Stampede Blue
The Washington Commanders’ top Wide Receiver has requested a trade on Thursday. Could the Colts swing a trade for Indiana’s 2013 Mr. Football to return back home?
Washington Commanders Wide Receiver Terry McLaurin has long been a fan favorite of Indianapolis football fans, with his football journey beginning with the Cathedral Fighting Irish. In 2013 he was named Indiana’s Mr. Football after a dominant senior year which culminated in a sensational state championship-winning performance in Lucas Oil Stadium (9 touches, 170 total yards, and 3 Touchdowns), earning him a scholarship with Ohio State.
Five years later he returned to Lucas Oil to face Northwestern in the BIG10 Championship, where he once again put on a show in front of his hometown crowd, with 3 catches going for 78 yards and a pair of TDs. This performance in his final season with the Buckeyes helped him rise up draft boards leading up to the 2019 Draft, where many Colts fans were hoping to see him return home to aid a Receiver room that was in need of a number 2 alongside a soon-to-be 30 year old TY Hilton.
Unfortunately the Colts passed on the local star three times in the 2nd Round, the last of these picks taking McLaurin’s collegiate teammate Parris Campbell selected to be that potential number 2 Wideout (which in large part due to injuries, never happened). McLaurin went early in the 3rd Round to Washington, where he has remained for his entire career. He emerged as the top Wide Receiver on the team ever since his rookie year with 919 yards and 7 TDs, and has racked up at least 1,000 receiving yards and 4-13 TDs in all 6 seasons since despite a different QB every season and not having quality QB play until 2024 with rookie Jayden Daniels.
While a time travelling DeLorean isn’t around to rewrite history (turns out plutonium is a lot harder to get now than it was in 1985), the Colts might have a chance to remedy that mistake after the fact with McLaurin requesting a trade on Thursday as contract negotiations sour with the Commanders. What does his current contract situation look like? What could the Colts offer to get McLaurin back in Naptown once more? Does a trade make sense?
Scary Terry is currently on the books for the Washington Commanders for:
In trading McLaurin at this point in the offseason, the Commanders would free up $19.9 million in cap space for 2025 but would still owe him $5.6 million in both 2025 and 2026.
At age 30 and with Wide Receiver contracts hitting new stratospheres, the Commanders have been hesitant to give McLaurin a big extension. He is currently the 18th highest paid Wide Receiver in the NFL per year ($22.788 million per year), with all 17...
