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After surviving multiple regimes, owners, and even team names, Terry McLaurin and the Washington Commanders appear to be approaching an impasse with fans openly wondering if they’ve seen the last of the Pro Bowl wide receiver.
Seeking a new contract worthy of his on-field production, McLaurin has been reportedly seeking a deal in the $33 million range DK Metcalf received from the Pittsburgh Steelers with the Commanders seemingly not close to that deal at the moment.
Discussing the deal on NFL Live, ESPN’s Marcus Spears made it abundantly clear how he feels about the Commanders’ seeming unwillingness to pay up for McLaurin’s services.
“I think it’s stupid. I can’t imagine that we’ve said on TV and talked for years about what do you do when you in a window with a really good quarterback that you don’t have to pay yet, right? Right? You support him, the support staff. We’ve seen teams do this and have a tremendous amount of success with young quarterback,” Spears explained.
“Houston went out and spent a zillion dollars after they realized CJ Stroud was a good quarterback, right? Surrounding him with people. You do some of that in Washington. I thought all the Laremy Tunsils were coming over.
“I thought all of this was an indication that we are not just trying to get better in other positions. We’re solidifying ourselves as one of those teams in the NFC that can win a Super Bowl. You ain’t winning one without Terry.
“So it’s stupid, right? And you look at what the money is and all of that. Shefty knows all of that better than I do. What I do know is this: when you have to pay Jaden Daniels the $300 million that’s going to come up in a couple of years, you’ll be happy that Terry McLaurin has already been paid, right?
“And you can change some of the demographics of his contract once you have to move that money to your quarterback. These are the things that I don’t understand.”
ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter attempted to answer Spears’ question, noting that, while the Commanders would certainly like to keep McLaurin happy, they have several other quality players they want to extend, which, when coupled with the 2019 wide receiver class’ contract situation, makes for a unique negotiation.
“Well, I think a team is thinking we want to go pay Marshawn Latimer. We want to go pay Laramie Tunsil; We want to go pay Frankie Louvo; We want to pay all these players that we helped acquire to support the quarterback that you’re talking about. They want to pay Terry McLaurin, but they and Terry McLaurin have different ideas of his value.
“I think Terry McLaurin sees himself along the lines of DK Metcalf, who was traded to Pittsburgh this offseason, same draft class as Terry McLaurin. Terry McLaurin had better numbers during the course of his career than DK Metcalf. So he sees $33 million a year on average, and he’s...
