With one major domino having already fallen this offseason with respect to extension-eligible receivers, another could be soon to follow. The Commanders have positioned themselves in a way that makes a second contract for Terry McLaurin a distinct possibility. 
[RELATED: Commanders To Sign First Round WR Dotson]
As detailed by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Washington “spent mildly in free agency” this spring. Part of the reason for doing so, he continues, is the fact that the team “has budgeted for” a long-term deal with McLaurin. The 26-year-old has one season remaining on his rookie contract with a cap hit of just over $3MM.
As Fowler notes, however, that figure will spike considerably if/when the sides reach an agreement on a new deal. The former third rounder’s production has placed him amongst the top young players at the position; in three seasons, he has missed only two contests while averaging 74 receptions and 1,030 yards per campaign. Those numbers, considering the team’s quarterback situation throughout that span, make him a logical extension candidate.
The WR market has seen a dramatic upward trend this offseason, though. With the cost of top young wideouts increasing, McLaurin was named, along with fellow 2019 draftees Deebo Samuel and A.J. Brown, as players choosing not to attend their respective teams’ offseason programs. While the latter has since been signed to a four-year, $100MM extension, doing so required the Titans trading him to the Eagles.
Extending McLaurin was listed after the season as a top priority by head coach Ron Rivera, but Fowler writes that the new going rate for top wideouts “looms large” in this situation. While the team could afford a slight uptick in his cap hit via a new deal, they still rank towards the bottom of the league in terms of overall financial flexibility. Nevertheless, they see McLaurin as “a true cornerstone piece”, meaning that a lucrative second contract being signed in the near future would come as little surprise.
Don’t accept a ‘home town discount’ Terry. Terribly run organization that thinks both Fitz &Wentz were/are the answer at QB? If you’re going to play on a losing team, rack up the bucks.
Good player – but not a great player. Sticks out due to the lack of other talent on the squad, sort of like Allen Robinson.
I think Allen Robinson was a great player, given how he managed to play with such terrible QBs. I think the same can be said for McLaurin now. He may not be in the very top tier of receivers, but I think he’s a top 15-20 receiver, for sure. I’d love to see what he could do with a very good QB.
Would you rather have two first round draft picks and a $100 million in your pocket to replace McLaurin for the next five years or would you rather have McLaurin? The right answer has to be the picks and the money. Wide receivers have become too expensive and there’s enough good ones come out every year, just like running backs.
$20 million is enough to pay two Pro Bowl offensive linemen who will keep your QB safe, and open wide creases for your running backs.
Respectfully, I don’t think you’re seeing the current market clearly. First off, McLaurin isn’t fetching two first round picks. He’s not getting a bigger return than Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, and AJ Brown. Second, sure, there are a lot of good wide receivers coming out, but it’s not like all the highly drafted ones succeed and it’s not like all that many of them turn out to be as good as McLaurin. Third, $20 million is not enough to pay two Pro Bowl offensive linemen. By my quick check, there are 25 tackles and 9 guards making over $10 million per season, many of them quite a bit more. If you’re getting two Pro Bowl offensive linemen for $20 million, they’re probably both on their rookie deal–and again, it’s not like all draft picks hit.
Washington has invested so, so much in their defense, in both draft picks and money. It strikes me as foolish to trade away their one definitively star caliber offensive player because they refuse to meet market value on an extremely valuable position they’ve had a hard time filling.
McLaurin is younger than most of these other receivers. He’s a well-behaved, team first guy willing to catch the ball in traffic.
There’s a good chance of getting a pro bowl level guard and center at $20 million or a brace of guards, but yes $20 million for two does not get you current All Pro.
I’m all for resigning McLaurin at some kind of reasonable rate (>$10 million/year of course). These $20 million wide receiver contracts will sink teams, on a position which ultimately is as available as running back and for which disruptive injuries are common.
So why trade? The trick in the NFL is to buy low and sell high. It’s a salary cap dance and turning McLaurin into a first and a second or a first and third would go a long way to allow the ex-Redskins to keep the mid-tier guys who are the backbone of a winning team.
I don’t mean any disrespect, but I’m not sure I buy any of your logic. The last three Super Bowl winners have all had notable star power in their pass catching ranks, as have the last two losers. The cap is about to go up by a good margin, and the Commanders have spent tons of money on less valuable players on defense.
McLaurin is nearly two years older than AJ Brown. I highly doubt he’d bring back a first and a third. At the same time, if a team is willing to spend a first and a third for the right to pay a guy like him top of the market money, doesn’t that suggest it’s good business to spend only the money on one if you have the chance? Guys of this caliber in their 20s very rarely hit the market as unrestricted free agents, and they’re not exactly easy or cheap to find in the draft. Look how much Christian Kirk got on the open market. Look at the crazy amount of draft capital the Saints spent to get Olave in hopes that he’ll turn out like McLaurin. Washington themselves spent a first round pick on a receiver who might have to mostly stick in the slot, the year after shelling out an awful lot for Curtis Samuel, who’s never been all that productive. I say pick the bird in the hand.
The Chiefs are headed straight into a wall, with a QB who is brilliant but going through a superstar crisis and who costs too much. The Cowboys have just shown what happens when you overpay stars, even good ones, with Amari Cooper, Dak Prescott and Z. Elliot conspiring to bankrupt the team while crazy coot Jerry continues to overpay his stars and lead the Cowboys to flashy but dead end seasons.
It’s honestly not any disrespect to Laurin but these high-priced receivers (or any other position which becomes flavour of the year) knock a roster off-balance – $30 million for $14 million of value cannot be recovered.
This is what Jason Fitzgerald wrote in 2015 in a classic article at OTC. Still true today.
I don’t think that statement really fits paying elite receivers in 2022. I also think Dallas is their own thing. That Zeke contract is bananas, and they’re still paying Jaylon Smith’s horrible deal. The Cooper contract itself isn’t even bad. But also, I think we just philosophically disagree here, and that’s OK.