as the front office is adamant about keeping him around, they remain confident things will work themself out.
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