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Things aren’t flowing together for the Washington Commanders and Terry McLaurin in terms of contract numbers. But both sides still seem to be feeling good about things. However, an NFL insider dropped a blunt McLaurin observation from the team’s camp.
Dianna Russini said the Commanders are missing something in their offense, according to the Scoop City post on YouTube.
“My basic takeaway from watching them is the offense is clearly better than the defense in Washington right now,” Russini said. “Which is a great thing for them. And it should be. But they miss Terry McLaurin. I knew it, I saw it, especially in Red Zone drills at the end of practice. Like they need Terry. They saw what I saw.”
That makes sense because McLaurin racked up 13 touchdowns last season. And he probably created others by drawing extra coverage. That allowed Daniels to operate effectively in the Red Zone. Without McLaurin, things would become dicey.
Despite a lot of positive talk, some people believe the Commanders’ relationship with McLaurin is weakening. Included in that mix is Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, according to the podcast “Rambling with Rio” via commanderswire.com.
“In this case, I do think the relationship has been fractured some,” Fowler said. “And I was told all along that Terry was willing to do whatever it takes, as long [as] to make this right in his mind, which is now requesting a trade. I guess you could call that the nuclear option. And he took it. And I was told he would continue to do that until all pressure is applied.
“So, it does appear that he’s done all that there and done all he can. The only next step would be to just totally withhold services on game checks. And that’s a big step.”
The difference between the two sides is not close, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter via a post on X by the Pat McAfee Show.
“It’s been vast,” Schefter said. “And so, it’s up to the two sides to figure out a way to bridge their differences.”
Despite the unlikelihood of a trade, one analyst said it’s something the Commanders should possibly consider, according to Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox.
“McLaurin will be a free agent next offseason,” Knox wrote. “And if an extension doesn’t seem imminent, the Commanders should go ahead and see what sort of offers they can get in the trade market.
“If Daniels is really as talented as he seemed to be last season, he’ll be able to make do with a receiving core headlined by Deebo Samuel, Noah Brown, Luke McCaffrey, Michael Gallup, Zach Ertz, and rookie Jaylin Lane. Whatever draft capital Washington would get in return could be used to add more long-term pieces to the receiving puzzle.”
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